I am born and raised in southern California. Since I was about 7, I knew I didn't like SoCal and wanted out. After today I realized, southern California is frickin gorgeous when you remove all the people. Lol. But Wow. I love the scenery. Many would consider it quite boring, but I love rocks and lizards and there are tons of those out here. Happy! :)
Today is my 3rd snake encounter. 3 snakes in 3 days. But today I didn't see it, I just heard the rattle. Double yikes!! This is yet another reason why I am not using an mp3 player...
So I hiked with Dazzle for a bit. He's helping me figure stuff out and giving me good advice. I also met this couple (I forgot their names), and another couple who are both Triple Crowners (they have done this trail, Appalachian trail, and continental divide trail) and are doing this trail for the 2nd time. I believe they originally met on the 1st day of their first pct thru-hike in 2006. The two couples and I started the same day. Dazzle, the day before. I call us the Casual Club. Lol. A lot of people are busting 16-20+ miles/day right off the start. We prefer to go at a more casual pace :D
Man, the scenery today was so sweet. I'm in higher elevation now (around 5000') so things look different. It's rad!! Real pretty views from the ridges.
I'm contemplating buying a different pack. Mine doesn't feel good :( But i don't know if thats how its supposed to feel, or if it really doesn't fit. Maybe I'm just being a baby? I definitely have too much weight in my pack. I tried on another gal's pack and it was so comfy I wanted to do cartwheels! But it was also a lot lighter. I'll keep with it a while longer and see if things get better. This is already the 2nd pack I bought and it was expensive :(
The guy in the pic below is Dazzle from Kauai. Super cool cat. That sign is from this area where a military plane supposedly crashed, with live ammo. The rest are views from today. Sorry if pic quality isn't great, I'm doing this entirely from my phone.
Anyhow, it's 8:30 and I'm balled up in my sleeping bag cuz its cold!!! Brrrr. Nap time!
I saw one of the ultra light pack companies at KO with samples. I plan on bringing a bunch of my gear with me and hopefully test loading a pack and walking around a bit before I decide which one. (My current packs are "overweight" old school designs)
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