I had another great night of sleep getting 8.5 hours. I really was enjoying the quality of sleep that I was getting out on the trail. I would sleep through the entire night and not even get up to use the bathroom because I did not want to get out of my warm sleeping bag and then have to deal with the mosquitoes. I awoke at 6 am like normal, but it was a slower start this morning. The mosquitoes made it more challenging to get out of the tent and get packed up. I did not want to start my morning off with some DEET, but sometimes there is no choice. Once I got moving and had the bug spray on, the mosquitoes were not nearly as bad. I understood why there were so many, because in the Indian Heaven Wilderness, there were a lot of lakes. I spent the morning going by many lakes. Junction Lake and Bear Lake were just a few of them.
The trail was quiet in the morning and the weather was chilly. I was surprised at how often I would start the morning with my poofy on. The terrain was really pretty flat today and I was actually feeling pretty good. It was thick forest and I felt fine. Maybe the weight of my pack was decreasing or maybe I was starting to get my trail legs. Either way I was moving pretty good. One option for me today was to try to make it into Trout Lake, except that I had no reason to go. I had enough food and there was not really any reason for me to make it there. My original goal was Steamboat Lake, but when I got to the trail junction, it was only 2 pm. There was no way that I was going to stop that early, so instead I kept moving.
My last good option before Highway 23 was a small creek about 5 miles from the trail junction. There was a very talkative lady there all set up, but since it was still only 3:30, I kept moving. Here I had the most uphill of the terrain all day, though it was only a short while before I was going downhill again. Here I saw quite a few people coming from Trout Lake. They told me about the good pizza, but I still just did not want to go through the hassle of trying to make it to town. As I got closer, there were signs that talked about Trail Angels that would come pick me up. Still, I just wanted to chill at the trailhead, have a freeze dried dinner, and be ready to go the next day. When I got to the trailhead and Highway 23, there was no one there, but there was a nice stream to fill water from. There were 4 or 5 flat spots to camp at and the road was fairly quiet. Every once in a while, there was a car driving by, but no one to really bother me. What was really remarkable about this day is that I put in 23 miles and I was no worse for the wear. I felt pretty good and I was still able to get to bed early. I knew that I could now probably increase my mileage without impacting my possibilities of finishing the entire trail.
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