Day 47
June 4
mile 741.7-760.5 (Rock Creek)
18.8 miles

Ice Bucket woke up earlier than I did and headed out while I went through my morning routine. I was glad for the bit of privacy as I needed to take care of my additional girl issues. I was also thankful that I knew where the water access was after talking to Walking Home last night. I packed up my things and walked down to the creek. And then, Drama appeared! He said Weeds was not too far behind. Suddenly, we were all in close proximity again! I asked him if he had any extra bandages that he could spare because both of the tops of my thumbs were deeply cracked from rubbing against my poles and bleeding. They had been like this for days and anytime I put band-aids on them, they would quickly fall off. I had also deeply ripped one of my thumbnails! He gave me some white wrapping tape and help me bandage my thumbs, telling me I now looked like Seymour from ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. I remembered how much I love that song “Suddenly Seymour” and felt so happy after he said that! We found separate places to collect water and then, while I was filtering mine, said he was going to head out. No one wanted to wait for anyone else around here. Sigh.
I reached the PCT and walked along for awhile before seeing a hiker ahead of me. It turned out to be Yardsale, who was looking for the next water source. I told him that it should be off to the left at a bend in the trail. I reached an intersection with a sign, looked at the options it gave, and then headed where I thought I was supposed to be going. At some point, I decided to check my GPS and discovered that this was not actually the PCT and had to turn around, losing time. I should have just ignored the sign and continued straight. The trail climbed and as I continued up, I saw a hiker sitting alongside it. Weeds! Yardsale was just ahead and wondered how I was now behind him. I had to tell him that I had gotten lost. We all hiked at our individual paces, but would chat whenever we caught up to someone taking a break.

I caught back up to Drama and found a nice big rock to sit on with a view. He wanted to see how my jetboil stove worked, so I cooked the second half of the meal that I didn’t like so much yesterday and let him have it. My eyes got wide as I saw Icebucket approach! How on earth was he behind us? He grumbled about accidentally heading down the the Trail Pass that leads to Lone Pine, losing a couple of hours time! He was not in the mood to chat!
We moved on and met up again at a little cascading stream, that was perfect for collecting water. Yardsale was already there. When he heard about my stomach pain, he said that he was worried about me! “People die from that!” he cautioned. I moved on and let them have their conversation about their girlfriends.
Drama then passed me back as I was taking a break along the side of the trail. Our next destination was Chicken Spring Lake, which I looking forward to taking a relaxing break at. After a couple more miles of walking, I came to a dried up creek outlet. Drama was sitting on a large rock beside a tree nearby. “Is this the lake?”, I asked, somewhat appalled. He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t know about a lake. How could the lake have completely dried up, I wondered. This was terrible. Dejected, I joined Drama on the rock. Weeds came along and also asked if that was the lake. “Isn’t it beautiful?”I asked. She joined us on the rock, also extremely disappointed, as we sorted through the contents of our foodbag. Drama said that he was the only one not upset because he wasn’t expecting anything! Then, Yardsale happened along. He couldn’t believe this was the lake and decided to follow the creek up and see what he could find. When he was out of sight, he called to us, “It’s here!”. We packed up our things and followed him up the marsh. Delaware Dave was just headed out. I couldn’t believe the sight of the actual lake that we had nearly missed! It was one of the most beautiful things I had seen on the trail so far! Yardsale had made his way to a rock on the far side, while Weeds and Drama stood along the grassy bank.

I headed down to a rock on the edge of the water and unfolded my sleeping pad. I so badly wanted to spend a couple of hours here, but I had only minutes to spare, as I still needed to get in 10 more miles before nightfall in order to set up for Mt. Whitney the following day. (I couldn’t believe I was about to climb the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states already!! Everything was happening so fast!).

I lingered as long as I could and then got moving again. Weeds and Drama had left long before me. As I was climbing away from the lake, another hiker caught up to me. He had just come back from Lone Pine on the Cottonwood side trail. He walked with me and I was grateful for some conversation to distract me from my stomach pain. He told me his story about the lady at the Lone Pine Post Office. He knew exactly how many letters and packages had been sent to him, had the tracking numbers for the packages, and went up to her and asked for them. She came back and told him there was nothing there for him and told him to come back later. He returned just before they were to close, and once again, she said there was nothing there and that he should check back in the morning. He returned, told her to forget the letters and other packages- he just needed the package with his shoes in them. She quickly looked and again said there was nothing for him. This time, he would not take no for an answer. He told her that he had nowhere to go except the trail and that he couldn’t hike unless he had his shoes. Until she was able to give him the box that he had the tracking number for, he would set his tent up in the lobby and wait. She took one more look and came back with every letter and package that he was expecting, explaining that it was out of alphabetical order. Oh, boy… This worried me because I had my packages sent to that post office, as well!

We hiked on and eventually found Drama sitting beside the trail, rubbing out the soles of his feet. I needed a snack break by that point, so I sat down near him. Then, I took the lead when Drama decided to stop with Weeds and Turner and cook dinner. We were all aiming to get to Rock Creek, where they had bear boxes for safe storage of our food. There was also supposed to be a ranger’s station nearby, where I hoped I might be able to get some antibiotics for my giardia.
I ended up stopping to cook my dinner before I made it there myself, however. This day was dragging on and on, and I was losing my energy.
Weeds passed by, and then I passed by her. I reached a stream and stopped to collect water (not realizing I would be camping next to a stream!). I walked on until I came to the sign for the ranger station and then followed the path. I saw several deer in the area. Turner waved to me as he continued to the campground. I followed the path for awhile, but saw no ranger station, so I decided to turn back.

