I was in a deep sleep when Ivy came up and started meowing outside our tent to wake us up. I was so disoriented that I said we’d be ready in 5 minutes. Bunny, ready, 5 minutes, impossible…I said I was disoriented. I slept good when I slept but I didn’t sleep long. All last year on the AT (you should know the rules by now) I never got sick. Not one time. This year, I’ve developed a cold or I have the worst allergies I’ve ever had. I was sneezing and clearing my throat most of the night. Add in getting up to pee three times and I had banner night of disturbing Bunny since everything I do is specifically for that purpose. I do remember a hoot owl outside our tent, that’s two nights in a row. After 6 nights I’ll be riding Wildfire.
We met inside of Terrie’s house to get ready to have breakfast at the gas station. We assumed Wolf was long gone, but he popped back in as we were getting ready to leave. He was all packed up and had already eaten breakfast. Terrie took him back to the trail while we went to eat. She then dropped by the gas station to save us the walk back. We ended up talking with her and The Bobcat until almost 9.
The Bobcat got divorced 7 years ago and gave up her corporate job as a geologist in order to do what she loves—hiking. At first, she went to India to learn how to be a yoga instructor from a 102 year old yogi, but when she got back, she found out about the PCT. Instead of making a living as a yoga instructor, she hiked the PCT, then bought a pickup truck which she now lives out of. Her new love is desert hiking, but not the PCT kind with trails. That would be too easy. She likes to pick her own path. She was very interesting to talk to.
When we were ready to go, Terrie got a picture of us in front of the 2019 sheet which we had all signed. To make sure she gets good expressions on the hikers faces, she moons everyone just as the photo is snapped. We’ll need to find the Casa de Luna Facebook Page to seeBunny’s gaping mouth! Terrie then drove us back to the trailhead and hugged us all goodbye. We felt like little kids going off to school. I’m still amazed by her generosity and genuine concern for all hikers.
The trail was really desert conditions today. It was hot and dry. We all broke out our umbrellas for a while in the heat of the day when the winds were low. It only reached 75 degrees F, but it was miserably hot in the full sun. Wolf had wanted us all to be on the trail by 7 to beat the heat, but “homey don’t do that” early morning shit.
Ivy walked with us all day, but we couldn’t keep with her on the big uphills. The first climb, she had good enough cell signal to arrange to get a heavier puffy jacket sent to her. The second big climb in the early afternoon full sun, found Bunny and me about beaten down. If we hadn’t come to a natural spring on the side of the hill, we’d have been done for. At that point, we had less than 1/2 liter of water between us and we were both overheated. We camelled up on water and cooled off. It took us a good 45 minutes to be able to face the sun again.
In the mean time, Ivy waited at the top of the climb for an hour and a half for us to catch up. She thought we must have taken a wrong turn and started to come back to look for us. She stayed with us the rest of the way worried that the geriatric couple was done for. It was fun explaining all the entertainment she has missed in her life. I named at least 50 movies everyone should know and she hadn’t seen any of them. The internet will be the end of trivial pursuit.
The final four miles of walking was a bit more of what we were hoping to encounter—alpine pine forests with plenty of shade. We were amazed with some of the largest pine cones we had ever seen under some not very big pine trees. These things are so big they would knock you out if 5hey fell on your head.
Wolf had already been in camp for a couple hours by the time we arrived. He had set up his tent, found water, eaten, and scouted out the area all before we showed up. I was hurting pretty bad for the last couple of miles. This year, I am blessed with a series of ailments when I’m hiking. When the pain in one area gets too bad, I try to focus on a different one so I can keep going. All day long I was able to shift focus between: my sunburnt legs, my aching left foot, my right heel, my stuffed sinuses, and my chafed legs. Life has blessed me with plenty of distractions to keep me going.
We set up camp and did all the usual camp chores: fetch water, cook, organize food. To save time because we were so late this evening, Bunny agreed that I could skip her foot massage and pedicure tonight. She was worried about me being able to get enough sleep so I can wake up in time to fix her breakfast in bed. My Bunny watches out for me. Oh, the hoot howl is already hooting for the third night in a row outside our tent. I was very disturbed when Ivy told me it meant I was going to die on the sixth night. If this keeps up, I’ll have to carry a gun on the trail, after all, to kill owls.
EFG