Day 9 – Thursday 3/29 – Mile 81.6 to 99.2 (total 17.6)

After some fun night hiking, around mile 14 our feet were sore and our bodies exhausted. We checked our Guthooks app for the next tent site and decided to camp there when we got to it. Unfortunately, when we got to it, it was already occupied. We hiked to the next site further down. Alas, it was also already claimed. By this point we were beat. We decided to settle for any flat spot big enough for our tent, and since I have better eyes than Marcel, I led the way. It felt like forever until we found a suitable spot. Even though it was rockier than we like, the space was kind enough to not tear a hole in our tent or pop our air mattresses.

Day 10 – Friday 3/30 – Mile 99.2 to 109.5 (total 10.3) Good Friday

We stopped at Barrel Springs for lunch and look who was there…

After saying goodbye to Possum, we continued our hike through some absolutely stunning open rolling hills and farmland.

We didn’t get any pictures of the cows, but there were many on the way to Warner Springs. A hiker ahead of us, Jay, was actually a little scared of them and waited behind a rock while they passed a creek. When we got to the creek he continued his hike with us because there is safety in numbers. I thought he was being silly, but later it occurred to me that getting charged by a cow isn’t much fun.

We got to Warner Springs Community Center just in time for bucket showers, then rushed over to the nearby restaurant that closed at 7:30pm.

We walked through the neighboring golf course to get to Warner Springs Ranch Resort where we enjoyed ribs and pizza for dinner. The food was better than the service… but it could have been that we arrived an hour before close. We also met Miley, an air dale service dog for her owner Jeff.

Day 11 – Saturday 3/31 – Zero

We enjoyed our zero day at Warner Springs. We met a father-daughter hiking pair. The father only spoke Spanish and his daughter would translate. While washing laundry I met a young gay couple, Emily and Allison. We met Noah from Germany who confirmed the translation of a salt foot bath found in the hiker box. We met Lyric, seven or eight, who was probably the youngest hiker on trail this year with his mother Kelsey. Then there was Ping from Taiwan, Paige, Dillon from LA, Nelson from Germany, Shrink, Wes who was hiking for awareness of children’s diabetes. We also met a guy covered in face tats hiking with his girlfriend. Then there was a guy who was driving from one hiking stop to the next following the trail magic… He kind of reminded me of the roach guy from Men in Black. Yeah. But he was friendly enough to share a few Blue Moon beers with us and some other hikers. Coincidentally, it was the day of the 2nd blue moon in 2018.

Here’s a gross but true moment from our time at Warner Springs. Marcel had some blisters on the heels of his feet. Marcel asks, “Before you take a nap, can you pop my blisters?” I respond excitedly, “Yes! I mean, uh yeah… Wait. What’s the normal response? Gross, but okay I’ll do it.” Anyone who know me, knows I am not easily grossed out. Whether it’s blood, pus, blisters, scabs, or flaky skin, I don’t get the heebie jeebies. On the contrary, I am happy to wipe, pick, scrape, and bandage injuries of all kinds. My fascination with an unpleasant epidermis is nasty to most people, I know, but a useful skill when hiking thousands of miles.