7.13.18
No rest for the wicked
I was stirred from my sleep. It ws midnight and I was warm. I tossed and turned. My head was aching and I chugged water thinking it was from dehydration. I layed back down and still, no sleep. After finally taking some IBuprofin and stairing up at te stars, I coaxed myself back to sleep. The 5am alarm blasted as if it were just 5 minutes later.
I felt grogy, but fought through to get the morning routine complete. I saw Hillbilly hike by as I was finishing up, and soon after I was on the trail. I hiked up and on, taking in the views and noticing everything was muted by a thick overcast sky. Despite this, the neon green moss popped as though the pines were wearing fancy diner jackets. I trekked on, soon finding Hillbilly, and then Vincent. Vincent was packing up and LadysFirst went zooming by with a huge smile, talking about having a record day. We waved him on and I set off after chatting.
You were either deep in the wood, or out on a hilltop. I zigzagged through the woods solo, trying to enjoy it. Somewhere in me was sluggish, either from the lack of sleep or the overcast day that begged a melloncolly attitude. I trekked on, soon after stopping for water at Little Jamison Spring I saw Vincent, 2 othersw, and finally Hillbilly. We all chated on, I complained about being a slug, then threw my pack on and hiked out after the crew.
It was a pretty solo hike from here, twisting and turning through the pine forest. Wild flowers, downed trees, birds out to play, it was all in the mix. And then . . . it rained. Or sprinkled at least! It was a welcomed change, id rather have rain then overcast all day. I hiked on pressing up the hills, it seemed to be a lot of up/down for supposedly being “easy”. I ained a big hill to find Bryan, a hiker that I met in Sierra City the day before, all set up for camp just hanging out. I said hello and we chatted a bit as I plopped down and had a final break before my last push to camp. He told me about his time in culinary school, and how he loved to cook.
After I was done with my snacks, I knew the 7 miles I had left were not going to wait on me as the light faded and I pressed on. I twisted and winded through the forest, popping out onto a large open ridge taking in the sight before being swallowed by the forest again. I padded on, feet against the nice trail until I popped out at a road, seeing a brown Jeep and Vincent sitting nearby. “Hey man!” I esclaimed, and we caught up as the 2 guys in the Jeep offered me a beer. I took it happily and we all chatted.
It wasnt long and we were off again. Vincent an I trekke the remaining 2 miles to Alder Spring, set up camp, and stretched before dinner. There was a fire going by a section hiker named Billy D and a few of us gathered around as the last spirts of light faded from the sky. I crawled into my tent, beat and tired, ready for sleep!
Hiker Profile: Bryan – Early 20s, from Salem Oregon. He got a late start in the desert and had regular 100 degree days. He decided to skip ahead to Kennedy Meadows South and has been trekking on ever since. He was trained as a cook and has been wokring his way up from the bottom, hoping to one day have his own food truck. If he were home, he would cook the following meal for his mom: Appetizer: Guac & Chips, 1st Course: Mushroom risotto and Grilled asparagus, 2nd course: BBQ ribs, Dessert: Strawberry Milkshake. It sounded like heaven on earth to me!
