Vail

 Last night was even colder than the night before. My whole tent, not just the laundry on it, was all frosted crisp this morning. I had to finally plug in my electric blanket in the middle of the night. Then the chill come in from the bottom. I'll have to unfurl my Thermarest pad this evening and insulate the cot as well.

All this chill in the morning brought back the memory of early winter days in Korea. There was no indoor plumbing or flush toilet back then and life was much like camping. We'd get up, brush teeth and wash face in cold water. Then our hands would get frozen and we'd come back in the room and put our hands on ondol floor to warm them up. 

I don't have ondol, but I do have an electric blanket. It was a single best decision to carry it in this trip. I would've been plain miserable without it. Oh, and the space blanket. Heat and cold are the biggest enemies of the hobos and I'm defending well against them.

Yesterday's hike on Booth Creek was a struggle. It was only 4.2 miles, so I figured I'd make it in the morning and then comeback to town for lunch. I wasn't on the trail till 12:10. I found that there is no parking at the trailhead when I got there: I was supposed to park in town and take the shuttle. By the time everything were settled, it was past 11, and I figured I'd have lunch first. I hung out in town for 30 minutes after that, and ended up in the 12 Noon bus. When I was done with the trail, it was after 4PM.

Not sure yet if it was the trail or me. But I had to take 3 breaks going up. Compare that to zero stops at Bear Creek in Telluride. Booth Creek was a tougher hike to be fair; it was rockier and there were several steep scrambling. But I struggled so much more, I had to look up the record to see if anything sticks out to account for the discrepancy. I did take a full day rest before Bear Creek. But then, I also took a full day rest before Ouray Perimeter and I struggled there too. Maybe it's the combination of the preemptive rest and the novelty. These trails are not that dopaminergic and therefore more struggle in general. Enough preemptive rest may reduce the struggle. Doesn't that sound familiar? I must be still in the shadow of CFS.

In any case, I'm getting tired of these local trails. They are dime a dozen in California and there is no need to come all the way out here for them. I'm doing it because I'm visiting these resort towns and hiking and then hanging out in town is the thing to do. I'll be all done after Breckenridge and then I'll get my real fix in RMNP. For now, I'm taking a full day rest today.