Mid day Tuesday the 15th we encountered trail angels at Mike Herrara's house. Other folks staffed this ultimate trail angel stop. Sloppy Joes, Gatorade, and most importantly, water were in abundance. We really hadn't seen many hikers along the trail and this is where they were all gathering. It was nice to visit. Hotshot met up briefly with her friend, Acorn, from the Appalachian Trail. I took a mid day nap, and was teased by Hotshot that I was truly looking like "hiker trash". Apparently sleeping on concrete with a background of five gallon gas cans and garbage bins in the middle of the day qualified me as being hiker trash.My feet were commented on while I was there. Most hikers' feet are a blistered, taped, filthy mess. The one trail angel said my feet looked too nice. Two years ago when I hiked the first 110 miles of the PCT with Hotshot my feet took a beating. This year I'm doing all kinds of things to make them better. I got orthotics, really good socks, I trade out my socks every couple of hours and let the sweaty pair dry as I'm hiking (the desert dries things out fast!). I stop whenever I get a hot spot. The final part of my foot care regimen is using a Gold Bond non-friction stick (like a deodorant stick). This has drastically cut down on the blisters between the toes. I did finally get my first blister, a small one between toes, at about mile 170.
The 15th we slept in open spot in the chaparral not far off the trail. Not much flat space is needed to camp.
The 15th we slept in open spot in the chaparral not far off the trail. Not much flat space is needed to camp. The morning of the 16th I discovered Hotshot gets ready and moving way faster than I do in the morning! It's a sign of an experienced thru hiker. We still got on the trail a little after 7:00 a.m., and hiked in cool temperatures for a while in the morning. 
The desert is starting to bloom, but it's not at it's full glory yet. It should be soon. 
Hotshot having fun on the trail. If I tried this I would break!
Wednesday night, the 16th was interesting. Hotshot and I hiked about 16 miles and had an early dinner and rested at the Paradise Cafe. There is a section of the trail closed due to last years Mountain Fire so we now had a re-route of about 17 miles of road walking ahead of us. We decided to get a couple of miles in before we called it a day. As we hiked there was no place to camp, it didn't seem at all appropriate to camp in their front yards or pastures if these really nice homes. It then became dark and it became imperative for us to find something. Finally this abandoned falling down dwelling was on our left. It looked functional for the evening. In the morning we could tell it was a sea of goat heads and broken glass. We got out of there and were hiking by 6:05. 
Road walking isn't as good as hiking on a trail but I got to see some nice area I had never seen before. Right after seeing this sign for the Esperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway we stopped at a Forest Service fire station and by chance a Forest Service friend, Chris Fogle, was there! We had worked together on the You Will Not Stand Alone project, and had presented together. He and the Battalion Chief there were able to help Hotshot and I out with Forest Service and trail stuff we needed.
The desert is starting to bloom, but it's not at it's full glory yet. It should be soon. Hotshot having fun on the trail. If I tried this I would break!Wednesday night, the 16th was interesting. Hotshot and I hiked about 16 miles and had an early dinner and rested at the Paradise Cafe. There is a section of the trail closed due to last years Mountain Fire so we now had a re-route of about 17 miles of road walking ahead of us. We decided to get a couple of miles in before we called it a day. As we hiked there was no place to camp, it didn't seem at all appropriate to camp in their front yards or pastures if these really nice homes. It then became dark and it became imperative for us to find something. Finally this abandoned falling down dwelling was on our left. It looked functional for the evening. In the morning we could tell it was a sea of goat heads and broken glass. We got out of there and were hiking by 6:05. Road walking isn't as good as hiking on a trail but I got to see some nice area I had never seen before. Right after seeing this sign for the Esperanza Firefighters Memorial Highway we stopped at a Forest Service fire station and by chance a Forest Service friend, Chris Fogle, was there! We had worked together on the You Will Not Stand Alone project, and had presented together. He and the Battalion Chief there were able to help Hotshot and I out with Forest Service and trail stuff we needed.We then met up with Theresa (Bat Shit Crazy Mama is her trail name) in Idyllwild for lunch and an evening with Mike and Sharleen Rainville. Hotshot will now fly back to her real life and prepare to start work as a Salmon River Hotshot for the summer. I loved having Hotshot hike with me the last few days. Maybe we can hike together for a day or two when I hit Northern California!
