Day 8
April 26
Kick-off

I woke up fairly early, went in search of a cup of coffee (I only found a bad one), went through my class plan, and then headed down to the lake, where the yoga session was supposed to be held. (Last night’s session was held in a much closer location to the campers.) It turned out to be quite a walk! Once I reached the lake, I searched out the most level area I could find and then waited and waited and waited… Where was everyone? Why was I the only one there? Finally, I saw a single-file line of people making their way down. I guess the class would just start later than it was supposed to. I had worried so much about my voice being able to carry outside, but it turned out to be just fine. Everyone seemed to be able to hear me and at the end of the class, I felt like it was one of the best classes I had ever taught! A few people came up to me afterwards to chat, which was nice.
Then, I headed back to the pavilion to listen to a panel talk on desert hiking techniques. I sat on the floor in the back where an infestation of ants had apparently found some leftover food. Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t learning anything new from this talk and went to see if Dr. Sole could take care of my shoulders and blisters. I had open, stinging blisters from wearing my crocs, which were too tight, around kick-off. Dr. Sole already had a line of people waiting for him, including the German who had been hiking southbound. When he saw me, he immediately began making snide remarks, telling me that I was going slow on the climb to third gate and asking if I was okay. Yes, I was fine… It was a very hot afternoon, and I was climbing! And I wasn’t going that slow. What was his purpose in saying that to me? I didn’t want to be near him after that interaction, so I walked back to the pavilion to listen to the “new way to walk and avoid injuries” talk. By this time, I was getting very hungry, but no lunch was being served! Luckily, I saw some people with hamburgers and was pointed in the direction of some trail angels who were serving burgers. I asked Dr. Sole if he would like one and brought one back for him.
Then, I returned to the pavilion to listen to the water and snow report, where I found Muk Muk! The water report was very, very boring, and something I also did not need to hear, so we went back to see if Dr. Sole could fit us in. I didn’t get a chance to soak my feet, but he washed out my stinging blisters, put a rainbow band-aid on it, and put some more goldbond powder on my shoulders. (I had been excited to wear my yoga outfits, but had forgotten about the unsightly sores that my backpack gives my shoulders! It was not a good look…)
Once again, I headed to the Pavilion to hear Kolby Kirk’s talk on journaling. I loved this talk! He is an incredible artist and journaler and it was nice to see his work! I then waited for Ned Tibbets’ snow and safety presentation to begin until someone informed us it was being held outside. So, I went to listen to this very confident, skilled, and knowledgeable man talk about hiking in the snow in the Sierras, how to use an ice axe, and how to ford the rivers of snowmelt. I tried to soak in as much of the information that he presented as I could. And then it was time for burritos! I couldn’t find anyone I knew, so I went back to Dr. Sole’s RV, where I met his son Boomer. Dr. Sole was still hard at work patching up injured feet!
I headed over to the short film festival and sat by myself in the crowd of people, laughing at the absurdity of some of the things that were being shown and then, once more, headed back to Dr. Sole and the fire he had going. Several people had gathered around. Finally, Muk- Muk showed up. She was very upset about being made to sit with the trail angel at the registration desk all evening (when no one was showing up and she obviously wasn’t needed), and listening to everyone laugh at the movies she couldn’t see. And all of this after having to sell someone else’s product all day! I told her that this kick-off weekend was meant as a celebration for her and that she should not be working! I encouraged her to tell the trail angel that she wanted to attend the events and deserved to do so. Dr. Sole agreed. Both of us could not stomach the idea of riding back to Warner Springs with him. We had to find another way back! Dr. Sole invited us over for coffee and breakfast burritos in the morning.
For having done no hiking, it was a tiring day!