Sunday: I left the Saufleys and got picked up by Bill, a man who Monkeys father is friends with. He took us to REI, the grocery store, then finally his beautiful home where he allowed us to shower, swim, eat, and sleep! It was the last zero day that I needed for my foot to recover well enough for me to hike again. Even if my foot hadn't still been a frankinfoot I'm pretty confident I would have found some other excuse to take the day off and enjoy soda and Thai food! Bill offered us good company and a warm bed to sleep in and offers like that never go unappreciated, especially on the trail.
By the time Monday morning came most of the blisters on my foot had reduced themselves to a manageable size. I was able to bandage it up and stuff it in my shoe. Although, I had to change the bandages multiple times a day purely due to the gross factor of the open sores.
Monday: Bill drove us back to the trail Monday morning and agreed to mail out some fuel canisters I needed sent to some resupply points (which was a huge help!). I was on the trail and hiking by 7am. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to hike very far but I ended up covering 20 PCT miles. The weather was mild. I enjoyed the clouds and humid air for a change and even took my lunch/nap in the sun (it was only about 70 yesterday). There was a very nice view in the morning after I had gotten to the top of a climb where the clouds were underneath the ridge line and it looked like I was standing above a giant, white, and fluffy down sleeping bag. It made me want to curl up in my sleeping bag and sleep the rest of the afternoon. Camp spot for last night was tucked in by some bushes under the full moon. There was no need for a head lamp at all last night. I actually spent quite a bit of time looking at the moons reflection off the sleeping bag clouds that were still hanging around.
Tuesday (today): I didn't start packing my things up until 8:30 or 9 this morning. I knew I was 4 miles from a road where I could hitch to a trail angles house and I wasn't sure if I was going to get sucked in for the night or not. Turns out not. They had couches and what felt like a whole living room set up in their front yard with coolers of soda and beer. They also had a rock painting area where hikers were taking pieces of big rocks and decorating them with anything they wanted to be added to a mural. I hung around the front porch of their house for a bit before going to the cafe for lunch, which was a wonderful surprise. I didn't know there was a cafe in that tiny little town and if I had I do suppose I would have gotten my ass out of bed before 9am! After lunch I filled my water bottles and got a ride back to the trail. I hiked another 11 miles putting me at 15 for the day and a total of 489.9.
The last 4 miles of the day were pretty interesting because I got to play in some caves that lead down into the mountain that were on the side of the trail. I didn't stay to hang out too late there because it was starting to get dark and cold. Tonight its remarkably cold and windy. In about 30 miles when I hit the desert floor of the Mojave I'm sure I'll be wishing for the cold and wind.
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