Day 12 – Breakfast Burritos and Ladies’ Day on the Trail

April 27, 2016: Tom treated his guests to breakfast burritos and coffee! Pine wanted to get started, but I have never been one to pass up breakfast! I stayed behind sipping coffee and looking up at the next foothills that would need climbing. It would be a long day in the desert. I was not the only straggler.

Serenity and Woodchuck were also getting a later start, and I joined them both for a ladies’ day, talking of those special issues that us female hikers face on trail (like how not to pee on one’s foot, etc.). It was a funny, entertaining day. Woodchuck even found a stick bug that we all admired during our break.

The pleasantly cool morning turned to a hot desert climb. Serenity’s knee and my foot were really taking a beating. Woodchuck had already resorted to hiking in Crocs, unable to bear the pain her trail runners had been causing. We slugged up and down the ridges, making one last long climb up to a “campsite among huge boulders.” It was late evening when we arrived, and the campsites available were nearly full of exhausted hikers. Met up with Erica and Toby, who had figured out that their water bottle had been leaking in their tent – not good since hot days in the desert were followed by cold nights and it was threatening rain.

Woodchuck, Serenity and I pitched tents quickly. I made dinner as the sun set and quickly got my cold self into my tent before any rain fell.