We departed Julian Sunday afternoon and trekked on towards Warner Springs. It was rough, and my feet were basically falling apart (see gnarly pictures below), but we made it and officially passed the 100 mile mark on Monday night!! That day was the longest day we've had so far, with a total mileage of 17. We finally found a place to camp at about 11 at night. But it's okay because we ran into some awesome night life along the way like a tarantula and salamander! Also, and perhaps more importantly, Nick gained his trail name: 'Snake Eyes'. Tuesday proved to be a much easier hike, however. We walked a flat and easy trail across a tremendously gorgeous field into Warner Springs where Nick's cousin Ann (and her husband 'Hopper') came to pick us up. And we have spent the last couple of days as zero days at their house. Our original plan was to stay for two nights, but when Nick found out little cousin Rosie was coming to visit on Saturday, we decided we just had to stay longer. It has been amazingly wonderful. They live in the mountains so close to the trail they can see it from their window! And they're house is completely off the grid (or in other words, it runs on energy from the solar panels installed in their backyard...so it's only my dream home and stuff). They have a 75 year-old desert tortoise named Tiny, a german shepard named Elsa, and a little black bunny named Oreo that we get to play with every day. Also, they're taking care of their neighbor's place for a bit so we got to go visit their turkeys and chickens and pigs. They have also taken us to the Palomino Observatory (the one that declared Pluto is not a planet) and the San Diego Zoo!! Not to mention they've treated us to stupendous home-cooked meals, desserts and restaurant outings. Getting to hang out with Rosie has also been a blast. She officially walked around the zoo with a fake mustache with me, this girl is awesome. Needless to say, we've been livin' the dream here. It's going to be hard to leave tomorrow. Thank you so incredibly much, Ann and Hopper. We are going to miss you guys!
Til next time
Good luck and great hiking, you guys! Love you, JB
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