The day after the night walk was spent at the camp spot, reading. Everyone was mildly anxious about the norovirus. So far, so good on my end. Whether anyone actually had it or had simply eaten too much at McDonald’s remains unclear. Someone apparently wasn’t feeling well.
The following day I kept moving. Nothing particularly notable happened. Some uphill, nothing dramatic. I’m increasingly convinced I need wider shoes. Walking barefoot: fine. Walking with shoes: left foot hurts. The pattern is fairly conclusive.
Had a better chance to test the solar panels. For how sunny it is here, the output could be better — but they’re not large, so expectations should be calibrated accordingly. Another hiker plugged his phone directly into the panels and got 40–50% charge in two hours of good sun. I don’t do this: direct charging from panels can be hard on the battery due to fluctuating input. Better to go via the power bank. For my usage, the output is sufficient. My open question is whether it’ll still be sufficient when there’s less sun. Time will tell.
The day was hot. By evening it cooled down.
The plan for the next day was to head into town. As has become something of a pattern, getting up early remains a challenge. The nights are cold — around five degrees — which is desert math: hot days, cold nights. This led to what I’ve decided to call Hobo Camping, a technique I’m claiming to have invented, or at least independently arrived at. The principle: wear your layers when walking at night, remove them when it gets warm, and then simply lie down wherever you are and sleep in whatever you’re wearing. In practice: mildly successful. The ground pulls too much heat away. Lying on the pack helped but wasn’t comfortable. Eventually it was just too cold, so I pulled out the sleeping bag and used it as a blanket. Warm enough, not particularly elegant.