GeoTagged, [N35.64276, E118.37820]
Hoping for a ride north-east on highway 178...
Saturday, June 20, 2009
A tough decision...
Well, figuring out the whole discretion, valour, & the better part thereof, I had to make a somewhat tough choice and pull off the trail for a couple of days.
My feet were not getting all that much better, and I had even more sore deep blisters that were really hurting. I have since done some web research and it looks like I may also be suffering Tarpal Tunnel Syndrome... Easily summed up by saying a squashed nerve casing severe pain!
Figuring I could live with 'losing' 50 trail miles, especially given that the previous 100 from Mojave had been spent mostly as an exercise in pain tolerance, I didn't feel too bad about taking the break.
Anyone who feels this is not true through-hiking can bite me! Unless you are doing this, or have done this, you would hve no idea how tough it can be, plus I figure walking for the past 3 odd weeks, sucking up a fair amount of foot pain has earned me a few passes!
Tom, who other than a sore shoulder from his pack, is fine. His feet have given him almost no trouble, so he has kept on truckin', and should walk into Kennedy Meadows Sunday lunchtime. Hopefully, i will be there to meet him.
Our trail buddy Spencer was also feeling in need of a bit of a break as well as a shower, so he was waiting at Walker Pass for us, where he and I hitched into Lake Isabella together.
After a good wash and rest in a less than wonderful motel, a good feed at a decent Taco joint & a small resupply at the supermarket, we are now trying to make our way an hour north to Kennedy Meadows.
Finger crossed the good karma we have been trying to keep and spread pays off in return, and we get a ride...
We'll see!
More to come.
Cheers.
RWK.
My feet were not getting all that much better, and I had even more sore deep blisters that were really hurting. I have since done some web research and it looks like I may also be suffering Tarpal Tunnel Syndrome... Easily summed up by saying a squashed nerve casing severe pain!
Figuring I could live with 'losing' 50 trail miles, especially given that the previous 100 from Mojave had been spent mostly as an exercise in pain tolerance, I didn't feel too bad about taking the break.
Anyone who feels this is not true through-hiking can bite me! Unless you are doing this, or have done this, you would hve no idea how tough it can be, plus I figure walking for the past 3 odd weeks, sucking up a fair amount of foot pain has earned me a few passes!
Tom, who other than a sore shoulder from his pack, is fine. His feet have given him almost no trouble, so he has kept on truckin', and should walk into Kennedy Meadows Sunday lunchtime. Hopefully, i will be there to meet him.
Our trail buddy Spencer was also feeling in need of a bit of a break as well as a shower, so he was waiting at Walker Pass for us, where he and I hitched into Lake Isabella together.
After a good wash and rest in a less than wonderful motel, a good feed at a decent Taco joint & a small resupply at the supermarket, we are now trying to make our way an hour north to Kennedy Meadows.
Finger crossed the good karma we have been trying to keep and spread pays off in return, and we get a ride...
We'll see!
More to come.
Cheers.
RWK.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Mojave.
After 2 days of dry dusty desert walking, we slogged our way up and over another set of mountains to look down on the further vast expanses of sage brush & Joshua tree filled sand, the massive wind farm, and over to the small town of Mojave.
The level ground walking wasn't bad, especially given the unseasonably cool weather we are experiencing, but the soft sandy slopes of the mountain trails made for some tough climbing.
My feet are sore from a few new blisters, but hopefully after the rest here in town, all should be good as we push on north to Kennedy Meadows, and the start of the Sierra Nevada.
Keep watching!
RWK.
Desert view.
We were sat on the trail taking a 5 minute break the other day, & I noticed I had a decent phone signal... So took a pic, typed this post, & uploaded it! We were looking out over the start of the Mojave desert, and looking forward to the soda break we were going to be taking at Hikertown, about 4 more miles later. And hot-damn, that soda was good!!!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Rest day in Agua Dulce
GeoTagged, [N34.49666, E118.34314]
A much-needed rest day was taken here in Agua Dulce today. After arriving at Hiker Heaven yesterday lunchtime, Tom & I got to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the legendary L-Rod, or Donna, as she is also known. All our clothes were washed & dried to near-new condition before we were kindly driven 30 minutes into a larger town by another Trail Angel, Bill, where we got to do a much needed gear shop at REI.
I'm hoping the new boots I picked up, with some fancy insoles, will prevent the near-crippling agony of collapsed arches I was experiencing for the previous few days.
Today, after a good sleep, we went down the road to the Sweetwater (Agua Dulce) café for a hearty breakfast with our trail-buddy Spencer (AKA Warpzilla). He was due to head out today, but decided he'd miss us too much, so ended up chilling with us the rest of the day, all of us judt sat watching movies in the trailer!!
So now, after a food resupply at the local supermarket, we are all packed up & ready to roll tomorrow at 0700.
More to come from the trail soon...
RWK.
Out.
Monday, June 8, 2009
View over the San Bernadino Valley.
We stopped along the trail for a sunny-spot-break... & it was glorious! The view was great too... After 3 days of unseasonably cold cloudy windy weather, complete with stinging hail, the sun was a very welcolme change.
Big Pine Cones!
GeoTagged, [N34.49666, E118.34314]
Up here in the Angeles Mountains, the pine cones get pretty damn big n heavy!! About 2.5kgs at least.
More updates to follow...
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