Miles: 15.4 to 32.0…. 16.6 daily total.
Elevation 2319 up to 4219 at camp.
High 68, low 36, mostly cloudy, winds light.
I woke up at Hauser Creek to the sound of lots of frogs croaking, crickets, and birds chirping. Add the mini waterfalls surrounding camp, and I didn’t want to leave this island in the desert!
A few of us around camp have heard about the excellent breakfast burritos served st the Lake Moreno diner. Zack and I, my hiking partner for the short term, hurried up to Moreno for the burritos. They were out of this world!!
After the burritos, I was plotting the rest of my day when my belt buckle broke!! My pants are already fairly loose so this poses a problem!! There are no outfitters within 50 miles. I could stuff clothes into my waistline, but hiking over mountain and desert terrain for 100 miles would make this problematic. Right as a few hikers and myself were debating this problem, the clerk to this tiny general store came out. His name is Yousei (sp?). Yousei is from Iraq. He offered me his belt. Only problem is, I couldn’t touch the ends of belt around my waist! Yousei is 5’4” and said he weighs 100 lbs. He used the 4th loop on a belt that was too small to reach around my waist. Yousei then took my belt, punched 2 holes into it, took some steel wire, twisted it, then cut the ends with pliers, and found some electrical tape and taped off the end result. Talk about a wonderful human being! This is one of the reasons why I’m on the trail. I want to discover wonderful people like this.
The rest of the hike was through very green and flowery desert terrain . So far, as I type this, we haven’t gone 3 miles without running water. We forded 2 creeks today, and heard the waterfalls off of mile 30. Locals say it hasn’t flowed in the last 15 years.
Before I started, my goal was to make Warner Springs, the first big checkpoint at mile 109. I figure if I don’t make Warner Springs, you can look for my bones in the desert! HA HA.
Day 3 tomorrow should find me in Languna, above 6,100 feet. Take care!!
What a beautiful day for a walk in the desert.
It had been beautiful!!