Monday, July 16 (Kreg)

Today was hard. I made it into town, but the back pain came back. After 1 mile I could feel the pain. After 3 miles, I was hiking with only my left shoulder strap on. By mile 8, I had the pack on the front side of my body – transferring the weight in the opposite direction to my shoulders. It was too excruciating to wear it on my back. We hitched a ride to the hostel – the very first truck I stuck my thumb at pulled over and drove us into town. I took a shower, got a bed to sleep in, and ate my first real meal (bacon cheeseburger with fries). I’m in pain though, and I have a lingering feeling that my back isn’t going to heal too quickly. We’ll see.