I think my left foot is on the mend. It got worse yesterday but today it was markedly better. Let's hope that trend continues.

Let's see. Rolling terrain, in and out of a lot of washes, snakes, lizards, sun. I missed a turn on the trail and continued on a power line road. I caught the mistake fairly quickly and it wasn't long before I got on track. Still I hate to lose the time and do extra walking.

There was another gross water source today. It's a ranchers 100 gallon trough. It was a lot like Beehive Tank because it was green filled with dead bugs and even had a dead bird in it. An like Beehive Tank it was in a swarm of bees and hornets all trying to get a drink. The next source is far away though so I purified another 3 liters.

I'm camped out below "The Hill". I don't know why the guidebook and maps call special attention to this hill. It did not particularly stick out to me and it is only a 900 foot ascent. I'm about a quarter of the way up at what I am guessing is the last decent camping for many miles. So I stopped a little early but was glad for it because the descent into and through Ripsey Wash was rough. The still heat was unrelenting and the sand and stones kept getting in my shoes. I am uncomfortably gritty with salt and windborne grit. I really need Hutch's Pool. I still have 40+ miles to Superior though.