Day 41

May 26, 2014
Mile 347 – mile 357
10 miles total

My tent in the morning.

My alarm goes off but I ignore it. I know it’s going to be hot today so I get up at 5:30am and pack up my stuff. Lapis is already gone and I don’t even see her going up the huge climb in front of me. I wonder what time she left. I get back to the cache with my bag and I fill up a liter of water. Thank you Trail Angels! I look at the register and I don’t see Cody’s handwriting anywhere. I know he was sick some time around Wrightwood so he may have gotten a ride from Cajon Pass and skipped this section.
I see Snake Eyes and Dimples messages but I don’t see Cowboy or Wyoming’s. Odd, I figured they would be about two days ahead. I picked up my heavy bag with five liters of water and head toward this big (I mean big) hill in front of me. Ain’t no crying for this girl today. I’m strong and I can get through this.
The first two hours of going up this ascent was cake. I was sweating A LOT but I can deal with that. Afterward my legs are turning into lead. I don’t feel tired but my body has turned into the heaviest thing ever and it feels like I’m trying to move through jello. I get frustrated but trek on. It’s starting to get hot but I’m determined to continue. I’m taking breaks in shady spots but they are always short because flies, gnats and bitsy bugs follow this pig pen around like I’m something tasty. I assume ally sweat is creating a microclimate that attracts them. And the smell of rotting garbage that makes up my hiker perfume.
At 11am I feel a slow dribble crawl down from my nostril to my lip and I think it’s snot so I wipe it on my buff. I look down and it’s blood. Dammit! Another nose bleed. I’m afraid I might be overheated so I look around for any shade so I can cool off to make sure this nose bleed doesn’t last an hour like Mt. Laguna. I see no shade so I sit in the middle of the trail, my buff pressed against my nose and my sleeping mat over my head. I only sit there for 15 minutes and put my pack back on. I don’t clean my nose in case I restart the bleeding and I hike up and up with red smeared on my face.

Ghostbusters don’t like nose bleeds.

The trail seems to go up forever and I think I might have gotten to the top when I turn a corner and see that I’m no where near the top of the trail. I instantly burst into tears. Guys, I don’t know why I’m in such an emotional turmoil right now but it makes me feel like I’m going crazy. I rarely ever cry in real life but this trail is making me realize I’m a big fat cry baby.

I set my pack down for a moment by a dirt road and three guys in a truck stop next to me. They chat a bit and offer a ride to Wrightwood. I mull it over and I want to end this day so badly but I tell them no and I need to do the trail to town. I pick up my stuff and hike some more.
I find a nice flat spot at noon that I can hide from the sun. As I’m listening to my iPod I eat beef jerky and Welch’s fruit snacks. Pretty boring and I wish I could move but this heat was too much.
At 3:00 I pack up my junk and get 20 feet and declared loudly “Nope!” I sat back down in the shade for another 45 minutes. I met two hikers as I packed up for a second time this afternoon. Billy from England and Silvia from Italy were really nice and we talked about how hot it was.
I looked up the trail and noticed a lot of the trail is shady because it’s later in the day. I feel so much relief at seeing this.

The trail gets harder and the sun sets. I’m hiking with my headlamp in the dark looking for a place to camp. My feet hurt so much I’m making little growling noises with every step. I get to a flat area and see Billy and Silvia. They have their tent set up with a beautiful view of city lights below us.
My attitude perks up as I see them and we discuss water. Billy asks me how much I have and I tell them I have a liter left so I’m good to go.
I set up my tent with the city lights in view and Billy brings over his Platypus full of water. I decline but he insists. He asks if I want to just down it all right here and I tell him I want to take small sips all night so I pour a half liter into my Smart Water bottle. Thank you, thank you Billy and Silvia. I loved that half liter of water like it was the most precious treasure. Man, I was still so thirsty.
The mosquitoes were biting and I couldn’t set my tent up fast enough to get away from them.
I go to bed without eating because all my food needs to be cooked and I wasn’t wasting any of my lovely water on food.