Never mind Camelot tis a silly place

Today marks the first legitimate town stop of the trip! It also means that my bruised blistered feet get a much needed rest day. well here are some of the highlights thus far...

• Cinco De Mayo party at trail angel Mike's place
• six days strait of trail magic from angels
• First rain/lightning/hail storm of the trip
• Wildflowers blooming everywhere
• Rattle snake encounters
• First night hiking of trip
• Camping in scenic locations every night
• Climbing 4500 vertical feet since Warner Springs (2500+ of it done yesterday)
• Standing on a  8300 foot cliff side look at the world 7000 feet below you
• TREES! I didn't realize I missed those
• First snow encounter of the trip

So far this hike feels more like a vacation than serious backpacking. I know I said this before, but the amount of support from strangers is so cool! The magic comes in various forms. It started with chili dogs and beer a Barrel Springs. Then the community as Warner Springs welcomed us. The next day many of us hiked up to Trail Angel Mike's where we were greeted with beer, amazing chicken, lots of other food, and games. After that we hiked and came across a water catch bursting with full jugs making it so we didn't have to carry 10 pounds of H2O on us at all times. On the next day we were given avocados, oranges, and water by highway 74. Finally we were given a ride into Idlewild from another trail angel. As I said we get some love.

Yesterday marked the day where the hiking became serious. we are in the San Juncto mountains and they are beautiful. When I am not being lazy I'll post pictures. The trail actually hikes the crest of these mountains giving some amazing views of the land below. It also means hard hiking. The trail just went up and up and up and up and well up. Not to mention the wind kept trying to blow us off the mountain. That said, it has been my most favorite locations thus far on the trip.

The rainstorm also was a great highlight. The day started hot (around 95 degrees) so we took a siesta to wait for it to cool. Well round 3:00pm we noticed some clouds coming in and as they grew thicker we decided it was time to leave. By 4:00 the rain started to drip, and then fall, and then poor...and then hail. It dumped for about and hour and we did have lightning strike about 1/2 a second away from us, but it was fun and a nice change from hot desert sun. Plus the smells were so strong afterword.

I guess what I am trying to say is I am loving life right now. I know it sucks to be me.