DAY 3:
Today we woke up around 6AM and was ready to go around 7:30. We had an easy 12-mile day planned, and while it was mostly uphill, we knew it would be gradual, and not too tough -- terrain-wise. We got halfway around 10, and took a quick break with Scott and Abe (the two guys we have pretty much been camping with every night so far). We decided that we didn't want to break for too long since we wanted to get into camp before the heat of the day, so we set off.
Some truly beautiful views, but oh so hot. I looked down at my watch and it hit 98 degrees, and we were completely exposed and in the open. Today I decided to follow Dave's lead and wear a long sleeved shirt to protect my arms from getting more toasted than they already are. It was a wise decision since my hands, which aren't covered, are lobster-red right now. The others aren't really burnt at all, so I'm kind of bummed that I'm the one with all the bug bites AND sun burn. So it is though, nothing I can do about it but carry on.
We passed an older couple who was taking a rest under a tree, and we had asked if they had seen the English couple that left before we did, and they hadn't. Hopefully, everything is alright with them; I suspect they just pushed forward to get away from the group of young men that had been disrupting their lovely camp at night.
As we started getting closer to where we had planned to camp, we found a nice brook with some good camping spots, so we decided to stop a little early. We looked in the book, and the reason why we hadn't planned on staying here to begin with was because in the book it says 'usually dry'. This is not the case now. We took our boots off and soaked our feet in the water, clearly in no dry brook -- further proving what a wet year it has been around here. We got here around 1, and the temperature in the shade is 87 degrees. So looking forward to the chilly night. It's still odd to me how it can be almost 100 degrees in the day, and hovering around 35 during the night!
Another funny thing I had noticed today was how I was feeling. With all this planning, and from my experience on the AT, I thought I would just jump right back into the hiker mentality right away. I realize now that this is not the case. Just like the AT, our physical AND mental stamina will have to be an ongoing work in progress while out here.
Resupplying in Julian in a few days. While I'm not nearly as hungry as I thought I would be, it will be nice to have some diner food (hopefully). Check out the food blog in a few days!
--Ian
Today we woke up around 6AM and was ready to go around 7:30. We had an easy 12-mile day planned, and while it was mostly uphill, we knew it would be gradual, and not too tough -- terrain-wise. We got halfway around 10, and took a quick break with Scott and Abe (the two guys we have pretty much been camping with every night so far). We decided that we didn't want to break for too long since we wanted to get into camp before the heat of the day, so we set off.
Some truly beautiful views, but oh so hot. I looked down at my watch and it hit 98 degrees, and we were completely exposed and in the open. Today I decided to follow Dave's lead and wear a long sleeved shirt to protect my arms from getting more toasted than they already are. It was a wise decision since my hands, which aren't covered, are lobster-red right now. The others aren't really burnt at all, so I'm kind of bummed that I'm the one with all the bug bites AND sun burn. So it is though, nothing I can do about it but carry on.
We passed an older couple who was taking a rest under a tree, and we had asked if they had seen the English couple that left before we did, and they hadn't. Hopefully, everything is alright with them; I suspect they just pushed forward to get away from the group of young men that had been disrupting their lovely camp at night.
As we started getting closer to where we had planned to camp, we found a nice brook with some good camping spots, so we decided to stop a little early. We looked in the book, and the reason why we hadn't planned on staying here to begin with was because in the book it says 'usually dry'. This is not the case now. We took our boots off and soaked our feet in the water, clearly in no dry brook -- further proving what a wet year it has been around here. We got here around 1, and the temperature in the shade is 87 degrees. So looking forward to the chilly night. It's still odd to me how it can be almost 100 degrees in the day, and hovering around 35 during the night!
Another funny thing I had noticed today was how I was feeling. With all this planning, and from my experience on the AT, I thought I would just jump right back into the hiker mentality right away. I realize now that this is not the case. Just like the AT, our physical AND mental stamina will have to be an ongoing work in progress while out here.
Resupplying in Julian in a few days. While I'm not nearly as hungry as I thought I would be, it will be nice to have some diner food (hopefully). Check out the food blog in a few days!
--Ian