Weeds was very happily reuniting with Ice Bucket, who had already been there for awhile, and the rest of us moved to a different section. Everyone had sent up their tents because the sky had turned cloudy and they thought it might rain. I decided to risk it and cowboy camp. Since it was Yardsale’s last night on the PCT, he made a fire and I took some tea and my jetboil over to enjoy it with some of the others. A roaming ranger was also camped there and he told us that the real rangers had not yet been stationed. Drama, Weeds, and Icebucket had all decided not to climb Mt. Whitney, leaving me alone to take that side trip. Yardsale was the only other person in this group that was going to climb it and when I mentioned that I was climbing it, too, he acted like he didn’t know that. “Yeah, remember when I told you that I would be climbing it with you?”.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I’m not climbing Whitney with anyone. I’m doing it on my own. It’s my last day on the trail.”
As he returned to his tent, I told someone that Yardsale and I were both planning to get to the summit for sunrise, but we are doing it separately!
No one wanted to stay up any longer and retreated to their tents, so I walked back to my sleeping bag. I was now alone for the rest of the Sierras.

Day 45
June 2
702.2-719.8
17.6 miles

Dr. Sole had told me that I should come over for breakfast in the morning. After I woke up, I walked over to the kitchen in the shed to return the coffee mug that I had borrowed and found a huge group of hikers there. One of them asked how my stomach was feeling. I started launching into how it always feels not too bad in the mornings because I haven’t put anything into my stomach for many hours, but the pain grows during the day after I start eating. Before I could finish, my eyes rested upon a tall hiker, standing with a little smile on his face and a coffee mug in his hand, his eyes upon me the entire time. UB! I stood there with my eyes wide and mouth open for several seconds. “When did you get here?” I asked him.
“Last night at 1 am”. He had hiked the 52 miles from Walker Pass with three other guys in one day! Craziness! We gave each other a big hug and I told him to come with me to Dr. Sole’s. Before we left, a hiker told me to stop the “psychosomatics”, which I really couldn’t believe! Otherworld advised me to think positive thoughts- if I thought about the pain coming back in the afternoon, it would. I said I would try.

We found some folding chairs to sit in under the already crowded awning besides Dr. Sole’s RV. We were served chorizo burritos and coffee. I didn’t think it was the best thing for my stomach, but I ate it anyway.

Weeds and Ice Bucket headed to the store to get an egg breakfast and said they would be ready to leave by 10. I returned to my trailer, packed up my pack with the humongous bear canister inside for the first time and joined a table of hikers outside the store. The french toast and eggs that people were eating turned my stomach, but someone was eating an ice cream cookie sandwich and that seemed like it would be much more gentle, so I got one of those!

UB had retrieved his cartload of resupply boxes and was starting to sort through them. I got to watch one of his recent videos, which again brought tears to my eyes. He said that Muk Muk was expected to get here around 6 in the evening. I knew she would need another day to get her supplies together and unfortunately, I didn’t feel like I could wait that long to get moving.

Weeds, IceBucket, and Drama came by and said they were heading out. I said my goodbyes and followed them down the road.


IceBucket told me that I looked like a tennis player in my new outfit. Drama said that my calves were really tan, but the backs of my thighs were pale. “Well, now they will get a chance to get some sun, too!”. As we walked down the road, two hikers headed towards us. “Cowboy?” I called out.
“Yup”. He seemed very distant, which I found strange. I had not seen him since Little Jimmy Springs Campground and he had nothing to say to me except, “See you somewhere in the Sierras.” Okay! I tried to return my attention back to our little group. We found the PCT in the desert scrub and headed along the sandy path. They said I could take the lead. I was expecting to enter a new environment of dirt and trees and huge mountains, but right now, it was still desert, and the sand was deep and slow to move through.

A couple of miles away, there was a campground that Weeds said they would stop at to get water. I arrived there ahead of everyone else, used the restroom, and tried to fix the gaiters that I had used on the AT and CT, that now seemed way too big with the socks I was wearing. I wished I could get rid of them immediately, but I was stuck with them at least until I got off Kearsarge Pass. I also discovered that I had already lost one of my snow baskets! The entry into the Sierras was not going so smoothly!

No one showed up, so I decided to keep going. I came to a little river and decided to take a break and put my feet in. Ice Bucket came along and said he was going ahead to the bridge, and Weeds and Drama did the same. I dried my feet, put my toesocks back on (a time consuming process), and then my gaiters and shoes.

I walked on until I came to the bridge and was happy to see my little group taking a break on the other side! We all went down to the water to refill our bottles and snack. Ice Bucket headed out first, followed by me. Weeds didn’t seem happy that I wasn’t waiting for her, but I said I would see her again in a few minutes!
We entered yet another burn area and there was no place no escape from the sun.

I would have to reset my expectations for what the Sierras would be like. We were still in the desert as far as I was concerned. Cactus and sage and sand still abounded, with rolling hills in the distance.

I was now far ahead of the others and walked alone all afternoon. When I reached a bridge crossing a small river, I decided to stop along the bank, cook my dinner, and wait for the others. I knew that Weeds wanted to stop at the place at which her stroke occurred last year, and that she needed support to get through this significant place. A couple of other hikers were also hanging out here, but they weren’t people I knew or were close to, so I moved down the bank to find a place of my own.

