What a day! The forecast for this morning was rainy and miserable. After a restless night of sleep, I woke up around 5:45am and forced myself to pack quickly. We had planned a big 18 mile day and I knew the weather wasn’t going to improve anytime soon, so the sooner I got going, the sooner I would get to camp.
With Noah Kahan quietly serenading me in my right earbud, I continued doing my best to stay positive. About 5 miles into my hike, the positivity faded. He was soaked from head to toe.
The rain seeped through my shoes, through my raincoat, through my waterproof pants, so that everything felt cold and numb and wet. I couldn’t move my fingers, but if I stopped to readjust myself, I would somehow feel even colder. The only way out was to pass.
I passed the 100 mile marker today! It was exciting but I was so cold that I couldn’t celebrate for long.
About 10 miles later, the rain began to let up and I reached our first water source of the day. I was still shivering, so I pulled out a hand warmer and had a quick snack. Having warm hands changed my mood for the better. We walked through these golden fields of grass that seemed to shine from the rain. By this time the sun had begun to peek through the clouds and my soaked clothes were beginning to dry. I felt like a new person.
We hiked Eagle Rock, which is a neat formation right next to the trail. It really looks like an eagle!
This morning we were all moving so fast that we arrived at camp around 2:00 pm. I took off my wet shoes and socks immediately and set up my tent to dry in the sun. Since the kids and I arrived at camp so early, we spent the afternoon at the Warner Springs Community Center.
There was fresh fruit, snacks, games, hot drinks and plenty of outlets to charge things. We played scrabble and loaded up on snacks before heading back to camp.
A breakfast burrito will be delivered to me tomorrow morning at the community center. I’m going to check that I have enough food to get to Idyllwild and take a hot shower before covering a few miles.
Fortunately no more rain is forecast.
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