(Mile 1218.5 to
1238.5, past Onion Valley = 20 miles)
 |
Gumby and Mother Goose during one of the sun breaks.
We heard thunder all day long. |
Most of today
was what I would consider a bad day. It
only took 84 to have a bad trail one.
Pretty good, I'd say.
Part of the
reason for the rough day is three nights of bad sleep. The first night was a town night, and we
stayed up too late and got up too early.
The second night was a town night, too, but we went to bed early -- our
fellow campers stayed up late. And then
last night was just a little hellish.
We set up camp
in a saddle, cowboy-style. I had a hard
time falling asleep because it was ridiculously quiet, and I could hear every
snapping of a twig, every scampering of a critter. And then there were the mosquitoes, buzzing hungrily in my ears. I put on my headnet, but it blocked my view
and was hot. Too hot to fully cover up
and too hot for the bugs to go to bed.
 |
"How does the sky look?"
"Dark and ominous," said Gumby ... |
I slept fitfully
for awhile, awoken by buzzing, snapping, heat, and what looked like headlamps
flashing. At 12:30 a.m., I awoke to
truck lights in my face. We were
semi-close to a dirt road, and there must have been a break in the trees at
just the right angle. Headlights. Brights.
The truck stopped. I layed in the
brights, eyes closed. Headlights. And the truck finally went back to creeping
down the road. Now, I was fully awake
again. Flashing lights, dozing ...
thunder? I sat up and watched the
sky. Sure enough, there was thunder and
lightning on the ridge. I shouted over
to Gumby a few times and had her watch.
I suggested we set up our tents, pronto.
The storm grew louder, and the wind picked up as we struggled to undo
one camping style and set up the other.
It was chaotic and took an eternity.
When I went to set my NeoAir in the tent, I found it partially
deflated. Somewhere in the shuffle, it
must have snagged and ripped. Sigh. I asked Gumby for her flattened sit pad and
arranged hers and mine the best I could.
Of course, all tucked in, I couldn't help but listen for the storm and
hope that a big gust didn't tear my TarpTent to pieces. I devised a backup plan and continued
listening. I might have fallen asleep
after 3 a.m.
Morning came
early and with a start. Gumby spotted
another storm front, and we raced it to get our tents down and packed. I was throwing the last items in as the hail
was starting. We walked in the rain the
first half of the day. Thunder
constantly rumbling in the distance. The
storm never hit hard, but it never left, either. It rained, blew, and thundered on and off all
day. It is only now becoming quiet.
 |
| This tiger lily was a moment of reprieve on a rough day. |
So three bad
nights sleep, storms, and Gumby and I are coming down with sinus
infections. Kwaisers (our side of the
family) do not get colds, they get nasty sinus infections. We are tired, our sinuses hurt, our throats
are dry, our ears ache, and some of our snot is green. (Lots of it is black with dirt!) We are trying to fight them, but it's hard to
tell how we're doing. We blame it on the
I-80 rest stop. I've also had a headache
for the past week -- my neck is out from sleeping funny ... this pinches nerves
and gives me headaches. Oh, how I'd love
to bump into my chiropractor on trail!
And then I have
a new pain in my left foot over my fourth metatarsal. Inflamed bug bite? Or did I step funny one too many times?
Throw all of
this together with upward climbs over so-so landscapes, a little personal
turmoil that even Jazzercise music couldn't shake, and it was the makings for
my least good day yet. But. The night is calming, we're getting to bed
reasonably early, and we spent a little time with Mother Goose today. Not a terrible day in the end, but not one I
care to repeat. Here's to a better one tomorrow!