My stomach was not feeling well. I decided to try the tortilla soup kit that John had sent me, thinking that would be the most gentle on my stomach. Before I cooked it, I headed down the river, trying to find a place where the water was flowing enough to be able to get inside my small mouth squeeze bags. I had to step on some rocks and balance on them in the middle of the river.
Ice Bucket was the first of the three to arrive and immediately began looking for a place to set up camp. Razor directed him to a wooded site up on a hill. When Weeds arrived, she went to ask Ice Bucket what he was doing. She had planned to continue walking until she reached her infamous spot. He packed up and the three of them decided to collect water and head out, waiting until later to cook dinner. I was ready to go as, well, so we all left together. Someone had shaped some rocks into the words, “Go Weeds!” at the base of the bridge. She was very touched.

We headed out into the evening air with me in the lead, followed by Ice Bucket, who was frustrated he couldn’t keep up, and Weeds and Drama together behind us. The trail wound through open desert hills and I felt happy where I was.

We entered a wooded area, where a chickadee-like bird sat, pecking for food in the middle of the trail. Miraculously, it was not scared away by me, and Ice Bucket and I got to watch it for a few minutes! He thought that was amazing! Ahead, I saw a deer run across the trail and hoped I would be able to get a better view of it ahead. But then, we saw another display for Weeds along the side of the trail. Someone really nice had taken the time to show her their support and love and we wondered who it could be. We waited for Weeds and Drama to catch up. Ice Bucket asked her who loved her. She said, “I don’t know. Do you love me?”. He said yes. “Do you love me?” she asked me.
“Yes!”.
Then, she saw her name and the shape of a heart formed with pinecones and stood there in awe. She said that it actually brought tears to her eyes and that she is not someone who displays emotions. We all took in the moment, offered Weeds some words of support, and continued on, searching for the spot of her accident.

There was a very small creek up ahead with a possible place to camp and Weeds said that, although that was not the place, she would be willing to stop there for the night. We arrived to find Walking Home set up there already, and while Ice Bucket sourced out the water situation, we thought about whether to stop or move on. We decided to move on. I broke ahead of everyone again and came upon a nice source of running water! I heard my name being called from behind and was told that they were going to stop there. I turned back and scouted out an area to set up. It turns out that the path I had taken was a side trail off the PCT, but I was glad I had taken it for the discovery of water there! Drama set up his tent, and the three of us cowboy camped. It was our first night using bear canisters and Weeds wanted to set them far away from our sleeping bags. I wasn’t worried and didn’t mind leaving mine right beside me. The others wanted to leave theirs near the foot of my sleeping bag!
Scott, one of the store workers at Kennedy Meadows, had given Weeds a gatorade bottle filled with Tequila to help her get over this momental place on the trail. She welcomed us to share it with her. I had never tasted Tequila before, so I tried it, hoping it would help kill my stomach bugs. It was not too strong! Ice Bucket shared his Good n Plentys, and we talked and laughed, and then headed off to sleep. Weeds wanted to step under crossed hiking poles raised over her head to the sound of Chariots of Fire in the morning.

Day 44
June 1
Zero

I had been planning on taking a zero day today because Dr. Sole was arriving to set up his foot care station for the hikers and wanted to see me and Muk Muk, I needed time to sort through all my new gear for the Sierras, and because I was sick. I was hoping that Drama and Weeds wouldn’t leave until tomorrow, either. Drama had mentioned that he had done himself in by forgetting to put his mosquito head net in his resupply box. By some stroke of luck, John had put one in the bear canister he sent me, along with a bunch of food! I had already bought one for myself, so now I had an extra one for Drama! Part of me wanted to bribe Drama into staying another day with the head net, but I knew that wasn’t right and that he should do whatever was best for him. So, when I saw him, I just told him that I had something for him.
Erik had included a mango and a couple of baked breakfast goods from Whole Foods in the package I sent, so I didn’t have to search out breakfast. I did look to see if there was any coffee around. I saw Weeds and asked if she wanted to share my mango with me. After she found Icebucket, we sat at a picnic table and a swarm of hikers descended upon us, staring at the single mango! Ice Bucket was skilled at decoratively cutting the piece of fruit, and the pieces were small enough for many people to share.

Drama made fun of the color of my new fleece jacket that I was wearing over my dress. I returned to my trailer to start the sorting process when I heard my name being called by a girl. “Yes?” She said that Dr. Sole was with her. He couldn’t believe it was me that was so sick, although he was glad that I didn’t look like I was about to die! He told me he was going to find a place to park his RV, set up his tent, and then could get me the watermelon.
He ended up parking between the store and the trailers and I offered to help him set up. Other hikers started hanging around, wanting him to fix up their feet. Otherworld, who I met at kick-off, got to be attended to first. I was very surprised to see her last night, but found out that she had skipped two sections in the desert to get here. I patiently waited my turn, as Dr. Sole popped and patched up blisters, scraped down callouses, and then applied toenail polish. I didn’t feel like I could waste much more time waiting around, though, because I needed to get everything together that I couldn’t carry and ship it someplace else before I didn’t have that opportunity. Someone told me that I better hurry up because tomorrow was Sunday! I didn’t have many foot problems, other than callouses, but I did want my toes painted. However, I had no time to wait for them to dry. I hurried back to the trailer and got down to business. Decisions had to be made! I stuffed a box full of my desert clothes, microspikes that I decided I didn’t need, my desert hat and umbrella, one of my poles, and lots of extra food, and brought it to the store to be weighed. I decided to send it to South Lake Tahoe, which marked the official end of the Sierras. There, I could sort through it again and mail some things home and carry other stuff with me. The clerk called the post office, gave them the measurements and weight, and was told how much it would cost. Done!
I decided to take another shower while I had the opportunity. Dr. Sole let me borrow one of his towels and followed me up to the bathroom. He told me that I looked sexy from behind.
Drama had decided that he was going to head out to the trail in the afternoon. I was surprised to see him return not too long afterwards! He said that it didn’t feel right to leave not knowing what was wrong with my stomach, and not being there for Weeds. He started crying and then decided to turn around. Last year, Weeds attempted to thru-hike the PCT and after entering the Sierras, suffered a stroke. She was airlifted out and spend months recovering in a hospital. Now, she was back for her second attempt and was scared to reach the point at which her stroke occurred. I was relieved that Drama had returned. “You don’t want to start the Sierras alone, do you?” I asked him. He shook his head no. The Sierras were the one part of the trail that were recommended to be done with someone else for safety reasons. I still didn’t have a clue as to what the snow and ice conditions were like out there.

