Finally, I found a spring with lots of water. The three creeks at my planned campsite were dry. I had grabbed some water when I crossed Little Paddy Creek, but only a liter. Nothing for it but to carry on with my plan to hike along the North Loop and then bushwhack down to Little Paddy Creek, which has got me where I am now.

I’m waaay off trail bushwhacking down towards Little Paddy Creek, and I just:

• Broke the right ankle strap on my left sandal (huaraches) trying to climb up a large 10-15 ft boulder, blocking my way through a set of dry shut-ins.

Then while hobbling around barefoot(ish) trying to find somewhere to stop and repair my sandal, I

• Discovered this idyllic set of spring fed pools.

I don’t carry a spare pair of shoes. The sandals I wear are not ordinary sandals. They are designed for hiking, trail running, and ultra marathons, so they are hardy. I have always planned for a failure of the toe post — I’ve had that happen many times over the years. However, this is the first time I’ve had an ankle strap break free.

I did a quick fix (that wasn’t at all effective), just to get me to a place to stop for the night with nearby water. I needed to work out a more permanent fix to last the remaining ten-plus miles of my trip.

Inspecting my other shoe, I found it was close to breaking too, so I was going to have to be more careful on the trail. I had taken a tumble off the boulder when the first shoe broke, I didn’t want to take another fall, especially if I was near a drop-off!

Once I had camp set up, I came up with a solution which worked, and looked like it would last the next couple of days.

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