8/16/17 – Panther Creek

Day 114
Miles: 2,159.26 to 2,179.59

Total miles hiked: 1,538.55
The days are getting shorter. Daylight did not welcome us when we woke up at 5:00 a.m. today. Instead the horizon carried hues of dark red, the colors of the rising sun.

I welcomed the change. We will have to start packing with our headlamps on but it also means we would be able to enjoy more sunrises. 

Once we left the ridge where we camped, the trail started dropping us towards Rock Creek where we filled water bottles and up we went for another seemingly never ending climb followed by another seemingly never ending downhill. Both the ups and the downs are more aggressive here and the trail is often rocky. My legs hurt in places they never hurt once on this trail.
We made it to camp at Panther Creek at 6:00 p.m., absolutely exhausted. Our legs and feet were throbbing. Quick soak in the ice freezing water of the creek helped some but I’m little worried because today was just a little warm up for the ascent that awaits us tomorrow.