As the day wore on, the pain in my stomach increased. My belly was distended with inflammation. One hiker laughed when I said how much it hurt. (?) I was getting messages on facebook from people at home telling me not to go into the Sierras if my appendix was about to burst, or that I needed to have my gallbladder removed. The woman who was mailing out my resupply boxes told me it was dysentery and to boil all of the water that I drank. Hikers who were hanging out around Dr. Sole suggested that the food I was eating was too acidic and that I needed to put baking soda in my water to balance out the pH of my stomach. Another told me to listen to what my body was trying to tell me. I’m pretty sure it was telling me I had giardia! It was the same kind of pain that I felt after suffering from giardia on the AT. Eating made it feel even worse!
One person said that there was a half a dose of flagyl in the hiker box, but I couldn’t find it and didn’t think it would be good to take a half dose anyway. So, I ate the two packets of watermelon seeds that Dr. Sole bought from Home Depot because he could only find seedless watermelon at the store! Someone said, “You’re eating seeds that were meant for planting?!”
“Yup”. What else was I supposed to do?
After the store grill had closed down, Dr. Sole cooked dinner for the hikers hanging around his RV. There were a lot of them! And more were constantly streaming in. Some were even driven there, which astounded me… Yardsale, who is the 18 year old kid that blew past the 200 mile sign while I was there, told us he would be getting off the trail at Mt. Whitney. Although I hardly knew him, I suddenly felt extremely sad! One of our family was leaving. It hit me almost as hard as if I were about to leave the trail, myself… What an awful feeling.
A movie was being shown in an outdoor theater at Tom’s place and people started to head over there as it got dark. I stayed and listened to some hiker stories and then walked by the movie. I found the moving images mesmerizing. It was as if I had never seen a movie before! I didn’t stay to watch, though, because I had already missed a good deal of it. I walked by Drama’s trailer and heard a lot of laughter inside. I decided to see what was going on in there. It turned out that Otherworld was his roommate and they, along with Mermaid were smoking marijuana. I sat with them for a few minutes and then headed back to my trailer. The stars were incredible. I didn’t know what to look at- the images on the screen, or the stars overhead… There was a lot of energy in this place, and I felt a bit high, myself, even though I hadn’t taken any substances.
I lied down in my trailer bed, hoping that I would feel well enough to head into the Sierras with Weeds, IceBucket, and Drama tomorrow.

Day 43
May 31
mile 691.7-702.8 (Kennedy Meadows)
11.1 miles

I had no need to wake up very early because I only had just over 11 miles to get to Kennedy Meadows! I ate some breakfast and then needed to quickly find a place to go to the bathroom. What came out looked like a big, wet cow puddle, which confirmed the stomach pain I had experienced the evening before. Just as I was finishing up, a hiker came along. “Drama?!” I said, partly in disbelief, partly needing a few more minutes before I was ready to see anyone. With my toilet paper in hand, I told him that I just had to pack everything up. My sleeping bag was still out and he made a comment about me being a late-riser. “What time did you get up?” I asked him. He said he was walking by 5:30! He also told me that he had camped with Dinnertime last night! Dinnertime was close by? I hadn’t seen him since before the Saufley’s! How exciting to have people I knew around me again!
We continued to chat and catch up as I stuffed my possessions into their stuff sacks and then into my pack, and then we started walking. We had so many things to fill each other in on, as we had not seen each other since mile 110! Apparently, when he had texted me asking what my shoe prints looked like, he was only a mile behind me! He really was following my footsteps! I was amazed he hadn’t caught me sooner! He asked me about the night I spent at the trail angel’s house in Warner Springs before kick-off and told me that he had had a bad feeling about it when I got in the guy’s truck. “You did?”. He said that he knew that I was a tough girl, though, and that I would be all right. We talked about who he had been hiking with, and how he missed Lorax.

We found a tree to sit under to take a snack break and since he was nearly out of food, I gave him some of my extra. He traded me some nabisco crackers. It was a nice feeling to finally have some company!
We walked to the Kern river, where it wasn’t apparent where the water was most easily accessible.

I suggested we stop at a certain point, and it turned out to be a good decision! Drama decided to take his shoes off and wade in the freezing cold water while I stayed along the banks. He helped me fill my squeeze bags for me, which I appreciated. Earlier, he had talked about the sense of space that we give one another on the PCT, as opposed to New York City, where everyone is in your face all the time. He talked about how he and Dinnertime sat along the bank of a creek during a break, chatting with each other, but sitting far enough away that they each had plenty of their own personal space.
As we were packing up, Dinnertime came along! The three of us hiked together until Dinnertime found a lake to fish in. He said that he would see us in a few minutes, but I didn’t understand how that was possible if he was going to stay there and fish!
Drama and I reached the 700 mile mark and took photos of each other.

