Grrrr and brrr. It wasn't that cold but I had to cross a swampy bit first thing in the morning. I tried to avoid it Ley said there was new trail that skipped the swampy bit. Well after walking around for 3 miles I couldn't find it so I had to follow the swampy bit. The swampy bit was a valley bottom with a creek and canals through it. On top of that all the grass in the valley bottom was covered in frost. Now crossing creeks and getting my feet wet sucks but is part of the experience. Walking through frozen grass with wet feet really sucks and hurts but it's part of the experience. The thing that pissed me off was the canal. Here was a man made structure and there was no crossing for it. I tried wading across it, so cold, but that didn't work. I got three steps in and was already sunken in the mud down to my mid thigh. Now this swampy bit of trail was the typical CDT follow the posts type of trail. Of course the post that tells you where to cross the canal at a point you can step over it is missing. So I had to hike in frozen wet feet along this canal trying to find a way across that didn't involve me swimming. I did eventually find it and swore at the trail and canal very loudly when I did. Unfortunately it seems there was a section hiker camped within hearing range and he was concerned about me but after explaining the situation he agreed and would have done the same thing. He invited me for coffee but I declined since I had to get moving to make my toes not fall off.
The rest of the day was amazing. The views were incredible. The hiking was tough. The weather was perfect. I took so many pictures of the surrounding area. I even saw 4 moose. I ended up camping on a ridge which had a fantastic sunset and should have an equally impressive sunrise.
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