I was on the trail by 6:00 in an attempt to beat the flies for a while at least.  I even beat Gaucho out of camp for the first time!  I woke up early because I had a nightmare that Katie (my dog) was attacked by a bear and I was too upset to go back to sleep. The morning was beautiful and I took several pictures of the sun rising above the mountains with the clouds and all.

Soon we were traversing the flatter area around Bannack Pass (not to be confused with Bannock Pass from a few days ago), and I was very grateful that the clouds were keeping it cool and the biting flies at bay.  Alas, it was not to stay that way.  Around noon it cleared up and the flies attacked with a vengeance.  Picture a dozen biting flies swarming your head, flying in your ears, mouth, eyes. And while you are swatting at them their friends are taking chunks out of the backs of your legs.  And yes, they can do all this while you are moving as fast as you can. DEET will keep most of them from biting, but some still do and most will still land on you.  The only real solution is physical barriers.  Long pants and a head-net. Unfortunately, my only long pants are my wind pants which are like wearing plastic wrap.  With the heat of the sun pouring down it’s not long before I’m soaked with sweat.

We did 20 miles and decided to make camp early to let our feet heal and avoid the rain.  It is absolutely pouring outside and I’m grateful to be in my tent.  Earlier we had lightening as well, but now just the rain.  Lots of rain. We are camped near the Sawmill Creek trailhead in a flat spot near the creek.

This place is truly beautiful, but a lot of the trail is over very rough terrain and the constant steep ups and downs have taken a toll on my body.  My feet have new blisters and both arches have what looks like stretch marks where the skin is pulling apart due to the constant tension while going uphill. It is quite painful and my arthritic ankle isn’t helping.  It sometimes takes a couple of hours before it finally loosens up and stops hurting.  Oh, and my left hip is starting to ache.  Waa, waa, waa. I’m too old for this shit. Even so, I’m having the time of my life! 🙂