My stomach wasn’t feeling well again and I was unsure of what to do to make it feel better. We walked the last official miles of desert and came to a registry, as Dinnertime caught up. He said the fishing turned out not to be so good. Drama wrote, “Well that was easy!,” in the registry, and Dinnertime put, “What? No Applebees?”. And then we headed to the road, looking for the Kennedy Meadows sign that we had seen in photos. Drama and I stopped to take pictures again, while Dinnertime kept walking.

We reached a trailer park area, where hikers were lounging around. “My good man,” Drama said to Jug, who was strumming his guitar, “Can you give us directions to the General Store?” Jug advised us to drop our packs here, as this is where we would be staying, and head up to the store to get our packages. We decided that we didn’t want to part from our packs and just walked up to the store, where we found another group of hikers, eating and relaxing at the tables outside. I spotted Weeds and went over to her and got a hug. Drama got an even more excited hug from her! I headed over to the bathroom and got a look at myself in the mirror. It was not a good sight! I did my best to make myself look better, but the effort was futile. I entered the store, looked around to see what was offered, and waited in line to be helped with my packages, and also see if I could get in line for laundry. The store worker told me it didn’t look good for getting it done today! They had only one machine and a lot of hikers! After quite some time, I finally got my four packages- two that I had packed myself with my regular food and my new equipment for the Sierras, the package from Erik with the fleece jacket I had asked for, and the bear canister that I was borrowing from one of my readers, John. I was expecting to be charged $2 for each package, as was written in my guidebook, but it turned out that they were now charging $5 for every package sent! Aie!
I brought my packages out and set them by my pack and ordered a hamburger. After I finished that, I went back to order the Italian sausage and pepper special. The cook smiled. Drama commented on the amount of food I was eating, but I didn’t think it was abnormal at all!

Some of the hikers were talking about what had gone on here last night. It had been a hiker’s 40th birthday, and he had bought about 40 cases of beer for everyone! A ruckus ensued with trailer doors being kicked open late at night and Team Lone Pine was asked to leave immediately.
I was very glad that I wasn’t around for that! I had seen a pint of mint chocolate ice cream in the freezer and intended to buy that later, but Wildcat grabbed it first and ate it in front of me. This was also the first time I had seen Baxter and Wildcat since Warner Springs! They were wearing jeans because they were being visited by their parents! Wildcat was so happy that she could now fit into her skinniest jeans. I went to the ice cream case and couldn’t find a second pint of the flavor I wanted so I bought the next best thing. It turned out to be not so good and by now, my stomach was hurting badly! Something was very wrong. I thought I was going to have to throw most of the pint away, but I was told that I could keep it in the ice chest for later. When we were hiking this morning, I asked Drama if he would be willing to take a picture of me holding my skirt out to demonstrate how big it had gotten on me. This would be my last day with that skirt. However, my belly was now so inflamed, that it wasn’t even worth it to try.

Drama and I took our packs and walked back to the trailers to see if we could get one. The owner, Tom, was in the main trailer with the computers and was not in the mood to help us. Apparently, a hiker had plugged his phone into the computer, which ended up causing big problems. Hikers were lying around in hammocks and I wished I could lie in one because I was in a lot of pain. One guy asked me if I was having fun. I nodded in a glassy haze. “You don’t look like you are.” I explained that my stomach was really hurting. I couldn’t really distinguish the pain from menstrual cramps, so I took some ibruprofen to see if that would help. I stood there, wondering how long it would be until I could get a place to store my things and settle down.
Finally, a different man came out with a clipboard and began calling off names of people who had signed up for a trailer. In the end, it was only Drama and I who were around and in need. We walked around the trailers, looking for ones with empty beds. “Are you two hiking together?” the man asked us. “No!” Drama quickly answered. Jeez…!
Luckily, I knew that Kim was planning on leaving today and that she had her own trailer, so I asked about that one and got it! I just had to wait until she was ready to leave. I headed back to the store and paid for the outdoor shower. I was starting to enjoy showering outside! In the collection of huge muumuus that I had looked through in the main trailer, I spotted one small dress that was actually my size! Weeds was talking on the phone and was the first to see me as I emerged from the shower. She whistled at me!

Plates of food were slowly being put out on a table and while no one was giving us any information, I think it was intended to be a potluck. Disturbingly, I had no appetite for any of it! How could it be that after walking 700 miles, the sight of food was totally unappealing to me? Weeds sat down next to me and told me that I looked gorgeous. I couldn’t believe I was in the presence of someone who would say that to me! As I sat in pain, unable to eat, I asked if there was any watermelon around. I knew that I needed to eat the seeds from one! Unfortunately, the watermelon they had yesterday was long gone. I realized that my only chance to get some watermelon with seeds was if Dr. Sole could bring some with him when he arrived the following day. I had no cell reception here, though. I walked back to the trailer with computers and after a lot of patience with the slowest internet connection I’ve ever experienced, managed to send out three messages to people from home, asking if they would be willing to call Dr. Sole, explain that I was sick with giardia, and needed a watermelon with seeds to help me get rid of it. I thought at least one of them would come through! Tejas, a super friendly girl that I had met outside the store, was standing outside the trailer, getting ready to hit the trail. When she saw me in my dress, she said, “Oh! You look so pretty- just like a woodland nymph! It’s what we all want to look like!.” She is one of the sweetest girls in the whole world! I felt so lucky to have met her.
I carried the rest of my boxes to the far end of the trailers, where mine sat, and loaded everything inside. When I opened Erik’s box to retrieve my fleece, I stood there stunned. He had bought me a neon yellow one. Did he not know me at all? I was perplexed and astounded. I really, really wanted a black one! Yellow was the absolute worst color on me! Oh, dear… I looked at some of my food, and my stomach churned. I would set that aside to deal with later and just lie down…
I could no nothing else but rest and hope for the pain in my belly to subside.

