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Day 7: no shower for me

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(Header photo by J)
Day 7
Miles: 19
Third gate water cache to Warner Springs

Woke up cosy and snug next to a juniper tree. A little too cosy – it’s already late. J and I don’t get started until nine. We’d like to make it to Warner Springs tonight, and it’s 19 miles away. That would be my second longest hiking day ever, the day after my first longest. Time to get started either way. First I have to put on my torture devices shoes. I’ve got tired feet.

Not long after starting, we finally turn a corner that takes on onto the north face of the San Felipe hills. The view we had all yesterday is replaced, and the plants change too. We’re back in scrub. Beaver tail cacti are up here too though, and every corner you turn there’s a cactus exploding in incandescent pink bloom. The view is much greener to the north.
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Day 6: twenty miles

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Day 6
Miles: 20
Mile 71 (anza borrego) to mile 91 (san felipe hills)

J is telling me to wake up – it’s morning. I’m totally stiff – I don’t think I moved once the entire night. Our little campsite is calm and quiet. We’ve got some miles to make.

The trail has taken us through the hills of Anza Borrego state park, then traversed across their north face. Today we’ll need to finish the traverse, cross the valley, then head back up the San Felipe hills. We can see the switchbacks from here. There are no water sources in reach today. There are two water caches, but last I heard the scissors crossing water cache was no longer being maintained, and I don’t know much about the other. J and I still have nearly nine liters apiece, so we’ll be fine regardless, but we’re starting out heavy. I feel very grounded, as in, pressed into the ground.
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Day 5: (almost) blown away

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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.

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Day 4: Flower fields forever

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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: first trees

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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.

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Day 0: the beach

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Day: 0
Miles: 0

Speeding through night towards San Diego, J said, “So don’t hate me, but would you entertain the idea of not starting hiking tomorrow, and taking a beach day instead?”

I instantly hated the idea. Another day of STILL not starting? Then my exhaustion punched me in the face and told me to come to my senses.

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