the first day on the trail was a little bit tricky and a little bit painful, I'm not going to lie. I started the day knowing that I had 20 miles to go before I would find water so I packed 6 liters into an already full bag and headed off with just a hair under 40 pounds strapped to my back. after a couple nights staying with trail angels in the San Diego area I was well fed and reasonably well rested and I had made several friends who all gather around the monument with me at the Mexican border as we all prepared to hike.
among those I had met I was happy to see there were several girls who were starting solo hikes like I was. It was rare to have such a high ratio of girls in what's usually a male dominated sport such as through hiking. everyone I met was eager to get going and happy to be there and one by one we all filed away from the southern terminus and headed north. it took me about 2 miles to start cussing and talking about throwing away and dumping out part of my 15 pounds of water. the two very patient girls who were with me persuaded me to reconsider with the water and even though in my mind I was determined to pour out the heavy water waiting in my pack I agreed, at least until they were out of sight.
over the course of the next mile I fell behind and had to fight with myself not to pour out the water that was weighing me down with every step. I kept thinking about all the time I've spent at Burning Man drinking nothing but margaritas and beer in the desert and how I didn't really need water so I thought surely I could make this hike without it..
It was about 5 miles before I fell behind the pack. I went to mile 10 and found a good campsite where I would be by myself but after feeling really freaked out by noises I decided to pack up my things and head to mile 15 where I knew people would be sleeping at the bottom of a canyon. the last half mile down into the canyon really did my feet in. I could feel hot spots turning into blisters with every step but there was no stopping once I started the descent and there was certainly no going back up. so I made it to the bottom and set up camp and snored heavily as I'm told all night long. the next morning I thought it would be best to we hiked 6 miles to Lake Morena. once there I set up camp with several people from the night before and had a very relaxed evening. The big excitement came when I saw a mountain lion cross the street in town by the one store the town had. Turns out they've been trying to trap it for a while and the locals all know about it, but it still made the hair stand up on the back of my sunburned neck. the following day I decided to hike another 10 miles to break up the 22 miles it would take to get to Mount Laguna. it was another gorgeous sunny day with breathtaking views and not a cloud in the sky.
I rolled into Cibbets flat campground just as the Sun was setting. it was another night in a pampered camping environment which I'm sure is about to change. there were about 15 of us spread out in the campground that night and about midnight the wind kicked up and started beating all of our tents around something fierce. there were a few moments when I panicked wondering if there was some sort of tornado or strange cell moving through. the sand from the desert floor was being blown up and into my tent through the mesh on the sides and soon everything I own was covered in a layer of dust. I was happy to have my free standing tent and I felt bad for all the people who had the little flimsy tarp tents. in the morning when we all woke up around six in the morning (which is about 45 minutes after the first person starts clanking their gear together and about 2 hours after we've all been laying in bed really needing to go pee but not wanting to get up) everyone compared notes on how the evening had gone and how their gear had withheld the wind. of course everyone with the tarps had to tell us that they worked just fine though we had heard them in the middle of the night scrambling to pitch them again and again. after trying to eat breakfast with a mouth full of sand I hit the trail hard and made pretty good mileage. The wind was kicking up still so I had to leave the umbrella down which meant I was putting sunblock on every 20 minutes, and still I was getting a sunburn. the hike climbed 3000 feet over the next several miles and by the time I got to the Burnt Rancheria campground I already had a pretty firm idea that I was going to take my first "zero day" which is when a hiker hikes zero miles in a day... So. Here I am in my tent about to go to sleep after a day of rest and a much-needed cheeseburger.
what's going through my mind as I lay in bed and think about the last 4 days is not the heat of the Desert Sun or the blisters on my aching feet, what I am remembering the most is the genuine friendships and generosity I've seen from everyone I've met. I knew I was in for a treat when I met the trail angels in San Diego and ever since leaving for the trail I've had nothing but good interactions with fellow hikers and those around us who are cheering us on. I promise to cuss and moan more in my next post. Goodnight for now, hope to update again soon!
OH! Forgot to mention this.. Coolest thing in nature I have seen yet: woodpeckers drilling holes in trees and filling them with acorns...thousands of acorns! Incredible! Mire nature shots and shots from my real camera down the road when I have a computer to use :)
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