Day 53- June 11th

Wow, today was loooooong! From the time we started walking to the time we finished walking was 13 hours! About 3 hour break time total and we had ourselves a 10 hour walk day. I guess better than a 10 hour work day? 

We woke up early again and we're ready to leave by 7am. When Claire went to pick up her trekking poles she discovered something horrible! 

Some creature in the night had chewed up her cork handles on the poles and completely ate the straps that attach around her hands!! We couldn't believe it! People always leave their poles outside of their tent. Lots of people use their poles as exterior structure to hold UP their tents! How did this happen?!

It was definitely not the best way to start the morning :/ We're hoping that Hiker Hunger will understand Claire's situation and be cool enough to send her new poles to Kennedy Meadows! 

Another thing that we're dealing with is that Claire's brand new $160 inflatable mattress already has a slow leak and is near flat in the morning :( If you know Claire, you know that she takes incredibly good care of her things and is very careful! 

This one was definitely a manufacturer error, and we're hoping to get a new one sent to Kennedy Meadows as well. Until then Claire can use my Thermarest pad or we can put it sideways and both use it for our butts while sleeping at least.

One of my favorite things about being outdoors are the awesome views. Yes while hiking, but also while taking care of business. Going around a big boulder just off trail to answer nature's call, and this is my view:

A room with a view 

We went down down down and came across an awesome water cache! There was about 50 gallons of water there, a little cooler with snacks, a small container with first aid supplies and pills, and even a couple portable power banks to use so you could charge your phone if need be!

How awesome! We topped off to four liters of water, and left with only 21 miles to go until the Highway which will take us to Lake Isabella! As always, there was a niiiiice big climb after the fast downhill we enjoyed in the low heat.

This hill was not messing around. It was a 1600 foot climb in under 3.5 miles! The sun was staring to heat up and it made the ascent not too fun. It was physically taxing to say the least, especially with 4 liters of water!

We stopped halfway up and sat below the trail on the hillside. I tossed a little pebble at a log balanced on a rock and I hit it straight on. Claire tried the same and soon we were mindlessly tossing rocks at the log. The rocks kept getting bigger and bigger as we started running out of small rocks, and soon the mission became not to only hit the log, but to knock it off the rock it was perched upon! Seems really silly, but that was the most fun I've had in a few days! Finally, I lugged a gigantic boulder down at the log and it finally toppled. Success! Oh yeah, now back to the huge hill..

After successfully summiting, guess what? Yup you guessed it! A looooooong downhill.. We didn't go as steep down as we did up, but instead took our sweet time with about 5 miles and winded back down into the next valley.

I spy a wascally wabbit..

At this point it was almost 2pm so we stopped for a break under a tree. We laid out the Tyvek and got nice and comfy and chewed some food. I soon noticed a little ant sitting on my slipper walking off with half of a sunflower kernel that I must've dropped. 

This little dude hauled this thing for what must be miles for an ant over many huge obstacles! Up and over sticks, weaving through grass, through fallen leaves and branches, even straight up a rock! 

The little guy had Claire and I in awe, and we sat on the Tyvek and watched ants take food to their hill for almost two hours! We gave them little pieces of food and I tried to see how big of a piece one ant could carry! 

The little ants work so hard and are so busy, they never seem to stop or take breaks. I'm really glad that I'm out here doing this hike and not working all day everyday. It may be physically challenging and sometimes I wonder why I'm out here, but I'm doing this because I chose to and I love it! 

Speaking of feelings and things, today was the biggest emotional roller coaster that I have been through personally with Claire. I'm  not going to get detailed, because we now feel a lot better after a little more discussion. 

Something I've learned today or rather was reminded of: 

Don't rift or cause a division when you disagree or misunderstand or are unpleased. Don't sit (or hike) in silence left alone with your thoughts and  assumptions and let anger build up inside of you and blind you. When the cards are out on the table, feelings are clearer and you remember what's true, real, and meaningful.

 I love this woman so much, she is so special to me and nothing is worth getting in between the two of us. We'll hike into Canada together and look back on this experience forever! 

We walked a whopping 20.89 miles today! Only 58 miles to go until Kennedy Meadows, our gateway into the Sierra!! It's about time we get out of this heat and sand and start getting some real beautiful views around every corner! 

Tomorrow we walk 6 miles to Highway 178 and hitch into Lake Isabella. I have some exciting news to share with you on Monday when we get to the post office! Yes, even aside from Mom's care package.. And Dona's too! :)

Ah, one last thing. I got a weird spot on my left ankle that I just noticed tonight:

It's just below the sock line so I'm assuming it's a bite from our break today when I was barefoot. I don't recall any specific pain and it doesn't hurt but it's color is very alarming. Anyone know what it is? Spider bite? If anyone knows please comment!

-Thanks for reading!