What a week! After 20 miles the first day, 10 miles on day 2 proved to be very hard. On the first night, which was only the second night sleeping in this bag, a seam came apart on the inside. Tami was still in LA visiting the kids and was able to pick up on a new one in Burbank and bring it to Mount Laguna (stopping in Julian on the way to pick up a piece of pie for Darrell) where we were staying the 3rd night and make the exchange. (Kudos to REI for making the return and exchange so easy.) That night it rained on them and the winds gushed at 40 mph. Their shared campsite had woodchips on the ground, so they were protected from water underneath, and their rain flies on their tents kept them dry from above. Darrell's tent passed the wind gust test by staying firmly staked to the ground through the storm.
This first several hundred miles is considered Southern California desert. Because of his horticultural background, Darrell loves the wildflowers wherever he hikes. He even likes to entertain with the latin names.
Every couple days at this point there seems to be a little market where the trail crosses a road. This way he can grab a candy bar or gatorade or soda and stock up on food until the next resupply. When the stores are this close together, he only has to carry three or four days of food at a time. This will not always be the case as he travels onward.
Darrell was hard to track for a few days as he was still figuring out his tracking device. On the 6th day he figured it out. He and the group he has been hiking with (three people from Austria and Germany and another gentleman about his age) hitched a ride into Julian and had a good meal there and, surprise!, pie. Darrell hitched back and went a few more miles while his new friends spent the night in a hotel there.
We watched several YouTube video channels of people who documented their hike along the trail, and they rarely showed other people on the trail as they walked. Maybe it's because he just started and not many have dropped out of the hike yet, but Darrell doesn't seem to be alone much.
Darrell hit a literal milestone today (100 miles). Only 2550 left to go. He has a blister, and he's taking care of it with moleskin. He will be taking a zero day on Monday. Travis and Jennifer Dean will be picking him up at the Paradise Cafe right off the trail Sunday evening, and he will be going back to their house with them for rest and a shower and to pick up his first major resupply, which we had left there on our way down to the starting point. Along with food, he will also be picking up his ice axe and microspikes for his shoes in case he runs into snow in the San Jacinto Mountains.
March 22 was World Water Day and was an amazing fundraising day for him for clean water. We are so appreciative of all the people giving toward clean water as he hikes. We will be posting an updated graph of his progress toward his goal in a few days. You will be surprised at this miracle of giving.
As always, I must post a link for those who would like to give:
https://www.teamworldvision.org/participant/pctwaterboy
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Great update! Keep us posted! Cheering you on!
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