Date: April 12, 2016

Warner Springs (mile 109.5) to bushcamp (mile 123.9)

Miles: 14.4

We slept well in tent city. Andy has been waking up between 5:40 – 5:50 every morning without an alarm and today was no different. But since we were in no hurry to leave, Laurie slept in until 7.

We enjoyed our lazy morning. This gave Laurie time to come up with a tape job that provided more padding and support under her left foot. It sure was creative. But the miles would reveal if she was successful.

We tried drying out our tent fly before packing up but that didn’t work. Everything was just too wet.

Around 9:45 we started walking. We felt good – Laurie was still a bit stuffy but smiling.

We started by walking through more feilds filled with small purple wildflowers. It was nice to enjoy the view without the looming dark clouds. The skies were clear, a gentle breeze kept us cool inn the shade of our umbrellas and we were happy hikers.

The trail steadily climbed from 3,000 ft up to 5,000 ft. This time not as gradual as before. There weren’t as many views as we were hidden among tall shrubs but it was interesting seeing desert plants mixed in with trees. Gentle reminders that we were still in the desert. The views opened up as we gained elevation.

We didn’t see many people today until mile 118.6 at Lost Valley Spring. Watering holes tend to be places many hikers take extended breaks.

We chit chatted with other hikers that arrived as we finished getting our water. One of the guys we’ve been seeing on the trail the last few days is James. We gave James Nutrasilver colloidal silver to treat his water with – he was very grateful.

He thanked us and said that we’re a good team. It caught us by surprise that others notice our interactions. It was nice to hear what he thought of our teamwork.

We carried 3 liters each to our dry camp 5.3 miles away and for the 3.4 miles to Mike’s Place – a local trail angel with a water tank near his home. We are making sure we drink plenty to feel at our best.

We exchanged many friendly hellos with other hikers we passed, who later passed us. Trail leap frog as we call it. Not much conversation as most everyone was hiking fast to get to Mike’s Place. The promise of pizza is too good to pass up for many!

We like sleeping outdoors and weren’t craving pizza so we found a nice spot in a boulder field and set up camp. It might get cold tonight, down into the mid 30s, so we reluctantly put up the rain fly.

Another satisfying day of hiking in the books. It’s our kind of 9 – 5. Well, 10 – 6..you get the point.

Oh, and we’re happy to report that Laurie’s creative tape job worked! She was in minimal pain all day and still had to drain the pesky blister at night, but it seems to be healing. Unfortunately though Laurie noticed a hot spot on her right heel. It’s minor and she caught it early so the caterpillar probably won’t become a butterfly 😉

It’s 8:30pm now. We are fed, our teeth brushed and we’re ready for bed. Night night.

Tonight we are grateful for dry trails and more frequent watering holes.