Mile 311.9 (15.3 miles)
Current elevation: 3339 feet

First day of week 4.

Today’s highlights: three snakes, and surviving some brutal heat. Oh, and passing 300 miles. And three consecutive 15-mile days!

I woke up in the Blair Witch field at 5, and it still took me until 6:45 to hit the trail. That’s significantly longer than my usual 1 hour. I was trying a new morning system to try to eliminate my first break, wherein I get a mile, find that the pack is hurting something or other, and empty it and repack it. That break was eliminated today, but it didn’t save me 45 minutes. I’d like to streamline my breaks to try to tease out an extra half-hour of walking time. It wouldn’t have made any difference today. It was so hot that I had to stop every 15
minutes and drink, all day long. And this…