3.28.2018 …. Day 4

As yesterday came to a close, Laura and I talked about what would have been today’s distance. We agreed that 15 miles seemed doable. Unfortunately as we both stretch out, Laura felt a minor pop in her ankle. As this morning came, she wasn’t feeling super confident about it. I slowly packed up and she lingered a few hours to give her ankle some time to heal. Emily came over to say good bye to me as she had to stick around for her sleeping bag still. It was kinda sad saying good bye but I hope to see them in the next few days. I packed my bag, gave them both a big hug and walked out thinking I was starting the day solo. I said goodbye to Tom, the manager at Mt. Laguna Lodge Store who graciously opened early for the hikers, and then promptly ran into Noah.

I think the easiest thing about being out here is meeting people. One look at a hiker and you instantly want to know their name, where they are headed for the day, where they camped at last night and where they are from. Noah has already done 5 miles before I met him today at 830am. He’s from Germany taking a break from college where he’s studying mechanical engineering. We managed to hike 5 miles together before catching up with a few others; Paul & Chris and then wouldn’t you know it another Pasta sighting. Dani from Oregon caught up with on break and she and I finally got a chance to share life stories. Pasta took off on his fast pace and I think I caught one last glimpse of him on Trail but that was it.

The 5 of us pushed toward Mile 56 which is where I currently am able to write this from. I didn’t feel like “cooking” so I had my first Trail meal of pepperoni, cheese, and flour tortillas. Thankfully Laura had shared a bit of her excess food with me before I left Mt. Laguna this morning. Thanks for the tortillas!

We were eventually joined by the SOS crew, other wise know as Sam, Olivia and Stephanie. I don’t know how Olivia is even standing straight. She’s got some serious blisters.

As far as how I’m feeling, my moral is good. I have some pain in my right knee that I’m hoping to keep at bay. I’ve been stretching at stops and slowing on the descents. It’s nothing I haven’t felt before so I’m just hoping it’ll get better before it gets worse. I know taking most of yesterday off really was a good thing for the muscles so I will plan a “zero” day soon. Zero day is a complete rest day–hopefully in a cool town. But other than that my feet are stellar. My pack feels fine. I’m starting to remember where I’ve put things in my pack as it seems that nothing is ever where I first look. I don’t know how many bags I have of “things” or how many “things” are in those bags… I just know that they are there.

Of course, minutes after sitting down to eat here I broke my cellphone screen protector. It’ll be fine a for few days but that was a bit of a bummer. If that’s the worst of my day, I’d say I’m doing pretty good.

As i close, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has been following me thus far. The messages are ever so thoughtful. Tomorrow could be another 20 mile day. Dani and I may get up early and attempt to make it to Scissors Crossing. From there we would get a ride into Julian. She’s battling some foot/knee problems so we are pretty much happy going a bit slower tomorrow. There’s not much for water after mile 60 in the morning and the weather should be warmer since we’re at a lower altitude again. So we will plan for the 20miler and hope for the best. Until tomorrow… Happy Trails.