Tough Day! Broken phone, glasses, and water filtration.

Not every day on the trail is going to be a good one.  Today was one of those days.  It was a tough day for just about everything.  My gear, hiking and morale.  The day started off the day normal enough, about 5:30 am but things went downhill from the very start.

Me a few days ago before the SNAP with the glasses!

The first issue was my sunglasses which are very important on this part of the trail.  The right arm of the sunglasses snapped right off.  Luckily, I was still able to wear them.  The hike consisted of some beautiful views, but for the most part the beauty was dwarfed by the toll the rocky terrain took my body and my spirit. 

Need Rocks?  Plenty of them around here.

By lunch time, 10am for me and my first water stop, I had cracked the screen of my phone and clogged up the tube on my water filtration system.  I have been using a Geigerrig system with the virus filter attached and their nano-tube for getting the water. A busted system is a bad thing. On a PCT thru hike, you MUST have a water filtration system.  The water can contain giardia which can basically make your hike come to a complete halt if you are not careful.  It can take 2-6 weeks to recover from giardia. Many times you need to seek medical attention for it to improve. I tried to contact home to let them know of my problem, but phone service was an issue so I didn't know if they would be able to get a replacement tube to me very quickly.  In the meantime, I tried to fix the issue.

I have learned multiple times on this trip that the hikers take care of each other and often provide for those in need. One of the hikers I have been hiking with, Doug, sold me his spare Sawyer Mini. My bladder started working again and Liam taught me how to adjust my pack correctly to take more weight off of my shoulders. Hopefully today's mishaps will not transfer over into tomorrow. The group is attempting the first back to back 20+ mile hikes for the first time since the beginning of the trip. 

Beautiful scenery along the trail. 

The problems I had today have slowed me down.  Now, I need to get in touch with my family so they can let the Jackson's know I am running behind.  I used the Delorme explorer to send messages to the family today.