Days 4 and 5

I was finally able to get my phone charged up after being next to zero battery for the last two days. My solar charger is like the government--it works, but not very efficiently.

After spending the night in absolute solitude a few miles outside of Mt Laguna, I packed up and headed out around 8 am. By the time I got to Mt Laguna at 11 am, I had been passed by an ultralight hiker who had left Campo YESTERDAY! He hiked with me for a few miles and I asked him a bunch of questions. He had hiked the whole PCT in '07 and another 1200 miles last year and was going as far as the Sierras this year. He routinely does about 30 miles a day--unbelievable! When we finally got to the Mt Laguna General Store/Motel/Post Office, I got a room immediately so that I could start my recovery. I soaked my feet in epsom salt and and hydrated. My feet (especially my left one, which is bigger than my right) were both swollen, bruised, blistered, and oh so painful. (Not to gross anyone out, but I will lose both big toenails in the next few weeks, and the toenail on the next-to-the-big-toe on my left foot as well.). I learned more about long distance hiking in the first 40 miles of this trip than I have cumulative in my entire life!

I did laundry in my bathtub and the water was still brown after the first wash...yuck. I took a photo of the scene with my camera but not with my blackberry (because the battery was low) so can't post it on my blog...lucky you!

This morning I made a trip to the post office and got rid of about 16 lbs! I'm going to get rid of a bit more before I leave as well because I've quickly learned, as the weight goes down, the enjoyment goes up!

Another thing I'm planning to do is embrace the concept of hiking at night. Assuming my feet feel okay, I'm planning to leave tomorrow (Sunday) morning as early as 4. This will help tremendously on the southernmost portion of the trail where the heat has been nearly unbearable in the first few days. The rest of the trail won't be easy, but with lower temperatures and more water, it'll be more doable. So I'm definitely looking forward to getting to roughly the 500 mile mark and trying not to think about the fact that I'm only at Mile 42.

Anyway, I'll wrap up this entry and post a couple photos in the following posts.