Day 13
“Annn Deen?” -Dude where’s my car.
Well well well. Getting off the trail most people worry about “getting soft” if they stick around a town to long. My little break definitely brought me back down a peg. But the boots bring me up three pegs. Gonna be able to walk the rest of the way like a normal person.
My wonderful Angels brought me to a place where I could meet my hiking brethren. McDonalds! Went with my regular( when I do fast food, about once every other month it’s always MckeeDees), 10 nuggets, one small burger, fries, and a drink. Added a scream cone too. Quote fits this ordering style. This along with staying up drinking wine with my Angels and being off the trail made my first day back feel stupendous. Felt like good ol’ day number one except worse cause it was all uphill. Luckily the guys had already done some miles and we were only going in 7 miles to camp.
Despite the heave ho of getting back into the swing of things. Damn it feels good to be back out here on the move. Happy to meet up with the guys. Set camp in a fun little valley. Swarthout Canyon. Chaperalle Yuccas all over in full bloom. Got a nice rattler crossin the path earlier. Yay. Back to it! Sleeping in the desert with nothin but birds and distant planes to fill the earballs. Ready to put some work in again. Even though I thought mac d was gonna go everywhere it was still a beautiful day.
Day 14
Up up and away we go! Ready or not here we come. Well fuck me. Did I say yesterday was my re integration. Thaaat was nothing compared to today. 20 miles up to Wrightwood. I added water which means I added weight. Also kept a few things from my box in big bear. Woo wee
Definitely lost my mountain crushing skills. Gonna take a few days again. Probably would of been able to hang with Copper 5 days ago, but now I’m dragging a little. Took him 4 hrs to do 10 miles uphill and I rolled in at 51/2 to find his note that he was pushing on in order to get his box in Wrightwood. Anyways. Still a great climb. Lots of different wild flowers out right now. At 10 miles had some tuna and took a 2 hr siesta with Kwame to skip some sun.
Second part of the day I started moving faster. Higher altitude, more shade, big trees. Had to conserve water though. Next cache was still 8 miles up.
Rolled into a campground at the top! Last .4 miles they made you earn it. Felt like walking up a ladder. Sat down on a bench sweaty sweaty and immediately got hooked up. Thank you trail Angel campers for the coke (so cold. So good), water, and double chili cheese frito hotdogs! Yum.
Sexy sunset. Soft yellow with a touch of blue. Was going to go directly to sleep...buuut heartburn has me staying up an extra hour. Forgot to take my Prilosec so I’m actually journaling the night I got to camp. Bonus. Wanna know what else is kinda fun right now :). Cramping out of control everywhere. Haha. Lay very very still or else. Ab. Toes. Fingers. Triceps. ( just started using trekking poles so my arms are attacking me ), back, thumbs. I find it hilarious. At least my legs aren’t going. Those muscles are the big battles. Middle of the night probably ;). Okay. Goodnight. Midnight cramp shreeks for everyone.
Replace your electrolytes bro!
Day 15
100% satisfaction- I think there’s only one true sign of perfect sleep. Couuuuld just be me, but I’m pretty damn sure this is universal. What is it? Drool. Drooling lets you know you were out. You all know what Im talking about. This only happens to me when I’m A. Exhausted such as last night. Or B. That perfect lazy day nap, somewhere super comfortable, little bit a warm sun hitting ya.
Today. Flat lander short walk with a pretty good downhill. Didn’t go to hard today. Still pretty exhausted from yesterday’s climb. Made it to the base of mount Baden-Powell aboot 12 miles. Cherry B and myself decided to hang here before climbing. Oh check it out. We passed up Copper somehow. Ah. He got stuck drinking 5 cent margarita Tuesday in Wrightwood. Makes sense. Reunited!
Well that was short lived. Copper was still going another 16. nope. Not gonna break myself again keepin up. Since I feel like I’m back to the beginning I think 12-18s are my jam for now. Matter of fact. I’m gonna call it and hit the mountain tomorrow. So see ya later Kwame.
Lots of beautiful purple flowers. Should pick ‘em and give them to all the beautiful people! Nope. Poodle Dog (yep, stellar name) is not a very nice plant to play with apparently. Reminds me of certain poodle dogs I’ve hung out with in my life. Vicious. ...Poodles suck and the person who named the flower knows it.
