May 6 Mileage 0 Before bed I tell the others that I'm not hiking out in the morning; I want to take a zero. I'm tired, unimaginably so, in every part of my body. Ever since my epic dehydration I've felt awful, and I've been dragging myself down the trail. I haven't taken a zero … Continue reading Day 12: zero never felt so good
Day 11: Big Bearrrrr
May 5 Mileage 17.5 Mile 248.5 to mile 266 I sleep so good in the cold and wake up to the pale dawn rising through the trees. I'm eating a leisurely breakfast of sunflower seeds and broken tortilla chips when TwinkleToes, Sherrif Woody and McButter walk up. "So, ah, you taking an on-trail zero?" says … Continue reading Day 11: Big Bearrrrr
Day 10: draggin ass in the heat
May 4 Mileage 28 Mile 220.5 to mile 248.5 Heat wave/the desert can be fucking brutal. Climbing for 20 miles, from one thousand feet up to eight thousand feet. I cross paths with two angry rattlesnakes, one horny toad. I feel awful all day. Water tastes bad, I'm not really peeing, eating makes me naseous. … Continue reading Day 10: draggin ass in the heat
Day 9: the closest I’ve ever come to a helicopter ride
May 3 Mileage 25 Mile 195.5 to mile 220.5 I sleep bad, wind coming and going, first hot then cold, wake up for the last time at 5 a.m. with the others and stuff my things away, golden light burning just over the edge of the dark world. I'm thirsty, but my gatorade bottles are … Continue reading Day 9: the closest I’ve ever come to a helicopter ride
Day 8: magical pine forests and long, long descents
May 2nd Mileage 18.5 (16 + 2.5 on the devil's slide trail) Mile 179.6 to mile 195.5 Woke and dragged myself from the warm soft bed, shoved my things away, ate a bag of salt and vinegar chips for breakfast. Discovered that I'd left my trekking poles at paradise valley cafe- luckily a very nice … Continue reading Day 8: magical pine forests and long, long descents
Day 7: It is ideal to be idle in Idyllwild
May 1 Mileage 13 (12 plus 1 mile roadwalk to paradise cafe) Mile 140 to mile 152 I had my first good night's sleep on a warm, cracked cistern beneath the dusty stars. At dawn I rose to fill my gatorade bottles with tannin-colored rain water drawn from the cistern with a bucket- bits of … Continue reading Day 7: It is ideal to be idle in Idyllwild
Day 6: would you rather
April 30 Mileage 25 Mile 115 to mile140 Today I was walking through the desert with TwinkleToes and McButter. The sun was directly overhead, the air was hot and still with the occasional burst of dry, irritating wind. My feet were on fire- stuffed like swollen stumps into my dusty shoes, aching with heat and … Continue reading Day 6: would you rather
Day 5: sun, sand and stabby plants
April 29 Mileage 25 (24 + 1 mile to the post office) mile 91 to mile 115 It was warm last night at the third gate cache and I slept with my sleeping bag over me like a quilt, the little night creatures doing their things all around me, the stars dull from light pollution … Continue reading Day 5: sun, sand and stabby plants
Day 4: wherein the desert becomes desert-like again
April 28 Mileage 24 (23 plus 1 for water) Mile 68 to mile 91 I can't believe that I forgot that the first part of the trail is hard. I seem to have had total amnesia about that. This shit is HARD. In the first part of the trail you're transitioning from fluffy city person … Continue reading Day 4: wherein the desert becomes desert-like again
Day 3: me duele la pierna
April 27 Mileage 20 Mile 48 to mile 68 My leg fucking hurt today, y'all. The trail has a way of crushing your ego, of reminding you how small you are. Of humbling you. When I started this trail all of three days ago I thought I was hot shit- I was all WOOHOO HIKE … Continue reading Day 3: me duele la pierna
CARROT QUINN 
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