Naturally, I was the last one out of camp. Rest Stop left by 7:00 and was shortly followed by Oblivious and Troll. Wilderness Bob hung around and cooked breakfast. I hung back too and ate breakfast and then waited for Wilderness Bob to get ahead so that I could use the facilities in private. ( Mental note to self: The desert is prickly...be careful where you squat.) Today I set out alone and immediately referred to my maps and GPS. The trail is well marked, dry, and today's weather was hot. VERY HOT! As in over 100 degrees in the desert hot!!! I took my time, hydrated, and ate lots of snacks through the dirty, rocky, dry canyon. When I hiked upon the bear box, I was happy to find that Sam had filled the containers with water. Unfortunately, any shade was not to be found. I scrunched under Wilderness Bob's umbrella for a bit of shade. Troll slept inside the bear box. I had just missed Rest Stop. Wilderness Bob and I chilled (as much as one can chill in the desert) as the father-son team hiked on. Our next water source was going to be at Gordon's van so I made sure to fill up with 6 L. I told Bob that if we hiked upon any shade that I was going to take a break. We hiked together for awhile before I set up my tent to shade myself from the hot afternoon heat. This was only day 2 and I wasn't going to be stupid about hiking because I was overexcited. I planned to hike again when it cooled down, but it never did. Oh well...ten miles is twice as much as five, yesterday's mileage. I'm cool with that.So tonight, I am camping solo and enjoying the solitude. Troll and Oblivious came to the trail together as a father-son team. Troll,45ish, worked as a diver in the Navy and has since retired. Rest Stop (a heavy chain smoker), was a portly construction worker who had some National Guard experience. And Wilderness Bob,49, had retired from the Army after serving in "Special Ops" for 24 years. I had found myself among very experienced military retirees, even though everyone was younger than me, except Oblivious, who mimicked his dad's directions. Yep...my solitude was gratifying. And so was the star show as I watched them light up the night sky, one-by-one.
Naturally, I was the last one out of camp. Rest Stop left by 7:00 and was shortly followed by Oblivious and Troll. Wilderness Bob hung around and cooked breakfast. I hung back too and ate breakfast and then waited for Wilderness Bob to get ahead so that I could use the facilities in private. ( Mental note to self: The desert is prickly...be careful where you squat.) Today I set out alone and immediately referred to my maps and GPS. The trail is well marked, dry, and today's weather was hot. VERY HOT! As in over 100 degrees in the desert hot!!! I took my time, hydrated, and ate lots of snacks through the dirty, rocky, dry canyon. When I hiked upon the bear box, I was happy to find that Sam had filled the containers with water. Unfortunately, any shade was not to be found. I scrunched under Wilderness Bob's umbrella for a bit of shade. Troll slept inside the bear box. I had just missed Rest Stop. Wilderness Bob and I chilled (as much as one can chill in the desert) as the father-son team hiked on. Our next water source was going to be at Gordon's van so I made sure to fill up with 6 L. I told Bob that if we hiked upon any shade that I was going to take a break. We hiked together for awhile before I set up my tent to shade myself from the hot afternoon heat. This was only day 2 and I wasn't going to be stupid about hiking because I was overexcited. I planned to hike again when it cooled down, but it never did. Oh well...ten miles is twice as much as five, yesterday's mileage. I'm cool with that.So tonight, I am camping solo and enjoying the solitude. Troll and Oblivious came to the trail together as a father-son team. Troll,45ish, worked as a diver in the Navy and has since retired. Rest Stop (a heavy chain smoker), was a portly construction worker who had some National Guard experience. And Wilderness Bob,49, had retired from the Army after serving in "Special Ops" for 24 years. I had found myself among very experienced military retirees, even though everyone was younger than me, except Oblivious, who mimicked his dad's directions. Yep...my solitude was gratifying. And so was the star show as I watched them light up the night sky, one-by-one.