Today was a good
day. Perhaps because we "slept
in" since the Mt. Laguna post office didn't open until noon. Or perhaps because we ate a hot breakfast and
my stove did not catch fire. Or perhaps
because we actually passed a couple of hikers today! Whatever the reason, it was a good day.
Highlights for
me started right away in the morning -- like a good ranger, I went to pay for
our site, and on my way I found my first acorn woodpecker holes! If you've never seen them it's pretty
astonishing. Thousands of holes stuffed
with just the right acorn. Trust me, it
will blow your mind. And then I found
the guided nature trail ... I was one happy interpreter.
Our first trail
town was a wonderful experience. Melissa
got her stove fixed at the local outfitter, and we downsized a few items. We sent home a total of 3 lbs 10 oz! Heck, yes!
We also ran into a number if other PCT hikers! We hadn't really seen anyone since Lake
Morena ... it was nice to feel a part of the community.
And then we had
pain-free hiking most of the day. And we
chatted and laughed the day away. Turns
out that Melissa and I are a lot alike. And
in all of the weird OC Kwaiser ways. It
has been years since we were close, and today we had a chance to catch up ...
and find out just how much Kwaiser we both have in us. We're shy, but we flirts just like Grandpa
Kwaiser. We have the work-before-play,
workaholic Kwaiser gene. We're neat-nics
and routine-makers. We're self-driven
and perfectionist pleasers. We've come a
ways since our My Little Pony and Nadia and Bela (Romanian gymnastics!)
obsession days, but we seem to have grown in similar directions. It's been fun, remeeting my cousin. And tonight, we were super social, and camped
with two other hikers -- Soren and Justin.
Impressive, eh? We were pretty
proud.
Tomorrow, we try
to make up a few miles. Melissa's knee
is touchy and my stomach is ticked about something. So it goes the first week of a long
expedition -- at least when we got lost today leaving town, we only added a
mile!
For acorn woodpecker holes, you should come to my house and see the holes they have made. They're very destructive. Although I must admit it is pretty cool to see thousands of acorns stuffed into a power pole.
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