A Romp Through the West
Day 8
Miles: 5
May 9, 2014
Warner Springs to Agua Caliente Creek (mile 115)
Cowboy camping turned out to not be a great idea. It was barely dark when we got hit with a heavy dew – the tops of our sleeping bags felt drenched, but it was too late to fix it and too late to care. I slept badly. My feet ached so badly that they woke me up all night. (Although that meant that I woke up to the milky way glimmering overhead – squinting through sleep to appreciate it, just for a moment.)
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Day 5
Miles: 16
Mile 55 to mile 71
The tarp is so low that it smacks me in the face as it whips in the wind. It makes it hard to forget that there are gale force winds outside, although it is surprisingly calm inside. I pull my quilt over my head and try to sleep.
It’s an uneasy night for the both of us. When we both wake up in the middle of the night, one of the corner guylines has snapped and the ridgeline is sagging. Like a true hero, J goes out to fix it. I’m surprised it’s still standing.
Day 4
Miles: 12
May 5, 2014
Mt laguna to 12 miles from mt laguna (mile 55)
Waking up is tough, just like during the rest of my life. But I’m feeling surprisingly good. I spend 20 minutes babying my feet, lancing blisters and the such, and soon it’s time to get going. I think these gel insoles might be a game changer.
Like a bunch of amateurs, we left our food bag sitting on the table overnight. Now I have huge holes in my food bag and we’ve lost half the bagel chips. I spend a while trying to mend it, but J is super antsy so we head out. We stop by the Mt Laguna outdoor supply store one more time on our way out. Dave says there’s a wind advisory out, winds of up to 85 mph(!) possible tonight, and warns us against camping on several of the campsites marked on the Halfmile maps.
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Day 3
Miles: 11
Cibbetts flat campground to Mt Laguna
I feel completely exposed – J and I are lying on a groundsheet in the middle of a campground, surrounded by people coming out of their tents and RVs. We’re not really that close to them, but it’s like having people in your bedroom. I turn over on my air mattress. “Is it time? ” I ask J.
“Yeah, I guess we’ll do this. Are we gonna be bandits?” he replies.
“Sure.”
We start getting ready to sneak out of the campground. We’d meant to walk the extra 1/4 mile last night, so we wouldn’t be in the fee campground, but just couldn’t make it. Our “sneaking out” is somewhat leisurely – I’m just not moving very fast.
Day 2
Miles: 18.4
Hauser Creek to Cibbetts Flat Campground
I have all these things I meant to write but it’s the end of the day and I’m just a muddle of exhaustion. A muddle puddle of tired tired tired.
I wake up to easy morning light, J next to me. All around us are beautiful little campspots, but it seems like J and I managed to pick the ugliest one. The only flat spot on it was infested with the biggest ants I’ve ever seen (and I lived in the Amazon for two years) so we set up on the steep side. We’re a couple feet from where we started last night. I feel – cautiously optimistic. I rebandage my blisters and it’s time to go.
5/2/2014
Day 1
Miles: 15
I’m a flustered mess. I’ve been searching in my pile of stuff for some toothpaste for nearly an hour and everyone is waiting. I finally throw in a different tube and we all head out. “Why is your backpack dripping,” asks my sister. “Uh, it shouldn’t be,” I say as I swing it down. The culprit seems to be an untightened lid on my camelbak, but during the inspection I discover a small hole in the bottom of my pack. “G, seriously, get it together” I think. Then I realize I can’t find my sarong but it’s time to go.
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