15-04-28.   Day 17.    Three Hands

The ice on my tarp cracked and shattered as I stuffed it into my pack. It was cold. Real Cold. I had to get moving to warm up. It was 6:38 am and we reached tank no 2 or the Farm Tank just below John Kerr Peak at 7:30 am  for water and breakfast.  Alex was there waiting for us. He was ahead of us when we decided to stop last night.

There was First Man Camped next to the trail. He started a day behind us and passed us somewhere. He got sick and slowed down enough for us to catch him. We shared our past hiking experiences and reinforced that most hikers on this trail have a lot of experience.

It was “9” miles to the next water. Unfortunately that was as the crow flys. We hiked along forrest roads and brand new unfinished trail. It ended with some pink flags guiding us through the woods.  We hiked  “cross country” down to the old trail along a dirt road. At one point I had a map in one hand, a compass in one hand, and a GPS in another hand. What a feat!!!

First Man came along and showed us how he could have passed us.  With legs up to my arm pits we said “HI” and zoom, he was gone.

I was getting a little nervous as the miles wore on with no water. We passed one green tank but my stomach couldn’t take it. At 6:00 pm we arrived at the Aragon Well, Windmill and tank. It was a beautiful sight with great water. We loaded up and found Alex next to an old buss.. Shelter!!!

As we made dinner, Dr. Sourdough performed surgery on Phil’s blisters…. It was hard to look at. I don’t know how he is hiking…Great dinner of White Bean Chili.

Aragon Water Well.      19.1 Miles

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