April 28, Day 9: Mile 109.0-124.9
Miles hiked: 15.9
Gratitude of the Day: I’m thankful for my mother. Some people may not know, but my mom is my step mom, hence why you’ll hear me call her Jane, my birth mom passed away when I was 6. Many people could probably use this as a crutch or an excuse, but I see things completely differently. I don’t think I’ve ever shared this with her or my father, mainly because I worry that it sounds crass. But for me, I think of my birth mom as the angel who brought me into this world and my step mom as the angel who has helped raise and guide me. She is a wonderful and amazing person who took on a husband with two unruly young boys, a dog, a cat and 27 fish. I am where I am in my life because she encouraged me, protected me, and just nurtured me to be better, be smarter and work harder. She may not be my birth parent, but she is most definitely my mother.
What an amazing night of sleep, truly my first on the trail of continuous sleep. I think I woke several times to wipe the drool from my face. I woke at a chilly 5:45 again today but the sun was peeking over the hill and it’s supposed to be a clear and sunny day today. I was first out of camp as I’m not stopping in Warner Springs to hit the gas station for goodies or the post office to grab a drop box. The first several miles are through a Sound of Music valley where usually there are cattle grazing, but not this morning. Only the flittering of birds from bush to bush singing their morning song. Somehow by 9:30 I’ve gone nearly 6 miles and I’m at the clear stream water source, airing out my tent, drying out my sleeping bag and soaking my feet in the nice cool clear water. I sat there for an hour and a half just basking in cool water and shade.
I crossed that clear cool water three times as I headed up trail intent on another 5 miles and my second break of the day at a natural spring called Lost Valley Spring along the trail. It would be a 1400 foot elevation gain through a shade less and windy ribbon of trail that seemed to do nothing but go up. I played leap frog with a couple other hikers up this stretch until I finally reached my destination at 12:45. The spring is actually 1/4 mile off trail down what looked like an overgrown jeep road. I set my bag down in the shade of a manzanita tree where a father and daughter from Cincinnati sat, grabbed my water bladder and filter and headed down the hill. The spring wasn’t anything spectacular, but a saving grace not to have to carry 5 Liters of water up that exposed hill. After fetching my water I returned to my back to my pack, I took a long 45 minute break drinking fresh cool water and eating some snacks.
My next destination was camp a solid 5 miles down the trail, my goal this week is to just do 15 mile days. It seems right now it’s the “sweet spot” for my legs, 15-18 miles depending on the terrain. My last 5 miles I didn’t see a single soul. Several times I even wondered if I was still on trail as it was overgrown with this thick spickey bushes that scrapped on my legs, arms and my bag. After what felt like forever trudging through this mess the trail opened up into a hillside strewn with granite boulders. Tonight I’m cowboy camping in a wind block boulder cluster. My blisters currently are down to one that’s still annoying. My knees hurt at the end of the day from the pounding downhills and it’s always amazing to take my shoes off and put on my sandals.
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