The Right Words are Simple : Julian

Well, we're a couple miles behind scheldue but we've finally made it to Julian! It turns out that walking in the mountains is very similar to driving in them: when the sign says "10" miles, it's going to feel like "20". Our first day on the trail was by far the longest and the hardest. We walked all day with close to 50 pounds on our backs and still weren't anywhere near our goal of 20 miles, or more importantly, water. So when nighttime rolled around we were pretty concerned, but then came the trail magic: we stumbled upon a mini campsite stocked with plenty of water. . . Thanks trail angels! Needless to say we slept incredibly well that night. The next couple of days were all challenging and much the same (except for Friday night, but I'll get to that). We slowed our pace down to about 10 miles a day to accommodate my knee (in a brace) and my blistered feet. Nick's body, on the other hand, has been doing fabulously. He easily outpaces me and had no pains to complain about aside from his back and shoulders. But my body is doing better each day, and I'm not worried. Aside from physical ailments, however, the trail has been awesome. It has amazed me how many people we've already met. Everyday we run into a minimum of 5 new hikers, and have even made some actual friends. It's awesome! The hiker community here is like one big family, and I'm so excited to be becoming a part of it. Today in Julian we even got free pie and ice cream! Also, I have officially adopted a trail name. We have yet to give Nick one. I suspect it will have something to do with being a snake catcher though haha.

And now to discuss what happened Friday night. So Friday day had been a really successful and easy going hike. The weather was awesome, the people were awesome, Nick even caught an elusive Rosy Boa! So after filling up on water at one of the pitstops (where many of the hikers were camping out) we decided to push on a couple more miles to the next campsite on the map in attempt to have less miles to hike before hitting the town the next morning. We never found that campsite. Instead, we hiked until dusk was setting in and ominious rain clouds were rolling towards us over the mountaintops. There was absolutely no flat, cactusless ground to be found save for one spot right on the top of small ridge. So we had a choice, trek on and risk being caught in the storm at night, or set up camp and hope the one small tree would serve as a decent windblock. Well, we chose to camp. And well, the poor little tree turned out to be no windblock at all. The winds were so fierce by the time the tent was set up that I was afraid it was going to snap my tent poles (we found out later the winds were over 70 miles per hour). We ended up sleeping with our boots on and in our thermal underwear covered by our normal clothes just incase we had to abondon the tent; our backpacks were fully loaded and ready to go, propped up against the side the wind was hitting hardest in an attempt to support the poles. Did I say sleep? I meant we spent the night wishing we were asleep. The winds only got worse and when the rain came it brought hail with it. Nick and I were huddling together underneath our emergency blankets watching the tent above us bend and shake violently all night. Rain leaked through the edges where the wind was blowing away the rain cover and several times the wind was so powerful it lifted a good portion of the tent straight off the ground despite all of our weight. But my tent never broke, and morning finally came bringing the sun and all its glory, which in this instance included a double rainbow! It didn't stop raining, however, but it did become far more bearable. So we took down the tent and trekked wet and cold to scissors crossing where we hitch-hiked for the first time ever to the town of Julian. Which, as afore mentioned, had free pie and ice cream waiting for us. Not to mention a hot shower and a bed. All the same, we named my tent Diana, after Wonder Woman. Because there would have been none of this for us today if she hadn't stood her ground so heroically.

Til next time-Birdie

Nick and I with the performing artists of Julian! They put on a short comedy skit for free, it was awesome.

A delicious California Burger (no really thats what it was called, I'm not saying that just because it came from California!) From Jeremy's on the Hill Restaurant just outside of Julian. So Good. So Good!