Friday June 15th: last night (Thursday) I saw my first trail skunk! I saw something moving and looked over to see the source of the noise. My initial thought was that it was a bear. I had entered bear area that morning and was on the lookout all day yesterday. Turns out it was just a skunk moseying his way around my camp. I left him alone. He left me alone. We were both happy.
This morning I hiked 6 miles to the first water source. During that 6 miles I entered Sequoia National Forrest, saw baby ducklings scurrying along the trail trying to avoid my step, saw a brown bears ass after it had just climbed down from a tree, heard many grouse, saw butterflies mating, saw three cows, and was scared to death by an unknown noise that I'm assuming was a bear wanting me to leave his home as soon as possible....I needed no convincing. It was just 5 miles after I entered Sequoia that I exited it and found myself back in the barren waste land of the desert. For 5 tiny miles I got to walk amongst trees....trees (sigh).
At mile 9 today I discovered what appeared to be a murky, swamp like body of water, and a Baboon swimming in it! It wasn't long before I joined him in the task of cooling and 'cleaning' myself off. You know your in the desert when a murky, swamp like pool of water not only meets the acceptable requirements of a swimming hole but exceeds them. I also bottled up some of that very water, added my treatment, and drank it up as I hiked another 11 miles to my camp spot for tonight. Todays miles = 20. I have no complaints about my home for this evening. I'm perched up on a mountain with a 360 view of more mountains (barren and desert though they may be), watching the setting sun shine its red and orange rays into the clouds. I have water. I have a full belly. I know this evenings code word for if a bear is invading our camp....
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