Another day of relentless heat. It was even hotter than yesterday, with temps in the upper-80s. And humid.
I thought to beat the worst of the heat by rising early and hiking before sunup. This would let me get some miles in before it got too hot. I could then take a more leisurely pace but still hike 15 miles or so, a fairly modest goal.
But it never cooled off last night. I slept shirtless on top of my quilt. I rose and breakfasted in the dark (just coffee, still no appetite). My shirt was hung up to dry overnight but was still damp.
I started slowly, needing my headlamp in the pre-dawn darkness. I picked up the pace at first light. I was soon drenched in sweat, even though the trail was all downhill to Salt Fork Creek (which was dry).
From there it was a 1000-foot climb over Potato Knob. The sun was well up and I had to slow down considerably. A 1000-foot drop took me to Spirits Creek. It had large pools of clear water and maybe even a slight trickle. I took advantage to water up and wash up a bit.
The rest of the day was fairly easy walking with little elevation gain or loss. Much of it was on what looked like an old rail bed running along a north facing slope that supported a nice hickory forest. Even so, it was too hot to walk very fast. I am spending much of my time calibrating my pace so that I am uncomfortably hot, but not dangerously overheated. Not really what I want to be focusing on.
A last descent took me to Fane Creek which also had good pools. The next reliable water is Indian Creek, some 20 miles distant, probably the longest water carry on the hike. On a desert hike I would take 4 liters, 5 if it was unusually hot. When I made out my gear list, I included 5.7 liters of water carrying capacity, which I thought would surely be more than enough. If the weather stays hot again tomorrow it won’t be, and I will have to hope there are some unexpected pools, or maybe water cached by trail angels at a road crossing. If there isn’t, I will definitely be going thirsty.
So I cameled up as best I could, drinking down a couple of liters. And then barfed most of it back up. Annoyed and somewhat disgusted, I saddled up and walked the mile or so to the next established campsite, the last one for a way. Managed to get half of a dinner down, but that was all I could manage.
No views of note today, so no pictures, except of this stick insect trying to make friends at Fane Creek.
Basically I am hiking in midwestern summer conditions. This is not going well at all.