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Wednesday, March 7, 2018

WINTER WONDERLAND


FROM GAILA:
Before Dick left I was told not to worry until after the 6th day. I forgot to ask him THEN what I was supposed to do?  This time I made sure I knew the rules.  He said, "NOTHING! Not for two weeks at least."  That's easy for him to say - RIGHT? Meanwhile, I am enjoying time with my mom and friends and all is well. (A couple photos at bottom of blog).


FROM DICK:
Day One thru Six:

It rained all night in Lake Isabella. I slept behind a Baptist Church and caught the 5:20 a.m. bus to Walker Pass. By morning the rain had turned into a sleet storm and when I was getting off the bus at the pass everyone was shaking their heads at this crazy man. Five inches of snow was expected but then that was cancelled.  A day later we got the 5 inches.


My worry was not being able to find the trail, but as it turned out it wasn't a problem. There were no human tracks (I never saw another hiker due to the bad weather). So whenever I lost the trail I would look for animal tracks and I could see a little depression. Animals take the path of least resistance so I followed coyote, Bobcat and mountain lion tracks.  If there had been more than 5 inches I would have been in trouble.


Setting up and taking down my tent was a pain in the ass. In the morning it was frozen and when I set it back up at night there would still be snow stuck to it. I am not a big fan of winter camping. I had no idea we were going to get a snowstorm. I had not planned to bail after only hiking 5 days and 85 miles but I kept dreaming of a hot bath.

Great shuttle system 
So I decided to get off the trail and catch a shuttle at Hwy 58 that would take me on a 10 minute ride into the town of Mojave. I got a room at a Motel 6 and was very disappointed when I was told none of the rooms had bathtubs - only showers. That's what I get for going with the cheapest place in town. At least I could do a load of laundry and get everything cleaned up and dried out (including me). I was also dreaming of food, so I headed out in search of a big juicy hamburger.
After a big breakfast I'll be shuttled back to the trail. I'm expecting this section to be flat. I'll be following the LA aqueduct south. I've just hiked 85 miles in cold/freezing weather and now I'll be hiking into the Mojave desert for the next 85 miles in warm/hot weather.



I am so happy with my new gear. My 5 degree sleeping bag is worth it's weight in gold and it's actually lighter than my old 30 degree bag. My possom gloves keep my hands nice and warm. I had on four layers of clothing for 5 days/24 hrs straight.
  

Thankful for my Altra Lone Peak 3.5 Mid Mesh hiking boots. It's like walking on clouds. 




For at least 20 miles of the trail it was very windy and there were hundreds of windmills. I even ate lunch sitting on a broken one that had landed near the trail. That must have been one hell of a windstorm to break that apart!

TO BE CONTINUED......



Another interesting RV spotted in the campground.

Enjoying hikes with friends

Waiting for a table at Postino's in downtown Gilbert! Well worth the wait.





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