Moving Forward

Mom and I took a few days off to attend the annual kick-off party back at Lake Morena called ADZPCTKO, where there was good free food and lots of down time to rest. I finally got my trail name there too: Mermaid, given to me after telling a friend the story of how I was rinsing my clothes in the lake and accidently fell in. It feels a bit silly introducing myself as Mermaid on the trail, but I think I'll get used to it eventually.
As we moved into week two, I said goodbye to Mom and hello to Dad. I was a little nervous about hiking with Dad since I had already been on the trail for a week and my hiker legs were starting to kick in. I didn't want to be held back by any blister problems that he would have either, but I would do what I had to do to accomodate him.
Our first day out was hot! I didn't mind having to stop in the shade and wait every once in a while for Dad to catch up. I finally had to pull out my Chrome Dome reflective umbrella to shield myself from the sun while walking, which made a huge difference. We endured the heat and ended up going 18 miles! A big first day for Dad and for me after taking 2 1/2 days off. We camped at a Trail Angel's house where they had cold beverages and chili waiting for us when we arrived. It was nice that my Dad was already getting to experience a little bit of Trail Magic.
By day two, I was no longer having to wait for Dad to catch up and he was keeping pace with me just perfectly. We saw a myriad of desert wildlife: rattlesnakes, gopher snakes, garter snakes, and horned toad lizards crossed our path all day!
With time passing, the days sort of meld into one another and I can't remember what happened when. As we entered the San Jacinto Wilderness, water sources became farther and farther off the trail, and we would have to hike close to a mile or two detour with an elevation change of 500+ feet to refill our water supply. But we would try not to complain since water is extremely critical in the heat and we have no desire to get dehydrated. Since the San Jacintos are fairly large mountains, we had a ton of ups and downs. It literally felt as if we were constantly trudging up a 30-50% incline in the beating hot sun for two days straight. And just when we thought we couldn't climb anymore, the trail would take a brief, but steep, nosedive and then lead us straight back up to where we were before. It was hard and even frustrating at times when we were tired, our legs were screaming, and our feet were aching. However, we didn't really have any other choice than to just do it, so we did.

With each day I can feel my body hardening. Not only are my legs getting stronger, but also my core, back, and arms are as well from carrying my pack and using my trekking poles. Speaking of trekking poles, I have the weirdest diagonal tanline on my hands from the pole straps, and the handles of my poles are so caked with dirt and sweat that they are sticky, and I'm left with a gross, balck residue on my hands every time I put them down.

My appetite is still quite depressed. I've gotten to the point where I get hungry, but after a couple bites I have to force-feed myself, and sometimes it isn't until I can't barely walk that I realize I need to eat something. I'm sure the "hiker hunger" will kick in soon enough though and my stomach will be a bottomless pit.

There is definitely a certain point almost every day that I think to myself, "Screw this. I'm done," but then I take a rest and have something to eat and I change my mind. Also right when I wake up in the morning I think, "Do I have to get up and leave my warm sleeping bag?" The answer is always "Yes."

I move forward with my adventure and with each day I get more accustomed to the trail and enjoy more and more what it has to offer. A past thru-hiker told me, "Day to day, town to town, state to state, border to border. That's how it's done." And it is so true. If I think about the fact that I am hiking for 4 1/2 more months, all the way to Canada, I get extremely overwhelmed. But if I just think about getting to the next town, it doesn't seem so daunting. So with that, I'll meet you all in the next town.