Date: 5/10/16
Miles: 21.5
Total Miles: 148.8
After drifting off to sleep to the sound of Frank Sinatra at Mike's Place last night (true story), the gang was back on the trail at 6am this morning. Another perfectly clear sunny day and by 7, I was already getting hot as we climbed up. Today was a day of lengthy ascents and descents, all of it under a sweltering sun. At one point late in the afternoon in the worst heat of the day, I began thinking to myself "the sun is winning!" By day's end, everyone agreed it had been the toughest day on the trail so far.
In between breaks we pushed hard to get in as many miles as possible before retreating to what little shade we could find. Along the way, we saw what looked like a common garter snake trying to swallow an entire lizard. Definitely a first.
Just 6 miles before calling it a day we happened upon an unexpected water cache that was a godsend as we had all been rationing the 5 liters we had started the day with, anticipating that there would be no water for 25 miles.
We're all in bed early tonight after a grueling day, and my now fixed sleeping pad should have me dreaming in no time. Tomorrow, it's 3 miles to a road crossing where we'll walk a mile up the highway to a cafe for both breakfast and a resupply box before making our way to Idyllwild.