Day 2: Twilight Beach to The Bluff Campground

Today was the first full day of hiking. It was a reality check with long hours of walking along the beach. We spent the first couple of km in the hills, which was pretty.

Then we rounded a bend and saw 90 Mile beach. It stretched out beyond view, the sand and sea spray creating a fog that made the distance appear even more forbidding than the name suggests.

The good news is that it was only slightly breezy as opposed to the storm yesterday. And except for a few patches here and there, the sand was firm. 

In the end, though, 29 km of walking with full packs is rough in the beginning. Our bodies will adjust, but this is the pain and suffering part. Sure, we knew to expect it. We told ourselves it would be rough. Of course, living it is much more challenging than pontificating on the living room couch.

In other news, my platypus water bladder came undone and leaked a couple of liters over all of my stuff. I keep everything in its own bag so not much damage was done. But there was much drying to be done. I also don’t like the BPA taste it puts in the water so I’m thinking about ditching it.

Also, our umbrellas worked great in the sun today. It wasn’t hot. We both got burned yesterday so the shade was welcome relief. I was talking with a woman cycling around New Zealand and she mentioned the ozone might be thinner around this area. Interesting.

And dinner was good too. Egg noodles in a curry sauce with chicken and crunchy noodles.

So other than the fatigue and blisters from walking with packs all day, it was pretty good. In theory, it’s 30 km to the next real campsite. We’ll see if we make it that far…