Day 14 (Tape)


Well it must Monday now, since yesterday was Sunday. And this is just like the perfect day. We’ve probably already gone eight or nine miles and they’ve just breezed by. Shhhhheww. We’re just going on through forests. The day is cool but its sunny. Just like, the perfect walking day. I’ll almost be sad when its over.

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Well this is the interesting phenomenon for the day. Pete and I got up, you know, after the sun came so actually kind of late. Decided we had an easy day in front of us, we were only going to go 16 1/2 miles. And ah, and then camp. And so we did that. And we got to this camp, and its kind of a depressing little spot, with an outhouse and benches and a picnic table and somebody’s leftover pile of garbage. And ah, I thought maybe it was 3:30 or 4, it was still pretty early in the day. And we sat around there, we pumped some water, we fixed our dinner and ate it. And sat around some more. Read the guidebook. (Laugh) I mean we were just really, we had already eaten dinner and we were still incredibly hungry and just depressed by this place. Kicking around and it was still broad daylight and there was nothing to do. So, eventually I just suggested that we just say screw it and pack up our packs and walk a couple more miles. Well, we’ve gone five more miles now, and the sun still isn’t down. We’ve gone 21 miles today, it was pretty much just effortless. (laugh) And ah, we’re still at a loss for what to do. But we’re at this little spot kind of near some houses, and ah it looks like the trail ahead becomes ridge walk. So we’re planning on just camping, and ah, getting up tommorow and walking the 13 left over miles to the campsite near Big Bear. And then going into Big Bear for dinner tomorrow night and maybe pick up our package and get stuff organized. So ah, looks like we’ll end up rolling into Big Bear like, 3 or 4 days early.

Pete: Startin the Festival of Calories a little bit early.

We need it though, we’ve both been ravenous this whole time.

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You know the other thing we figured out is that we really do have a minimum level of social contact that is kind of necessary for, I don’t know, some kind of social nourishment I guess. But, like yesterday, or, yeah yesterday we came into camp pretty early again, like 3:30, 4, maybe more like 4:30. And ah, I’m sure we would have started feeling the same way. We were kind of tired after climbing 5000 feet, but it was still early. But there was ah, these two guys there with a motorcycle. And ah, they were just ah, had their truck parked ear this campsite that had a road going into it. And we sat and bullshitted with these guys that we had absolutely nothing in common with, for at least an hour, maybe and hour and a half. And ah, (laugh) it was just kind of interesting to see how we passed the time that way. How long we kept talking to them. (Still laughing) And they gave us some water too, which was cool.

Pete: And we actually found out that we had more in common than we would have first expected. Two guys we would have either ignored or scorned on the street.

Absolutely. And now ah, I’m just feeling, even though its, I really like the idea of how far we are from civilization usually on this trail, I feel kind of comfortable camping near where I can watch some people drive around. (laugh) I don’t know, it ah, I can just see their houses. I makes me kind of ah

Pete: Yeah, somewhat.

Yeah, I don’t know. But its a little interesting hermit phenomenon, I guess.


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