We have passed the 400 mile marker! Woo hoo. The past 100 miles have been long, hard, and hot. Blisters are multiplying by the minute, Poodle Dog Bush and poison oak have covered large portions of the trail, the sun is blazing, and the mosquitoes are getting hungry. I have personally found the past week to be the most challenging, but Pounce seems to be finding her stride. We arrived in an oasis called Hiker Heaven, and spent the day recuperating, resupplying, and shopping for new gear.
Here are a few stories from the past 100 miles.....
Poodle Dog Bush: Poodle Dog is a plant that some people have a severe allergic reactions to. It grows in recently burned areas and gives off an aroma like marijuana (not that I would know....). Because of the terrible fires that Southern California recently endured, there are parts of that trail that are completely covered with Poodle Dog. Many hikers (including us) decided to avoid these parts of the trail and road-walk instead. The road is hot. Very hot. There is very little shade and the exposure to the sun is brutal. It was a tough walk but we still have a positive story to share. As we were walking along the road, a car drove past us and a man shouted something out the window. I thought he was commenting on our completely disheveled state,and calling us hiker-trash but as it turns out, he was our very own trail angel for the day. Two men were aiding trail runners in the area and decided to share their supply of bananas, grapes, chips, sodas, and ice with us. These men were so generous and kind. Their timing was impeccable and we sat our booties down on the blazing asphalt and ate like savages. I hope we didn't put them off of hikers for life :) They themselves were ultra trail runners and were training for a 100 mile trail run up and down steep mountains with impressive elevation changes. I am in awe of them. I can't even begin to contemplate the training and physical fitness required to run up and down mountains that Pounce and I struggle to walk Well, walk is a loose term... I think we resemble sweaty, mud creatures with over-sized luggage and breathing problems. Anyway, I wanted to thank our trail angels for feeding us and taking the time out of their day to generously help smelly strangers. The kindness of others is so prevalent here on the trail. This community is extremely inspiring to me. I hope to pay it forward as much as I can in the future. Volunteers help hikers along the trail. They offer to do our laundry and give us showers and a hot meal. They will stop on the side of the road and toss us beef jerky out of their car windows (Do we look that hungry, you ask? Yes.) A solo female gave 4 of us a lift into town and a box of Del Taco burritos (amazing). People continue to support us and I can't express my gratitude fully.
Ripped Pants:
Sadly, Pounce's pants are done. They were becoming too big and after a little spill down a mountain, the gaping hole in the backside of her pants demanded replacement. Fortunately, she found a cute skirt and legging ensemble at REI. I bought a new shirt because my previous shirt smells like a thousand dying rancid animals. Goodbye old clothing! I also took a tumble on a narrow ledge and scraped my thigh. We are both thankful that we don't have more serious injuries. Many of our friends are suffering from more severe aches and pains. Tendinitis, shin splints, and rolled ankles are claiming victims left and right. It is difficult to balance miles, heat, pack weight, and speed at this point in our journey. We are becoming hungrier and we want more food, but heavier packs leads to more hours on the trail. More hours on the trail with higher levels of exertion means more water, which in turns weighs us down even farther. As we push ourselves further and acclimate our bodies to this daily beating, we are becoming stronger and can therefor walk more miles each day, which is fantastic, but we are also burning more calories. The heat determines how much water we need, but that added weight exposes us to the sun for longer hours and then we need more water. These endless circles are all about balance and I hope that we will soon find equilibrium as well as become more familiar with our hiking styles and needs on the trail.
Croc Lobster:
My friends, my feet are killing me. I don't know whether it is the miles, the heat, the terrain/road, old shoes, pilling socks, or all of the above, but blisters are littering my feet like graffiti in a skate park. OUCH! Between my toes, under callouses, surrounding my heels- oozing blood, blister juice, and puss. It is delectable. Pounce has been a pal and has helped me pop them and thread them with dental floss. As we walked into Wrightwood, CA, I started hobbling. The heat radiating off the asphalt made my feet swell and my toes started pressing against my sneakers. I used my knife and cut open the toe box, but it didn't give me much relief. When we arrived in town, I got rid of those shoes as fast as I could manage. We went to the hardware store in town (the only place that sold shoes) and I tried on all the boots they had (2 styles). Neither were great but I figured they would be better than my old pair. Wrong. After 5 more miles, I almost chucked them off the mountain. Frustrated beyond belief, I decided to tie them onto my bag and wear my Crocs with a pair of socks for the remainder of the day. Bliss. Although blisters still popped up, my toes had space to expand and move! Fantastic. I wore my crocs for 50+ miles and have transitioned from Immortal Lobster to Croc Lobster (mimicking Rock Lobster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2V2h_Bd_Gg&feature=kp ). It is fitting. Speaking of my trail name, I guess I owe you a brief story on my stupidity, which lead to the name Immortal Lobster. I was walking down the trail with a friend, Jeckyll, who assisted her friend on a Lobster boat in Newport, RI one summer. That friend told her that Lobsters were in fact Immortal!!! WOAH! Can you believe it!?!?? Well, I actually did. Jeckyll sounded really scientific and used some big words and I was sold. So upon camping that night with fellow hikers, lobsters ironically came up in conversation and I chimed in with the appallingly interesting fact that lobsters were immortal and only died from external causes! I thought people would be in awe of my incredible news. I was met with silence and incredulity. We laughed (I cried, jk :) )and challenged the idea. After some internet research we discovered that they do die, but they live to be very old, like sea turtles. Here is a quote from NPR: "As best scientists can tell, lobsters age so gracefully they show no measurable signs of aging: no loss of appetite, no change in metabolism, no loss of reproductive urge or ability, no decline in strength or health. Lobsters, when they die, seem to die from external causes." But this doesn't mean that they are immortal my friends. I learned that the hard way, and now I have a name to show for it. It is a funny trail name that always inspires questions, I just wish my gullibility wasn't so dumb. Oh well. That is how Immortal Lobster was born. A few days later, some friends saw me cooking lunch one day. I made a tortilla with mayo (a rarity out here), sundried tomatoes, bacon crumbles, an avocado I carefully carried for dozens of miles, tuna fish, and Cajun seasoning. They all thought it was pretty gourmet and started calling my Lobster Bisque... The Immortal Lobster Bisque, or Ilby for short. That didn't stick for too long, but a few times a day people would sing rock lobster and call me Rock Lobster... it has a nice ring to it. Then the walk with the Crocs began and I am now answering to Croc Lobster. I love that one. I hope I don't end up with a trail name that is longer that the PCT. "The Immortal Croc Lobster Bisque...." no more please!
I must go soak my feet now, I will try to write another blog tomorrow.
Much Love,
Croc Lobster