Day 38: McIver Spring – The Walk

Miles traveled: 25.5

Mile marker: 645

I woke up at 11:11 pm, fumbling for my backpack, panicking because the mice had taken over it. I took off the fleece and tossed and turned while trying to go back to sleep.

Stars exploded in the night sky, a million sparkles shining in the darkness.

My alarm goes off at 4:15 am

I’m tired.

Oh ok. It’s time to get moving.

It’s still dark outside. The half moon provides enough light to gather some of my things.

I have to put the shoe on three times because I feel like something is itchy. It’s exactly 5:00 when I’m ready.

The road climbs slightly as the skies open early in the morning. It’s dark outside. The clouds look as if someone took a paintbrush and ran it across the sky, sending the brush upward like a feather. It’s a dusty pink.

The Joshua trees are silhouetted in the gloom. I feel like I’m walking along a sandy path at the bottom of the ocean. A cool breeze blows my hair across my forehead. Gently blow on the plants. The succulent-like grass silently dances with the wind, resembling the tug-of-war of the ocean.

The trail curves and a large wall curves upward. It makes me feel like I’m underwater and the ocean wall is covered in coral.

Joshua trees look like octopus tentacles, only with needles on the end.

The sky turns orange. The sun appears above the tree line as a ball of golden fire.

«It’s really funny to see that,» Lucie says. «I feel like I’m in Africa. Like I could turn my head and there would be a giraffe right there.»

It also looks like Africa.

«I can’t get anywhere!» Dad says. «I’m going to stay here for a while.» He climbs a rock to look at the sky.

Large rock formations appear that remind me of the area of ​​rocks we passed through at the beginning of the trail.

Three-tiered bushes of dusty purple flowers surround the path. Spindles of lavender tentacles protrude from them.

We catch the others. Joshua trees are everywhere! One is so big and wild that it looks like a jungle gym.

The bumper waits ahead at a fence crossing. It is hidden and looks like a string puppet.

«What is your name?» He says as I stand in front of him.

«Tailwind.»

«Where are you going?»

«Canada.»

“What animal roams the PCT?”

I think of the poster with news about animals in danger of extinction. «Tortoise.»

«Okay, you can come in,» he says.

The sky is bright blue and clouds cover it everywhere.

We climbed a kilometer-long hill. The sand swallows my feet as I take a step. The wind blows and what would be a very hot day cools down.

We arrive at our water tank. There are a lot of water jugs lined up. I step over the hikers hiding in the shade and fill my water. I cross the dirt road and sit next to Dad in the shade.

I take off my shoes and empty them. There’s enough rubble here to make a sandcastle! My alligator had a hole the size of a shirt button. It has now grown to the size of a quarter.

We will soon begin the 3.5 mile climb. It’s a constant climb. A mud-green snake with a yellow stripe at the bottom slithers across the path. It is only a foot long and the width of a fat piece of spaghetti.

Dad and I pause to watch it. We haven’t seen that before. Earlier we saw a large beetle with a red head: the soldier blister beetle. I wonder what it feels like to be bitten by one of those things. Dad hadn’t seen them before and this is his sixth time hiking this section of the trail!

Finally, near the top, we see our group, and Rafiki! I hide behind a broken log and eat lunch while shaking the ants out of my backpack. Savannah eats a pulled pork and peanut butter tortilla followed by off-brand Nutella. Rafiki laughs at her all the time, calling him an omelet of sadness.

Soon we will be on our way again. It is lined with pine trees and bushes. I see a rock formation in the distance that looks like an orangutan.

Only ten miles left!

We walked in line through the forest. There are pine trees on both sides for miles. I listen to music and lead the group for a while. The wind blows against my ears. Soon, the group disbands. I continue on a dirt road. My FarOut app says this is the correct way. I follow him for a while.

A giant smiley face drawn in the sand tells me Dad was here!

My feet are very tired. It hurts to walk on this compact sand! I’m dragging myself forward for what seems like an eternity.

I turn around and find Savannah approaching.

«Hey!» say.

«Hey! I wanted to run, but Bumper didn’t want to. He’s behind me somewhere, not too happy that I’m going fast.»

She keeps going. Bumper and I ended up walking the trail together.

We’re finally here in spring! This is just a pipe with water coming out of it. Rafiki is lying in the cabin. The rest of us ruined their party. I make dinner: potatoes with a LOT of seasoning for beef stew. I hope my stomach can handle that. I already had to dig two cat holes.

I am absolutely exhausted. I stare at my mat for a few minutes before asking Dad about the mice in the cabin.

«It should be fine,» he says. «Just hang up your bag.»

I talk to a guy named LeapFrog while I eat dinner. We talked about what brought us here. His children are a little younger than me.

I’m going to rinse my things in the water. When I climb the makeshift step, which is a grate, I fall forward and almost fall into the water. The dirt covers my entire foot.

I’m freezing when I get to the cabin. Doing my nightly chores seems to take forever. Dad was supposed to sleep here, but his space was taken, so he went camping somewhere else. I’m a little upset about that. I don’t like being kicked out of my place because of other people.

I offered to hit people who did that to him, but he politely refused.

He also refused to be reprimanded for him.

So I guess tonight is another night to not panic about mice. Last night, Poppy and Seaby had some trouble with the mice: they chewed on the handles of their trekking poles and the shoulder straps of their backpack.

Other than that, I ate too much salt in my dinner and took it with a liter of water. Hopefully I don’t have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

If I do, I’ll just scare away the mice.

There are five of us squeezed into this cabin. The counters on the sides of the cabin hold our shoes and all our backpacks hang like slaughtered pigs hanging to drain.

Horrible image, I know. Yet they are all hanging there! There are soda cans on the ropes that hold them from the package to the ceiling. Mice can’t crawl on cans!

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. The daily kilometers have been greater than expected. Dad says this trail is 20 miles a day. I wish I had done that at this stage, but at least I know I can go far.

Plus, we’ll be out of the desert soon! I’m ready for it. Today is the last day I will see the bushes. I was sad for a moment, then I went up into the hills and remembered that the heat and the hills make for a difficult day.

Soon the desert will be behind me! So long, overgrown bushes!