Miles traveled: 22
Mile marker: 307.9
As many early mornings begin, mine begins with a dream, which I confused with reality.
In the dream, Dad was trying to get my attention in my store. I think I was going to keep walking or something.
Now, back to reality, it’s midnight. I take out my earplugs to listen to Dad, even though it was a dream. My mat seems deflated. But there’s no way it’s deflated! Rafiki and I patched it yesterday.
I fall asleep and wake up a little later, I look at the time and it’s only 3:30 am! Oh, and my earplugs aren’t in. I took them off because I talked to dad in the dream.
It’s 5:00 am and it’s very cold. Last night the temperature dropped to 26 degrees. Everything I can do from my store, I do. Excluding making some coffee.
I try to roll up my sleeping mat, but I’m kneeling on the rocks under the tent and the rocks are pressing on my knees. I try to turn my mat over to fold it and end up dragging my head across the ceiling of my little tent. I’m getting a bigger one at Wrightwood and can’t wait!
When I leave my tent, it’s even colder and my fingers itch as I try to pack my suitcase. Dad urges me to move quickly while he stands, frozen, waiting for me. I almost had my bag ready before his, but we have to prepare the morning coffee.
We set off, with cold hands stuffed in our pockets. Dad steps forward, something my feet won’t allow me to do right now.
«How did you sleep?» I ask Rafiki.
«Horrible,» he says. «My ass was freezing. There was a frozen cockroach in my hat. I didn’t sleep from 11 to 5!»
Well, at least I slept better than Rafiki.
We see dad under the sun’s rays. He is looking at a crow in a tree. «How did you sleep?» he asks Rafiki.
«Oh. Great,» Rafiki says with playful sarcasm. «I had a drink in my comfortable chair by the fireplace.»
“With a hot chocolate,” I add.
«With hot chocolate,» Rafiki says. «I invited the neighbors over to play charades. Then they went home and I had my drink. Then I went to bed and froze my ass off.»
I laugh out loud into the glass. I called this story “The Rafiki Saga.”
A chipmunk is perched high in a burned tree. We stared at him for a moment. In Idyllwild there were squirrels with big bushy gray tails everywhere. We see so many chipmunks now!
We continue along the dirt and stone path. Rafiki is somewhere behind us. Dad and I chat about how he spends his time here on the road. It’s going faster down the road now than last time.
I share my theories about novel experiences and neural pathways. We discussed the dopamine effect of being on the road.
An older hiker walks along our path. Dad and I step aside with a «Good morning!»
The man does not respond. Another man walks towards us. «Good morning! How did you sleep?» Dad asks.
The man growls. “Last night it was 38 degrees,” he complains.
Thank goodness he didn’t sleep where we slept.
Our dirt road crosses rock paths. We come out onto a road and Dad says, «Last time I was here, there were rock crawlers coming up here. We were standing there looking at it.»
The boulders the rock crawler. Above them (a vehicle designed to go over BIG rocks) they are at least the size of my tent. Enormous! I’d love to see that!
We walked for a while in a climate that was warm in the sun but cool in the shade, like yesterday. Rafiki and I walked together for a while. My mind is on burgers. There’s supposed to be a really good burger place soon! We bump into Denis and he gives us some details.
We arrive at the river where dad and Denis are waiting for us. Sad news. The burger joint? We have to walk a mile and a half down the road and then we call the place and they will pick us up.
Nobody feels like going three more miles.
Instead, Dad tells us about some rock crawling and a fun jump in the water. Let’s go this way.
The rock climbing is atrocious. I fear for my life as I crawl across the rocks, trying not to fall into the river, or worse yet, break my leg in half trying to move from one rock to another.
The branches are curved. They grab my oversized backpack as I push forward. Sometimes they push me back.
We’re finally here! It’s a race to the water, but Connor is already there like a pro. I slide and scream.
This is ice! I’m basically on an iceberg! I walk a little deeper, I run out of breath and my feet sink into the sand.
Well. I’m done.
Previously, there was a rope with which you could climb the ledge. Now there is no rope. None of us want to climb up a rock wall with stones just below it.
Denis comes down, so I go back in and bury my head underneath. When I go out, it’s much hotter.
I go out and start eating tuna and Cheezits for lunch. Denis is next, screaming like an alarm clock as he enters.
Next: Friend.
He screams too and I can’t stop laughing as he screams like a little girl (as he says, not me).
Soon we will all be having lunch. Rafiki and I are squeezed next to each other, trying to stay warm.
Dad walks ahead over the rocks to wash his socks. We soon follow him and Rafiki helps me cross the rocks since I am very afraid of making a wrong step.
I made it alive on the rocks! We walked along the crest of a hill for a long, long time. It’s hot now, under the sun. My foot hurts when I step on the heel and the pad of my foot hurts.
It continues like this for miles and miles.
After about eight miles of this, we came to a river where Dad is. Two options: stay here or go to the hot springs. You have good campsites here. The hot springs are just two miles away. But you may have norovirus.
I choose to stay.
Rafiki says goodbye to me. I immediately feel like I’m missing out. I know they will have a lot of fun in the hot springs. And I’ll be here in daylight. Sitting on a rock.
I express this to dad and he says we should go if I want.
I set up my tent (it was set up) and head in that direction. Dad tells me about the trail that approaches the Sierras.
We arrived at the hot springs! The ants crawl on our things but I press on toward the hot springs with other hikers.
I grimace as the hot water scorches my skin. My legs burn as I slowly slide towards the hot springs. It is a small pool of water in the corner of the big river. On the dirty steps there are slimy algae and about ten little bees. I make sure to avoid them.
Bumper, another hiker I’ve seen out there, gives me a potential name for the trail, Tailwind, because I said I hike with my dad’s tailwind, which is why people think I’m so fast.
I have dinner with some of the hikers (Truls from Norway, Lucie from the Czech Republic, and Bumper from Vermont) and then head to my tent for bed. We got some good miles today!
