A tough but rewarding day. The wind never let up last night but I was in a fairly protected spot and could listen to the wind, rather than be chilled by it. Muir was right, different trees do make different sounds in the wind. And wind in the trees is a much more pleasant sound than when it is tearing at the windows and eaves of your house.
The trail today started with a steep drop of many thousand feet off the Huachuca sky island. I passed through 3 very distinct ecological zones: ponderosa pine montane forest, oak and sycamore riparian forest, and pinyon juniper grasslands.
Started the day hiking with Mike and Numbers but Mike quickly zoomed ahead when no longer slowed by the altitude. Numbers and I had a pleasant hike together. He is an electrical engineer who is going straight from the AZT to the CDT this summer. He will probably pick up the pace tomorrow.
Seventeen miles was enough for both of us today, though, and we called it quits at about 4pm. A little early but I was tired and don’t want to overdo it early on and get injured. I’m already annoyed that I got a blister, which happens so rarely that my moleskin is ancient and no longer sticks.