Wednesday, May 5, 2021

Day 5 - May 2

Cowboy camping on a very windy ridge (mile 94.4).  Walked 17.1 miles today.

Slept very well last night except for when the wind kicked up to 40+ mph gusts about 1am.  We all got up around 5:30 am and were on the trail at 6:20.  Got some water from the cache at Scissors crossing and there were some canned foods there too so Emily picked up some canned spaghetti which she ended up eating for breakfast.  The day began with a long set of switchbacks that we could see yesterday and that I was dreading; however with the cool morning temps and shade, we made quick work of them and then walked along a looong contour for most of the rest of the morning.
Lost and Found and I walked together and chatted some.  She's really thoughtful and just an immensely kind person.  It's not just the typical hiker chit-chat either.  She asked questions like: "What's the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you?"  For most of the morning though, we all walked apart separately.  Lost and Found and I stopped mid morning for an early lunch and Cooper, a hiker we met yesterday in Julian chatted with us for a few minutes.  A little later, Emily stopped by and hung out while we ate.
We then all set out again and met up a couple hours later at the 3rd Gate Water Cache which has to be the most well-stocked cache on the trail.  Hundreds of gallon jugs on pallets awaited us.
We all loaded up and then sat and rested for a bit.  Since there was cell service, we all sat on the side of the trail and called home.
Afterwards, we hiked three more miles to a large but windy campsite.  It was an early end for the day for us, but we pushed really hard in the morning and are all physically exhausted.  Mentally we feel like we could do more miles, but our bodies are too tired.  I have some slight pain on my left hip, but hopefully the stretching we did this evening will help.  We found a great view and ate some dinner.  We think we're all starting to get our hiker hunger as none of us were completely satisfied by our dinner this evening.  We expected more people to be at this camp, but it seems most people who we met at the 3rd Gate Cache are pushing on.  Emily set up her tent but Lost and Found and I are cowboying it up.
It's just too windy for me to attempt it.  Emily has a puncture in her sleeping pad that she discovered last night when it deflated during the night so I let her use my repair kit and it will hopefully hold up tonight.
About 6:30, Desert Flower and a hiker we haven't met before, James, showed up and decided to cowboy camp as well.  Winds are about 30 mph sustained with gusts in the 40+ range.  Went to bed about 8:00, the earliest night on the trail.

8 comments:

  1. So many kind trail angels! Beautiful views and looks like good weather despite the winds. I checked the Paradise Valley Cafe website - they have tiramisu! Alyssa and I wish we were there.

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  2. Because I'm at work, it's using my work email and doesn't identify me, but you know who I am!

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  3. Look at all those lovely rocks - and using them with good ol' Yankee ingenuity as Amama would say. #askmichael "why are switchbacks dreadful"? and #askmichael "what IS the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you"? Heavenly photos! xo

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    1. Switchbacks typically indicate steep terrain, so it's usually a more difficult/exhausting part of the trail. The answer I gave to the other question was when we were in Italy, a stranger showed us where the leaning tower of Pisa was when we were lost and wouldn't accept any money for it

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  4. That was a great example of kindness from a stranger. We had timed tickets and we were running out of time, and he went out of his way to help us.

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  5. I was going to ask the same question as Wendy about the kindness of strangers - that was a notable time! Such an interesting idea to have those kinds of questions lined up for other hikers.
    Love the last photo especially.

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