After journaling last night I turned off my headlamp and spent 30 minutes looking up at a sky full of stars with no moon and no light pollution. It was incredible! One of the advantages of sleeping cowboy style is a full view of what’s above. This morning Phantom and I were on the trail by 7:30am, with a 700 foot climb to Laguna Mountain. My foot felt bad almost immediately, with knife searing pain on the outside of the arch of my left foot. By the time we arrived at the Mt. Laguna General Store at 10:00am, I was convinced that I was done hiking for the day and possibly for good.
We spent 4 hours on the front porch of the store, eating sandwiches and snacks purchased inside, making phone calls, and talking with folks as they entered and exited the store. It’s interesting that in city life, I would never sit down on the front porch of any store and talk with strangers. That is one of the great gifts of trail life…everything slows down and we notice so many little things that we missed in the “real” world.
While there, I debated about my quandary, wondering whether to press on, knowing that the next 67 miles is bone dry with desert with no real access to a doctor, or if I should hitchhike 50 miles to the city of El Cajon on San Diego, see a doctor tomorrow, then hitchhike back to the trail, or take a day off to try and rest and heal the foot. While laboring over the decision for a couple of hours, I learned of the hiker box inside the store and went inside to poke around to see what was in the box. (Hiker boxes are usually one or two cardboard boxes in which hikers put stuff—gear or food that they no longer wish to carry in their pack.) Inside the box were two orthotic insoles made by Superfeet.
In 2001 I used Superfeet for my insoles all the way from Georgia to Maine. They were too small for my shoes, but, being a desperate man who felt like he needed to try anything, I jumped on those insoles and placed the left one in my shoe to replace the insole provided by the manufacturer. It felt a little better when I took a few steps, with pressure shifted to the other side of the arch. So I made a decision…time to hike, go for a few miles, and if in intense pain, turn around for the store and hitchhike out.
Many of our hiker buddies arrived while Phantom and I sat at the store. Tom from Montana arrives first. We sat around and talked and Tom stated that he had to wait until the P.O. opens tomorrow at noon to get his food for Warner Springs. It seemed he really wanted to join us to hike on, and the next thing I knew he had arranged for his food drop to be forwarded, had bought food inside, and announced to us that he was “good to go.” I immediately gave him the trail name Good To Go, which he loves. So at 2pm, Good To Go, Phantom, and I left the store behind, loaded up on water for the potential 22 miles before the next water, and proceeded north.
Soon we came to a spectacular view of the Anza-Bonego desert just below us some 4000 feet down. It is an expansive desert with towering mountains on the other side. On the horizon we got our first glimpse of Mt. San Jacinto, laden with snow. The mountain awaits us in just a few days.
We pushed on until about 5:30pm, and tonight are camping on the fringe of Pioneer Mail Picnic Area. My foot continued to ache, but I was able to walk 10 miles without searing pain and I think the Superfeet just might save the journey! Certainly I have hope now that I will be okay. Tonight it’s Phantom, Good To Go, and Thomas from Austin, TX in our site. It’s windy and cold at 5,240 feet in elevation. Tomorrow we drop down to the desert fringe and a long hot walk for the next 50 miles.
Great views today, lots of varied plant life and ecosystems, painful walking, a great break at the store, and a hopeful ending to the day.
Weather: Sunny all day. Low: 32 High:68. Elevation Low/High 5,250 to 6.020. Today’s mileage 14.6 Cumulative mileage: 52.7.