Day 42
May 30
667.2-691.7
24.5 miles

I was extremely tired and wanted to keep sleeping, but finally got up at 6:09. My sleeping bag was wet with condensation! It was 42 degrees, but felt much warmer than that! For breakfast, I had granola with chocolate bits in it, a banana, and coffee! I was very surprised that no one had passed by the entire time that I was camped directly by the trail! All night long, I was expecting Drama to come by and find me. I wondered where everyone was!
I started walking at 7:18. The landscape had changed into more of a woodsy feel with leaves all over the ground.

Just after 8 am, I heard an unexpected sound…water! I thought that the next source was only a dried up puddle and not a cascading stream! My water report had no mention of this! There was a guy camping with a hammock up on the hill. He was just starting to break down his tarp, and I assumed that he was a weekend or section hiker. I collected some cold water and sat on a rock to filter in and then proceded on my way.

My mood was good and thoughts about other things than how many miles I had left until the end of the day, until my next resupply, until the end of California, and until Canada flowed through my head. I decided that after the trail, I wanted to make jewelry (like Weeds does for a living), and that I wanted to write and teach yoga, as well. I had two climbs that were each about 1,000 feet during the morning. The temperature rose to 94 degrees, but didn’t bother me very much. I must be getting acclimated to the heat.
I reached a sign that had something written on it in marker. It advised that there was a better water source here than the one listed in our guidebooks. It instructed to find the second Sugar tree, stop and listen for water, and then head down the bank through the trees to find it! So, I did just that! It was kind of fun. I set my pack under the big tree and scrambled under the branches to find the water, filter it, and head back out for my next climb of 2,000 feet over the next 6 and a half miles. Part way up the climb, I reached Fox Mill Spring and decided that I would make my first ice coffee of the hike! That was nice.

I kept climbing and soon reached another burn area! Sometimes, these areas have their own beauty because flowers grown quickly around the charred trees, but this area just looked like dead trees. I listened to some music to help me with the climb, even though it was quickly draining my battery to do so. The burned area was going on forever and by now, my stomach had started hurting again. I hoped to stop and take a break when I reached the top and had a nice view, but there turned out to be no nice views around here!

I moved on until I came to a bend in the trail around 5:45 and sat down. My stomach was in a lot of pain. I decided that I would make my dinner here. I boiled water for my pasta, let my noodles sit, and added some tuna for protein. The wind was picking up. I didn’t know what to do about my stomach. I tried to go the bathroom, but couldn’t. So, I kept walking along the ridge for the next 75 minutes. I saw no places to camp along the way!

At one switchback turn, I saw a tiny spot that could possibly fit a sleeping bag, but I would have to wedge myself in between a prickly bush and a charred log! No, thanks! I continued on, hoping to find someplace soon. Finally, I saw a clump of trees in the distance and knew there must be something there for me!
I was right! I turned off the trail and scouted out the area. Parts of it were filled with anthills, so I chose a spot lower down. I later saw that I had put my stuff sacks on top of baby poodle dog bushes when I took them out of my pack!

As I lay in my sleeping bag at 8:36 pm, it is 61.8 degrees out and the crickets are chirping. I hope it is not too windy tonight! And I hope my tummy feels better tomorrow! Tomorrow is a big day- crossing the 700 mile point and reaching Kennedy Meadows- the gateway to the Sierras!

Day 41
May 29
mile 652-667.2
15.2 miles

I actually started to really sleep last night and did not want to get up! Sleep only happens on the second night of my stays in town because the first is filled with adrenaline and anxiety over everything that needs to get done in such a short amount of time: showering, washing clothes, shopping, eating, communicating with people from home, organizing resupply, journaling… There is never enough time!
I walked down to the Dam Korner for another avocado, bacon, and cheese omelet and wheat toast while I observed the interactions between the locals around me. I pondered whether or not I should order some french toast and decided to go with a half order. My stomach seemed to be feeling better this morning.
I returned to my room to sort through my food and do my final packing, and ended up having a little time to journal while I waited for Salty’s Dad. A saw a white van pull into the parking lot and got up to return my keys. Roadrunner, Will, and I climbed into the backseat and the little dog snuggled in between me and Roadrunner.

The ride back to the trail was very quiet and I started to get overheated and a little claustrophobic as there were no windows in the back of the van where I was sitting. I continued to write and then gave up when all traces of cell signal were lost. I wouldn’t be able to post anything anyway.
We reached Walker Pass and climbed out of the van to retrieve our packs, still in a space of awkward silence. The wind was blowing my shirt up, making me even more uncomfortable. I took a picture of Salty and his Dad, thanked them for the ride, and gave Salty a hug, which was not well-received. Both of them had a feeling of distance.

As the van drove off, Roadrunner and Will immediately started up the trail. I spent a couple of minutes taking pictures of the historical plaque and drank a half liter of water so that I was left with four liters to carry up the climb. I ended up having to pee a lot during the beginning of the climb, which always happens after leaving town. I felt good again after my stay. I had eaten enough that I didn’t feel hungry and I felt happy and filled up in every sense.

