It has been very hard to keep Oscar charged with the solar panel because we either had very cloudy days or we walked during the best sun and camped in canyons where there wasn’t any direct sun at end of our day. So I came into Tropic with many days worth of journal to type and a dead battery. With the storm clouds blowing in the second day, I only completed a few days’ notes and got a few pictures up. I will continue to write and my best guess is that most of these will be posted in three weeks from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

We spent some of our time here fixing and mending clothing and equipment. I’ve had to re-sew every single button on my sun shirt, though this is its third and final trip. Dave’s had to sew a few. We’ve each had to mend socks, and I’ve mended almost all the fingers on both our gloves. My shoes were so badly falling apart I asked Dave’s mom to send my backup pair with our re-supply boxes here. Some of the stitching on both of our long pants has basically disintegrated, though the fabric is doing well. Tarp cords are fraying and water chemical bottles are leaking. Insoles have compounded to nothing and shoe laces have worn through. Our clothes, especially our sun shirts where our backpacks rub, will never again resemble their true colors.

The trail may be claiming our stuff bit by bit, but so far we’re holding together well. My knees continue to be stiff and sore at the end of the day but they recover overnight. Dave’s got some toe issues and blisters but is keeping up with them using the first aid kit.

This is definitely a tough and rugged walk, but incredibly rewarding. And we’ve got some exciting stuff ahead, including Bryce, the Grand Canyon and Zion. Goody!