My view for 2 hours while I waited for my crew to "slack-pack" the first 8 miles of our day today.
Mad dash out of bed, 5:00am wake-up (never again when staying in a hotel room - it was painful to get out of bed that early when you are sunken into soft sheets and pillows). Headed down to the continental breakfast (I'm such a grump when I don't get more than 5 hours of sleep) and squinted at the food, not quite yet hungry. Last night had been a late one. Ben and I were rushing to get our things cleaned, packed, and loaded into our packs and by the time we were done, it was midnight! And we had to be up at 5:00/5:30.
Jane had agreed to come back in the morning and pick us up from the hotel at 6:00am (so sweet of her) even though she lives 45 minutes outside of town. I can't believe the kindness of Trail Angels. Complete strangers helping complete strangers!
I had agreed to be dropped off 8 miles further than the rest of my team in order to let them "slack-pack". Slack packing is when you can hike a portion of miles without your entire backpack (which is often 30-40lbs) - just bringing water and snacks. Jane dropped Rocky, Chik Chak, Sour Cream and Starfox off where we left off at Willow-Springs Road and she drove me to Highway 58 where I would unload all of their gear and backpacks and sit with it, waiting for them to do their easy (backpackless) miles.
Does this make sense?
So basically, yes, I skipped 8 miles (gladly) and took one for the team. Once Jane dropped me off, I was confronted with a shade-less stretch of highway roadside. I was to sit here for 2+ hours yet.... there was not one sliver of shade. The freeway was intense and hot and I walked up the slope to the trail and noticed a small patch of shade near some low shrubs. I parked it there, hugging the shrub, but soon realized it smelled like urine. Intensely urine.
I moved to the shade of a sign post - which worked! Although I was baking, I could not complain because at least I was not walking, and I could just relax for a few more hours, organizing my maps, studying the next section, all the while, watching the distant horizon for my wolf pack.
LUCKILY - Lunchbox arrived shortly after me and I had company! He also skipped the 8 miles and decided to keep me company while we waited for everyone.
Note: We call ourselves the "wolf pack", it's a loose team name.
Everyone eventually arrived and we set off together, parallel to the highway, single file. Cars rushed by, often with a hoot and a holler such as "hiker trash!" "YEAHHHHHHH" or "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo"! Celebrities along a hot highway in southern California, even the cars passing by are familiar with who we are. They must be used to seeing us "trash".
(Hiker Trash is a common 'endearing' term used to describe us thru-hikers, and I must say, it is very fitting)
Single file highway walkin' wolf pack.
Hot.
I didn't get any photos from our Siesta this day, but I do have some photos on my real camera. Because it got boiling hot by 10am, we were forced to hide under the highway overpass in the shade of the bridge for 4 hours. We got hiking again at 3pm and still had 16 miles to go! It was to be a long night.
Struggling with the heat, the weight of my full pack, and the rested body of someone who just had a day off, I had an unbelievably hard time with the climb out of Tehachapi. I would actually say - it was one of my lowest days. I winced with each step, huffed and puffed (for no reason!) and bordered on mental breakdown for a few hours. So badly, I wanted to turn back and crawl into the Best Western bed, it's all I fantasized about.
"this is optional" was my mantra. It kept me going - knowing that at any point I really COULD say "fuck it" and retire for the day/section/week. This was something I was choosing to do, it was not required, and once I realized this, it made it easier for me to move on because - yes, this is what I wanted to be doing.
The battles, the loops, the struggles in your head while you walk - those can be your worst enemy out here.
The trail this particular afternoon. Joshua trees, sandy path, shrubbery. I love this environment, I really do - it was just extremely hot.
The sunset.
A fire was burning to the south of us (perhaps you all heard about it on the news?). The Powerhouse fire? Near Green Valley, CA this fire was burning, hikers and an entire community were evacuated, and it produced a lot of smoke. We could see the smoke to the south of us and it made for some really gorgeous sunsets and sunrises...
Ben with more windmills. This time in a creepy burned forest at dusk.
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