I made it to the top of the switchbacks and saw a nice little resting area ahead. However, I knew that Roadrunner and Will would be relaxing in that spot and I was right! I continued on and found another little area that looked like a good break spot. I entered the cove to find another hiker with raccoon eyes from his sunglasses tan, who was airing out his sleeping bag. I had never seen this guy before and asked him his name. “Crazy Nuts,” he said. He didn’t smile or seem to want to talk at all, so I excused myself from the area and walked on, finally reaching a little tree that I could sit under all by myself! I ate my avocado and found a text from my resupply people concerning a shirt that I had ordered before the start of my hike, which still had not been delivered. I didn’t remember what company I had ordered it from, so they were guessing where I had bought it and were calling up companies who had no record, instead of looking in my e-mail account that I had sent them, where it could have been easily looked up. It’s frustrating to not have a computer to be able to sort these problems out myself. My phone battery was starting to drain as I spent time trying to search for the initial order.
A bit later on, I received a text from Drama asking me what my shoes prints looked like! Drama was hunting me down! How fun! I knew that there was no reception before Walker Pass and knew that he must be close to me if he could text me! I looked around with wide eyes and started moving! I quickly lost any range of reception and was unable to communicate any further with him.
The temperatures weren’t too hot and the scenery was beautiful, especially during the first half of the day. And there was some beautiful stonework along the trail to prevent erosion.

As the day wore on, the sun grew stronger and made it difficult to see. I grew hungry and my energy started to fade. I sat down and ate a power bar and wished I could dump some of the water weight I was carrying. It felt like it was getting heavier and heavier!
At 5:06, I made it to the intersection of the Joshua Spring path, where someone had dropped off their pack.

I walked past it and found a tree to sit under and cook my dinner of pasta and peas. I didn’t plan on collecting water at this spring because it was a long walk downhill to get to it and there were reports that it was unsafe to drink because of the amount of uranium that it contained. However, when I looked more closely at the water report, the next source appeared to be a one inch deep, 5 inches wide puddle that people were pumping from! I didn’t have that kind of filter, so I had no choice but to go back and collect water from Joshua Springs. I saw the owner of the pack emerge back up the hill. He was extremely skinny and was wearing a brown hat with flaps on three sides, and a bright orange cape-like thing around his neck. He looked like Michael Jackson to me! I hoped that it wasn’t Drama! I hadn’t seen him since Warner Springs and didn’t know what he might look like by this point! The strange-looking hiker took his time collecting his things and spent several minutes photographing the Joshua Springs sign. Finally, he slung on his huge blue pack and walked by me.
I felt something on my seat and after waiting a moment to make sure that it wasn’t imagined, looked down to see red ants all over me! I had sat on top of an ant hole! I quickly got up and brushed as many off as I could!
Then, I made my way down the third of a mile to the springs. I startled the anti-social guy who was climbing back up from there. I asked him if anyone else was down there (“No”) and if he knew who was ahead on the trail, as I had just spent a day and a half in town. “No.” Great! Thanks…
I collected my water, slowly climbed back up to the PCT, filtered the water and headed out for a couple more miles. The trail went down, down, down, and then kept climbing back up! I felt thirsty but couldn’t drink much water because I needed to conserve what I had for the next 20 miles!
I took a couple of pack breaks to rest my aching shoulders and then as I walked on, saw a flat spot that was just big enough for my sleeping bag along the side of the trail. It was now 7:35 and I decided that is where I would stop for the night! I was hungry and snacked on a coconut Kashi bar, some of Icebucket’s grapenuts mixed with a little protein powder, and a peppermint patty for dessert. I actually took some time to journal (a rare event), and snuggled into my sleeping bag. The temperature had dropped from 67 to 61 degrees in the last 20 minutes!

Day 40
May 28
zero day

When I opened the door of my motel room in the morning to step out into the world, I was blinded by the sun and had to quickly shut the door and retrieve my sunglasses! It’s funny how new this California sun is to me still and how easily I forget about it! I walked over to the office to find out when the mail was expected to arrive, hoping I wouldn’t be stuck there until the late afternoon waiting for my sleeping pad to arrive. I planned on walking back to Nelda’s for breakfast, but the owner told me that there was a closer place called the “Dam Korner” that had better breakfasts, so I headed there instead. I ordered my usual omelet and toast and then asked for an order of french toast after I finished. I felt like I could sit there all day, eating!
I decided that wouldn’t be the best idea, however, and headed out to find the post office to pick up the box I had sent to myself from Mojave as well as send Erik a check for the fleece jacket that he was mailing to Kennedy Meadows for me. I returned to the motel office to see if my sleeping pad had arrived and found Salty sitting there! “Wendy…” he said. “I turn my back on you for five minutes and you run off to the highway!”. Ooops… I explained that he went off with Iceman and Cattywampus and didn’t seem to care about me, and how uncomfortable I was in the wind, so I decided to try my luck at hitching! He apparently was hoping that I would help get him a ride, but it turned out that he got a much quicker hitch than Chip and I! Everything was fine. We agreed to have lunch together in a few hours. I still had to figure out when and how I was getting back to the trail. The motel owner said I could make a cardboard sign and stand at the freeway exit. Or I could wait until the following morning and get a guaranteed ride with Salty’s Dad. What to do, what to do… The owner commented on my inability to make a decision. I decided it would be nice to take a rest day and paid him for another night. I now had my new sleeping pad and waterproof mittens for the Sierras and I spent the next couple of hours sorting through my resupply items and journaling for a bit before heading back to the Dam Korner for a chicken sandwich with Salty. I bought a mocha from the espresso shop on the way back and Skyped with my Swiss friend in the afternoon.
Salty and I planned on walking to Nelda’s for dinner, and he gathered up Will and Roadrunner to join us. They had hiked the PCT about six or seven years ago and I asked him Will if it was so windy back then (Ted had explained that most of the windmills in the area were a recent addition within the last couple of years). He said that no, it was not nearly as windy then, and that there were not nearly as many burn areas as there now are along the trail. We talked about hikers we knew and there whereabouts and he told me that Lorax was about a day behind. I wondered how that could possibly be!
All day, I had been experiencing cramps and was having other PMS symptoms, but it was much too early for this to be happening and I couldn’t understand what was going on! By the time we reached Nelda’s, I was in a lot of pain and sat in the booth with my hand on top of my stomach. I ordered a chicken sandwich, which turned out to be really bad. We had a new waitress and for a reason that we couldn’t understand, she found it extremely funny that Salty asked if he could have cornbread with his chili! Roadrunner told us about her near-death experience from almost drowning in a raging creek in the Sierras the last time they hiked the PCT and advised me to listen to my gut and wait for someone to come along if it told me a creek was too dangerous to cross alone. I told her I would.
Our milkshakes arrived, but my stomach was now hurting so much, that I couldn’t enjoy or finish mine. Terrible!
Roadrunner and Will headed to the grocery store on the way back, while Salty and I went to the drugstore so I could buy a few things that I needed, included the tube of Vagisil for any future chafing! I had no idea where to find it in this huge store, so I had to ask a male worker where it was! I was also getting worried that I might run out of memory card space in the Sierras, so I decided to buy a second one in case. I bought two more Snickers bars, an avocado, and a banana and then headed to the check-out counter while Salty played with a bouncing ball. I asked him if he could help me download a map and waypoint App onto my phone and he filled me in on what I was doing wrong.
Once back at the motel, Salty said that he would not be going out for breakfast in the morning in order to save money, and would eat out of his pack, instead. Will and Roadrunner had made the decision to get a ride back to the trail from Salty’s Dad in the late morning, so Salty said he would knock on our doors when he arrived. We said goodnight and headed to our separate rooms.

