Day 1: Started hike with backpack similar in weight to an underfed 9th grader. (75lbsish). Hiked 17 miles with said freshman on my back.

Day 2: Apparently it snows and water freezes when it is below 32 degrees. I also received confirmation that snow becomes quite fluffy when it's below 20. My tent was completely frosted over when I woke up, which was something I wasn’t prepared for. Neither was the feeling of paralysis due to soreness from a 17 mile hike. I think I went into epileptic shock while making my oatmeal and taking down my tent. Horses stock the refugios with goods. They also poop all over the hiking trail.

I bought a can of tuna, which had an expiration date commensurate with my birthday in May 2005. (This means that the tuna was caught in the Mid-90’s). I wanted to buy some other provisions from the store menu of approximately 40 items (including beer), however, at any one time, the store is liable to have only 10 items in stock. This is likely due to the horses being preoccupied with pooping on the trails instead of efficiently transporting supplies.

Day 3:It took us 5 hours to hike 4.5 miles. If you are not a math wizard, that is less than one mile per hour. We hiked directly up hill for pretty much ever, then hit the top of the mountain pass and were greeted by knee deep snow and 60 mph winds which knocked us on our asses. Literally. On the bright side, we did have a snowball fight near the top of the pass. I won. On the way down, I was considered faking an injury to be air lifted out.

Day 4: It was snowing when I went to bed, and I am pretty sure it was snowing inside of my tent last night. We hiked 24 kilometers, 15 of which were in the rain, the other nine of which were just overcast and windy. But we made it. Mom- I'm cold.. I should stop bitching.

Day 5: We hiked like Vikings today, passed a glacier, my buddy wore a bandana. We made fun of him.

Day 6 and 7 will be summed up in the next blog.