Wind, Rain, and Lion King

Waking up in the cloud was difficult. In fact, it was worse. The rain continued, the wind got worse, the sun had not broken through yet. We ate breakfast in our tent and  packed everything as quickly as possible. When we got on the trail we realized we happened to be on a very steep cliff with winds of 40-50mph. It was crazy. Our packs made us human sails. 

After the whole day of cold rain we finally switched sides of the mountain and the weather calmed down. We made it to our watering hole and our campsite. This would be our last known water for 30 miles.

The next day we deemed Lion King day. Unfortunately, the pictures do not do it justice. We even had some stormy clouds over a section. Needless to say, lion king quotes happened most of the morning. 

We rocked the next day pretty well. We encountered some beautiful trail magic. After hiking down the mountains and across a valley we found snacks and water under a bridge. 

This is a beautiful thing. Snacks are great and extra water is beautiful. The people who provide trail magic are beautiful.

We continued walking with a sugar rush. We went straight up and entered the San Felipe Mountains. This is a dry set of mountains. We weaved back and forth along the edge of the mountains. It becomes dizzying to go in and out of these contours but the views were beautiful.

We ended up camping in two separate sites because of the tiny camping sites these mountains provided.

Day 6:

We made 100 miles!!!!

This day we would head out to our first mail drop and our first 100 miles. It turned out to be a warm day. We passed Eagle Rock along the way. 

It just so happened to be the Sunday of Memorial Day. So... 'Mericia

We also went through a prairie with cattle. It felt like home. 

We made it. 100 miles, Warner Springs. For that we deserved a day off. And sometimes days off include hitch hiking, but that story is for another day. Tonight I rest. 

Until next time :) 

Shelly

It begins!

We started! Finally.

Before learning about our trip, I should probably introduce a character of our trip. Nathan. 

He is one of my friends from middle school. He decided to join the trip about a month before the start date. He will hang around, until he can't put up with our pace :) 

Back to the trail! 

After enjoying an evening at a trail angel's home in San Diego we got up early and drove to Campo with a full van of hikers. We busted out the gates with 15 miles in a flash. I think we felt we had something to prove. Luckily we did most of the hiking before the heat. Suddenly I was stuck going up a hill in the heat of the day with little shade and 15 miles on my feet. After hugging a couple rocks for shade and going slower than a snail we finally made it to camp. 

For me, the first day was a struggle. It was realizing how different this life is. It becomes so overwhelming to think of the trail as a whole. It is a ton to think about waking up and walking for so long but as my companions pointed out you just have to enjoy the beauty along the way. Everyday you get to see something beautiful. This hike allows the opportunity to enjoy each mile for its beauty. It forces you to take the time to appreciate it all. 

Also, the community on this trail is beautiful. From the trail angels, trail magic, to people on or around the trail, they form a real community. This 18" wide trail has become a home with a community reaching around the global. It is quite beautiful. 

Back to the trail. 

We survived Day 1 and trucked on to Day 2 

This day was similar. Heat, elevation, beautiful sights, and general pain. But this is the day we learned Emily had a blister issue. A fellow thru hiker Perry aka PerBear treated her blisters in hope of helping them callus over. Unfortunately the blisters haven't gone away yet, but Emily is becoming callous to the pain.... Sorta...

Part of being on the trail is understanding how far to push yourself and how far your body is willing to go. We have been learning this balance the first few days. Sometimes you can harness the pain to become better at hiking and sometimes the pain is debilitating and it is the best to just rest. The balance is a challenge to find.

Day 3

We made it 50 miles!!!! 

This day we found out what it was like to be in the clouds: cold, wet, and windy. The views reminded me of Ireland. It was hilly but beautiful. We also made it into town. We found fellow hikers, food, cell service, and trail magic (free beer).

Needless to say, towns are nice.

The day ended trying to find a windless campsite in a picnic area. We partially succeeded. It led to eating in tents and music by Emily all crammed into one tent. 

That has been the beginning of the trip. Challenging but filled with so much fun and so much beauty. The terrain is always changing and stunning. We are always learning.

Until next time!

Shelly

 

The Breath Before The Plunge

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks" -John Muir

Throughout my travels, I have found this statement to be true time and time again. All adventures in the woods bring more experiences, adventures, and memories than are first expected. There is a sense of self-renewal and growth in the wild places we explore. They are places for self-actualization. Re-creation. 

Shelly and I have decided to publish one final post before we begin our journey. Here we are going to write down our expectations for our walk. Our goals, our fears, our hopes-everything and anything that comes to mind before we set off. This will be a way for us to look back on our journey and see what we have learned and how we have changed. This post will be a marker showing what we have sought in our journey and what we have received. 

Bye Missoula! Until next time

Emily's expectations:

Where do I begin? I have so much excitement and anxiety its hard to sum it all up. I am anxious about a lot of things, mainly my old injuries that like to flair up when its inconvenient. I am also worried about the lack of water in California. We will see how that goes.

I am hoping for many things on this trip. I want to become a better backpacker. I am by no means an expert and I hope to be an expert by the time I reach the end. I also hope to improve my health, both in body and mind. I want to be in top physical condition when we reach Canada! My most sincere hope, however, is that this hike helps me heal. This year has been awful for me. I have experienced the most profound heartbreak and loneliness and I am still struggling with this pain. My wish is to heal these wounds. I want to grow as a person and really come into my own. If I come out better on the other side, the journey will be worth all the work.

There are a lot of things I expect to happen. I expect to be sore as hell. I expect to be constantly hungry. I expect to be angry, happy, exhausted, anxious, and confused-all at the same time! I also expect an epic trail name. Most of all, I am expecting and looking forward to a ton of laughs and jokes with Shelly. We have enough sarcasm to last every single mile and a million more after that. I'm sure we will have a lot of memorable times.

Shelly's expectations:

Well I expect everything to be perfect and happy. Pretty much a musical. :)

I am worried about many things for this trail, my physical shape, the lack of water, my mental abilities, my distance from my friends and family, California falling off while we are hiking, and many more reasonable things. :)

As far as things I expect. I am expecting pain and lots of it. I also expect joy and laughs. I expect to be cold at night and hot in the day. Annoyed by bugs, but astonished by the beauty of the trail. I expect to be changed by this journey. I hope to let the trail shape me and discipline me into becoming a better person.

I am most excited to embark on a trip that is all about the journey. Most trips end up being about the journey, but this one is planned for the journey. That is what I am most excited for. To put myself through each mile and see how it was different from the last. I hope that I can become a better hiker, better person, and really discern where I should go after the trail.

Well, now that we have our thoughts on paper (digital paper) its time to leave the computers behind! This is it, the breath before the plunge. Wish us luck and keep us in your thoughts! This is the beginning of a bright and daring adventure. 

Bye for now! We're going on an adventure! 

-Emily and Shelly