I am currently in the town of Lake Isabella, 35 miles away from the trail. I couldn’t decide whether or not to send a resupply box here or not because I heard that hitching here (and getting a ride back to the trail) was incredibly difficult! But this town supposedly has the best milkshakes on the trail!
It was decided for me, however, when my sleeping pad blew away from underneath me while I was camped on a sloped ridge on an extremely windy night with four miles to hike to get to a road to hitch into the town of Mojave.
That was my worst night on the trail!
The winds have been unbelievable! Extremely high and constant. There are windmills everywhere in this section!
(And that was, by far, my toughest hitch yet! I stood out in the wind and cold for over an hour and no one picked me up until the only trail angel in town came by to deliver another hiker to the trail).
Anyway, luckily my sleeping pad was the only thing the wind stole. I had been using my down jacket as a pillow and when I lifted my head up to see why my hip was hurting so much, it flew away as well! I quickly struck out my arm to grab it! And I saw that not only did I roll off my pad, but there was no pad there at all! I switched on my headlamp to try to see if it was anywhere nearby, but you can only see, at best, a foot around you.
So, with freezing cold hands, I texted the people who are sending my resupply boxes to ask them to send one of my replacement pads to Lake Isabella- 94 miles away. The winds never died down!
I decided to take a zero day here after hiking 27.5 miles yesterday (and an additional mile and a half to get from the diner to my motel room afterwards!). I hiked the 94 miles in 4 days.
Tomorrow, I will get a late start, but a guaranteed ride back to the trail with Salty’s Dad. Then, I have 51 miles until I reach Kennedy Meadows- the gateway to the Sierras! A whole different hiking experience to get prepared for! I personally can’t wait to be reunited with my regular hiking outfit. This desert get-up is not working for me! The skirt is altogether too big and the button down, stained brown shirt is not doing anything for me. And my hat is way too floppy!
Muk Muk and UB are days behind. I will hang out in Kennedy Meadows on the 1st so I can see Dr. Sole (he will arrive that afternoon). And then we will see who else is there and whether I can wait for Muk Muk and UB or not!
I’ve been hiking consistently and like to stay ahead of the “herd” so I can occasionally have my own space. That is when I feel happiest- just me and the mountains. But sometimes, it’s nice to hike with people who are funny or have good stories.
I have a couple of stories from each section, but they take so long to type out, and it is past my bedtime already!
I did start having some painful problems this last section- chafing and painful callouses on 2 of my toes. And one night, I did not get any sleep at all because of the high winds, which made the next day quite miserable. Wind is my least favorite element. There is nothing you can do to escape it.
Some days are challenging out here, but other times, I feel incredibly happy and filled with gratitude for being able to be here. I am so happy I made the decision to do this.

I’ve hiked 652 official trail miles and still have well over 2,000 more to hike before I get to Canada! Sometimes, it boggles my mind!

Some of the men out here are amazed at me because the weight of my pack is twice the weight of theirs, and yet I continue to hike strong and consistently. One guy said, “I’m doing all I can with a pack that weighs 20 pounds. Yours weighs twice as much and yet you hike faster and farther. I don’t know how you are doing it!”

I met a nice man, originally from Romania, who was hiking southbound for the Memorial Day weekend. He said to me, “You’re a strong girl!”.

Thank you, sir. That I am.

A lot of people have been saying that they are “finished with the desert” for quite some time now, but I am happy that I have been content to be where I am and not wanting to be anywhere else.

I have no idea what the conditions are like in the Sierras now- how much snow and ice, what equipment is needed, or how dangerous the creek crossings are going to be.
I’ll just take it as it comes and see when I get there!

(We have entered more remote areas with no cell reception and this will continue throughout the sierras, so I am not sure when I will be able to update this again…)

Thanks for reading and thank you for your patience!