Day 16
“Kinda makes you feel like a stupid dummy.”-
Sooo didn’t go very far. Basically just up Baden-Powell. Switchback city. Woohoo! That kind of concludes hot hill climbing. Been a while since I’ve been at 9200 feet. Last month has reminded me how much better living at altitude is IMHO. For one, it really dries out the boogs for powerful snot rockets. Don’t think I’ll live below 4000 ft ever again.
Yea...that was a pretty short day but whateves. I did come down the other side of z mountain. The trail is going up and over the mounds while highway 2 is just curving around and meeting us on the other side. Makes you feel like a stupid dummy when there’s a large path going around these mountains and we’ve decided to walk over them.
Decided to hitch back to town to get a few more meals and check it out. Had dinner with the 50ish/60ish yr old twins Gary and Larry (I know that’s hilarious). Couple nice guys just retiring from grocery up in Oregon. Stayed in town for super cheap. Ate more pizza.
Day 17
Got up pretty early ready to go! But I turned on the TV. I dont really care about missing shows or movies. This kind of trip is obviously supposed to remind us that we have to lesson our daily screen time. However, I’m really bummed Im missing the World Cup. I’ve always followed it. It’s fun. It’s awesome. It’s once every four years. GO SWEDEN!!!!!! Way to beat Italy to get in!! Win the damn thing! So yea….. kinda just decided to hang around for the Portugal Spain game. Juuust a couple highlights.
Now I’m off. Caught a ride back to where I left off. Up a couple miles up mt Williams. Then it was a down day pretty much. Gotta walk highway 2 for three miles too. PCT detour to protect dem yello legged frogs. Save the frogs!! Hmmm. Still have never eaten frog legs. I wonder...Anyways, for all my motorcycle/sports car lovin friends. This is your highway! Saw some crazy test Audi’s and bmws flying by and every different type of motorcycle. Bring your toys here. Come enjoy yourself or kill yourself. It’ll be great times.
Got off the road and cruised through a big weekend car camp site (little jelly of fires and hammocks and chillaxon, but onwards) and rejoined the trail a mile down the hill. Good little stream to get water. Set camp and eat dinner. Fuuuuug. thousands of mosquitoes! . Eat dinner in my tent and bitch and moan to you guys because I don’t have bug spray and I can’t buy a second to relax after hiking.
Day 18
Not a bad day. 15 miles. Passed mile marker 400. That was coo. Really enjoyed this camp site. Tucked in by some trees on top of a ridge. Listened to a little of my book and passed out after a delicious pad Thai camper meal. These things are getting really good!
Day 19
Felt pretty strong today. I hope this feeling sticks around. 20 miles with some good hills mixed in. I still think 20 is my max for now. At around 17-18 I don’t get sore or cramp, my feet start to ache letting me know it’s time to stop using them.
My stove ran outta gas at lunch so dinner wasn’t that great. Thought the rice would hydrate….but it’s still pretty pretty crunchy.
Excited for my first buddy guest appearance in the next couple days.
Got service tonight so I made a few call to see what’s happening in the world. A hurricane named Bud is cute. Sweden is gonna crush Korea tomorrow most likely. And the guys are all still doing thing. Movin and a shakin. And I think mom and dad have gone to Russia. Have fun! Just don’t do any emailing with them cause I’ll deny that shit until the next World Cup!
Day 20
Slept in a little bit. Left myself a big downhill for 15 miles. Little toe nails eventually got sore from squishin in my boots. Scenery hasn’t changed to much lately. Lots of desert bushes. Still plenty of sun. 4 miles left I started to burn out for the day. Took another rest, boots off, layed in the sun. Eventually made it to the Acton KOA. Here I ran into a new group of peeps I have not yet met. Boy Scout, Littlefoot, Quick Start, Nick and Luna, Yard Sale, Blue, Balloons, Nolan and Michelle again. Yellow Toe caught back up as well. Fun group to join and eventually integrate with.
We Watched The Lorax. I’m also listening to Grapes of Wrath at this time. Sooo If you want to have a fuck the machine/system/money-grubbing entities pitty party, join me and my fellow lifers out here on the trail.
