Date: April 7, 2016

Laguna Campground (mile 47.5) to bushcamp (mile 61.5)

Miles 14

The forecast predicted rain after 11 am however the familiar pitter patter arrived early. It started raining at 3 am and continued on and off throughout the day. When inside a tent, the sound of the rain is magnified which is awesome but makes it very hard to motivate to get out of a warm sleeping bag. We were both tired from the day before but threats of afternoon thunderstorms helped us rally to get hiking.

We were walking by 7:30 with our dri ducks and umbrellas to shield us from the rain. We hiked 6.9 miles to the last water spot before camp. In the middle of a field lay a water tank and nearby a horse trough. Instructions on how to get water from the pipe feeding the horse trough were written with a sharpie on a nearby stone. This felt like an adventure!

We hiked another 2 miles and set up camp. Our bodies were tired. Laurie’s right knee (which she kept trying to diagnose and treat while walking) and left foot were hurting her. As were Andy’s love handles. We had focused so much on keeping our feet happy that Andy developed welts and blisters on his sides where his hip belt rides. We decided to camp early. We could have continued on but with only one known spot and at least 4 known people ahead of us we decided not to risk it.

We set up the tent and jumped in just as the rain began to pick up. We traded and shared food until our bellies were content. We didn’t bring enough Advil (or vitamin I as Laurie fondly calls it)- but we did have more than enough food!

The following hours were filled with tent yoga, phone calls to family, Instagram posts and blogging. The consistent cell service has been a pleasant surprise.

We ended the day with a tasty dinner of buckwheat and veggies and mashed potatoes with dill a la Shushan (Andy’s mom who cooked and dehydrated most of our dinners).

Lastly, today Laurie got her trail name- “saver” because she always saves one last piece of candy, one last bite of cheese or one last pair of clean socks…just in case.

Trail names are given to each other by fellow hikers- they are nicknames that follow you throughout the hike if you choose to accept it. Andy gave Saver her trail name.

Today the exhilaration of the trail wore off for Laurie and the pain set in. Or perhaps moral was low because of the rain. We anticipate many ups and downs as we continue to hike. Moments of bliss and moments of pain. 

Many thru hikers talk about the constant discomfort. Today we experienced this, different parts of the body talking to us at different times. It is a great opportunity to practice mindfilness- tuning into our bodies and changing what we can and accepting what we cannot.  

And now we will fall asleep to the sound of the rain. Good night.

Today we are grateful for a functional, dry tent and candy