PCT 2015 Day 10: Still Only 5 Days In

• Start: 109.5
• End: 109.5
• Miles: 0
• Camp: Warner Springs Resource Center

Still at Warner Springs. I spent the morning with Glen and Ann in their garden which was very relaxing. I finished the book I borrowed from the a Resource Center, and caught up with the journal. But it was hard to sustain the level of chirpiness you’ve all come to expect from me (no sniggering, you know who you are) because at this point I just want to be hiking. I moved back to the Resource Center at around 2pm with the intention of hiking out super early in the morning, but I’m still in fear of injury. Pam who is the director of the Center is also a registered nurse and has upped my dosage of ibuprofen. In fact, she doubled it from what is recommended on the packet. Thank you, medical professionals.

It was good to catch up with Tom who I first met in San Diego and who has since acquired the trail name Cheney. He had an incident with pepper spray after mistaking it for a water gun. It’s funny and it fits, unlike a lot of the people I’ve met who have adopted trail names in the first 5 days on trail without even having become trail people yet. I haven’t become a trail person yet for sure, although I’ve had a couple of trail names suggested to me. 

The demographic has changed at the Center too. The people here today are still a mixed bunch but the average age has gone up around 10 years. Injuries are all mostly blisters and the hiker box is filling up instead of being emptied. It was really nice to see the tradition that Chug, Big Spoon and I started on Wednesday has continued – some zeroing hikers were grilling burgers at 3:30pm again. Hurrah, we started some proper trail magic to make up for some trail magic that got taken away.

Nice to have some contact with home today. Being injured does make home seem a ways away no matter how lovely people here have been. Thank you guys. Most of my hiker contact today has been by text too which is kind of strange. Sababa and Fran made it to Idyllwild whilst Diogenes was zeroing, so I have the lowdown from them on the road walk alternate which goes around the fire closure. It sounds like hitching is the best bet. It means there won’t be a continuous set of footprints from Mexico to Canada (15 miles missing) but I think that’s ok where the trail is actually closed. So the plan currently (knee permitting) is to make it to Paradise Cafe before it closes on Tuesday and then hitch into Idyllwild. Probably means I have too much food – I have 4-5 days which is enough to cover walking the alternate.

I’m cowboy camping tonight for the first time. Essentially because I’m bummed out and can’t be bothered to set up a tent. But it means I can see straight up to the almost full moon and the stars which is pretty cool. It also means the frogs and daddy long legs can dance all over my face which is less cool. An earwig just fell on my phone whilst I was writing this. But, meh. Whatevs.

PS Happy birthday, dad.