Day 21
The temps are rising. Strategies for walking are headed to early early mornings and late nights. Left with Balloons, Littlefoot and Quick Start. All former cross country runners of course. This subset of people are ridiculous! They were basically jogging uphill and sprinting down! Anyways, it was a quick 15 miles into the night to say the least. Caught up with some others and all crashed in a cave in Vasquez rocks. Awesomeness! Finally getting a little better with my night photos too.
Day 22
Got up early and followed Balloons into Hiker Heaven hoping to grab a warm breakfast. Of course the simple 2 miles turned into a thing. The trail split a few times. Wasn’t clearly marked….made it 4 miles for myself. Hiker Heaven is a gated property where a lovely lady just takes care of everyone. There’s a trailer house to get your shower. They do your laundry. All wonderful things. The previous group of hikers I mentioned were all there along with even more folks. Mini party. They had befriended another trail angel that stopped by with a massive chicken dinner. So delicious.
Buddy from LA made the trek up to do a little walking. Double edged sword. Had to go back out for more even though I definitely could of used the day to rest. On the flip side. Got me to leave and keep walking. Way to easy to stop everywhere and not get back out there.
It was a great evening walk. Perfect way to squeeze in a few more miles and slowly knock out a 8miler up hill. Kris had packed all the light stuff. Champagne, beers. (Actually aside from that he had top notch light weight gear borrowed from his brother. I was jealous.) great to see him and spend the night chatting up in the hills.
Day 23
Well the problem with drinking into the night makes for a few challenges the next day. Not as hydrated, very little sleep, and a twinge of a hangover. What can we do but walk it out. Ate a quick breakfast with Kris then said our goodbyes. Back down into the desert bushes for me.
Made about 10 miles of my 16 and set up the tent for a Manzanita tree nap. Temps have really gone up so it’s nasty hiking. Drenched in sweat all the time. Even when I nap. Dan and Bumble Bee the Belgian passed me up from Hiker Heaven. Talk about getting some miles in. They’re flying. Slow walked the last six up and around another desert hill and came down into another little valley. Some of the peeps were ranting and raving about Casa De Luna in Green Valley so I caught a ride down two miles to the hang out.
Casa De Luna Hang
Definitely not as put together as Hiker Heaven but free coffee, pancakes, and vegan taco dinners. Another fun little back channel town with amazing milkshakes.
Torn between a couple decisions. Stick it out for a few more weeks or jump. Here, there are people doing all sorts of different things. Jumping to walker pass, jumping to Kennedy Meadows, powering through, Littlefoot just came back with a knee injury so he’s going to tehaxhapi for a doctor visit. The band is breaking up again but will most likely cross paths again in the Sierras! And that’s where I’m headed. Hit 400 miles of desert walking. Time to start my playing in the mountains. Want to make sure I spend the time I would like in the mountains instead of heat stoking down here. Terry is bringing myself and a crew out of the heat and to the base of the big ass play ground! Can not wait to jump in some mountain lakes! Mary, our ride changed it one day so one last day at Casa De Luna.
Day 24
Soooooo happy to be at the base of the mountains!! I think everyone around my start date or later have jumped some of that southern Cali. 110 degees and water caches being picked up has beat most everyone. There are a couple crazies we left behind. Quick Start was hoping to do 45 miles yesterday. Gotta love dumb stubborn indistrctable 18 year olds. It was fun in an entirely different way then the next section is gonna be. Challenge to survive the heat. But now I’m sitting at Kennedy Meadows with a bunch of hikers getting ready to get our Sierras in. I had Littlefoot shake me down (go through your bag and make you get rid of shit), and I realized I’m still stubbornly carrying unnecessary weight. Cut another couple pounds. I think I’m going have to get a light weight tent here in the Meadows as well to drop another 5 maybe 6 pounds in tent weight. Now, finally, I’ll be at an acceptable base weight. I’ll finally be able to move with speed and comfort. Already after the shakedown the pack feels like a feather.
Anyways all is well and all is about to get much much betta!! Love you all long time. Also, there are apparently a decent amount of people reading this. Feet are much better! Mom sent my boots and I’m ready to rock and roll. Waiting at Grumpy bears for a few people to roll in. Big breakfast and of course a little Swedish soccer.
Shower, laundry, ship a package home, get a no weight tent and off into the mountains for a couple months tonight or tomorrow morning! Woooooohooooooooo
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