Day 33 - Sunday, May 30

Cowboy camping at Bird Spring Pass (mile 630.8).  Walked 26.4 miles today.

The other hikers in camp started packing up about 4:00 am, but we took a little longer to get up.  Apparently my snoring has gotten worse because I was poked awake in the middle of the night in order to stop me from snoring.  Broke camp at 5:45 am.  First few miles were fantastically easy.

Passed several people and got to the first spring after about 4 miles.  Stopped here even though I had enough water to make it to the next cache, but I wanted to get rid of the questionable cow water from yesterday afternoon.  Headed back to the trail and saw AB and Jedi just ahead of me.

Passed them after a bit and caught up with Frank.  She and I walked and talked for a bit, mostly about our families.

We caught up to Tiger Blood and chatted with her.  While there, Tina Burina caught up.  She's having foot issues and is walking slowly.  AB and Jedi weren't far behind her.  Frank and I set off again and AB caught up to us after a bit.  We chatted  while we walked and then suddenly the pines we had been walking through disappeared and became a scrub desert.  The transition was very quick.  We reached the water cache shortly after 10am meaning this was my second 10x10 day of the trail.  That's when you hike 10 miles before 10:00am (usually this is needed if you want to get in big miles).  Took a short break and got 5 liters of water here.  Frank and I then set off again through this barren wasteland of a desert that has popped up in this section.

Most people are spending time at the water cache to wait out the heat of the day, but we decided to power on.

After about 6 miles we passed JPRO, Forest Gump, and Arugula and a little while later, Frank informed me that we should try to find a place to rest soon because she was feeling cool and had stopped sweating...signs of heat illness.  We went a few more tenths of a mile before magically, a picnic table appeared.  The clouds also rolled in during this time, giving us a bit of shade.  When the sun returned, we got underneath the picnic table for a little while while she recovered.

Eventually, we left the cramped space and sought shade under a Joshua Tree.  During the past few hours, Frank had been looking at the clouds and Wondering if it was going to rain.  As we finished our lunch, a few light rain drops fell and we celebrated in excitement.  A few minutes later, Microbe and her friend who is joining her for 3 weeks on the trail passed us and said they wondered why we were shouting until they felt the rain drops too.  We packed up and followed them up the trail.

Here, the trail changed to soft sand.  The last four miles of the day, including a long uphill section in the sand seemed to go on forever and we're horribly annoying.

Finally we reached the water cache where we found a semi-sheltered site, cooked dinner, listened to some music, did our push-ups, and turned in for the night.  We expected Jedi to catch us, but he hasn't gotten here yet.  We're camped next to an OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) road and there are some Memorial Day fun-seekers driving along, including one who was flying a "Thin Blue Line" flag and blasting Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name.". They've apparently never listened to the lyrics before...  The irony is pretty intense.