10 miles
We woke up this morning to the call of the wild, turkeys that is. They are the resident Lake Moreno turkeys. We were able to meet up with our fellow hikers that we didn't get to see last night. We even got a great cup of coffee courtesy of Matt, who slept in his parents trailer for the night. We talked a while, walked to the store down the road, bought soda and candy bars, then hit the trail.
Shortly into the morning, Mark just wasn't feeling well. He thought he might have a cold. When we hit the Cottonwood bridge, we knew we had to hitch back to Campo to get him some Dayquill. It was our last chance to get to a store for a while. After sticking our thumbs out, 6 cars went by before one pulled over. The driver was a very nice women who said she never stops for hitch hikers, but figured that if a hiker was hitching, there could be a problem so she stopped for us. She brought us to the store and back to the bridge again. We are so appreciative for the ride. I'm really sorry we can't remember your name, but your face and what you did for us will forever be in our hearts.
Today seemed to be a day of struggle, Mark wasn't feeling good, and we had the endless climb up to Kitchen Creek. I gave some Emergence C to Mark (this is a electrolyte powder we carry just for such a time) and it gave him the energy to continue on. Just as we were getting ready to find a camp, Joe from Wisconsin caught up to us, and finished the day with us. We were glad for the company.
At Kitchen Creek road, there is a turn out that was flat and sandy. It looked like a great place to camp. But Joe wasn't satisfied to camp at the road, so we started looking for a better site in the area. I'm sure glad we did! We ended up above the road well camouflaged by some bushes and a little ways off the trail.
At about midnight, a car pulled into the turnout, the people started slamming the doors, and locking and unlocking them. They then left shortly thereafter. Then at 2:00 am, another truck pulled into the turnout just at the same time Mark was taking a potty break with his headlamp on. They turned their lights on our tents, and we were holding our breath that they didn't see us. Who knows what they would have done if they had seen us. The other thought was that they might have been border patrol, which would have turned out better for us. It turns out that they didn't see us, and as they left we breathed a sigh of relief, and brief prayer of thankfulness, and fell back to sleep.
Word of the day: Struggle
Hope Mark continues to feel better. You both are turning in good miles for the start, just remember it is a long hike, take the breaks you need when you need them. Look forward to seeing how your adventure progresses and will continue to pray for your strength and safety. Enjoy the beauty and the time together.
ReplyDeleteHang in there Mark hope your feeling better quickly (^;
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, the experience you had in the middle of the night is what I'm most worried about (I'm probably just blocking fears of starving, freezing or dehydrating to death, lol). Encounters with random cars,trucks, and rambunctious non-hikers on the trail seem to be more prevalent in Southern California, as opposed to other areas of the trail, don't they?
ReplyDelete-Katherine
I can't wait to read Mark and Linda's version of the encounter that we had together on day 3 of their hike. I used to hike but haven't for years, but asked my buddy Ramblin Rich if i could join him for a 40 mile section. One morning (day 3 of their hike) I passed a couple at a turnout and didn't feel like talking and continued on. Hours later we were taking a break and a few hikers stopped also as they came across our little gathering. Mark is a great storyteller and soon enough starts talking about other hiking years and i hear him say something about the PCT in 99. Meanwhile Linda has already said that I looked familiar. 5 minutes go by and I remember that I hiked with my buddy Sly in 99, so I say, "Do you know Sly?" Faces brighten and say, "Oh yeah! - we hiked with him a lot in 99...who are you?" I say, "Im Bulldog" and they say, "Bulldog! We know you - we took your car to the next trailhead and the next year we came to your house in Philly!" I can only imagine the look on my face (confusion?) because I did not remember ANY of this...but as they told me some stories (ask Mark sometime about the Liberty Bell and his attempt at getting a haircut in my old neighborhood) the clouds in my head lifted and I was able to remember bits and pieces from 14 years ago. It was a pretty wild conversation.
ReplyDeleteThey are both in good spirits and having a good hike. Some sunburn. I saw them again at Mt. Laguna where the thru hikers seemed to multiply. It's a fun group to be around and I wish I was out there. I'll check back here often and see them when they get close to Tahoe in the summer months. It was great seeing Legasorus and Pocahontas.