The Failure of Technology

So here I am in the San Diego County Public Library in Julian, California.  I've hiked about 80 miles thus far, but I'm only about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.  The rest of the miles have been ups, downs, into and out of gullies, and switchbacks...oh switchbacks.  Thankfully the last couple days have generally been downhill, but that's about to change.
 
Since I left Mt Laguna, I've been unable to send or receive email and only occasionally been able to make cell contact with people.  Complicating matters is my solar charger is officially worthless so I've been borrowing cell chargers whenever the willing owner of the charger and I are within the same area where there is an AC outlet.  In other words, not very often.  However, I should be getting my charger from home in the next couple of days so at least I'll be able to power up when I'm close to civilization!  The bottom line though, is that I won't be able to post as many updates as I had hoped.
 
So after hiking as far as I could on Sunday, I camped in the first suitable spot available, but not after putting my feet through additional hell.  It's like trying to walk on baseballs out on the trail in some places with all the loose rock around.  Combine that with shoes too small due to swollen feet and you've got yourself a perfect storm of pain.  After that long day of hiking, I tended to my feet which were bleeding by now.  The next morning (yesterday), I woke up and couldn't go on without doing something for my feet--I had to have bigger shoes.  So, I walked gingerly to the closest paved road and started hitchhiking.  The flat pavement felt much better on my feet, and I walked 3 miles before getting a ride into the closest town (Julian).  There, I bought the only shoes that would fit me--a size 14 "hiking" sandle.  They are really sturdy with good toe protection (the source of most of my pain).  So I wrapped them with duct tape to keep the rocks and dirt out, went back to the trail, hiked another 18 miles between last night and this morning, and hitchhiked back to Julian!  I'm going to pick up another couple rolls of duct tape and retape my "shoes" before hitting the trail later this evening.  When I can, I'll post pictures because they look ridiculous!  It's like Jeff Foxworthy met moon boots. 
 
So yes, the plan now is to make it to Idyllwild and reassess my issues (a lot of them!) there.  My #1 priority will be getting some good hiking boots that will actually handle my feet if they swell.  Also, I'll be cleaning up and hopefully feeling human again.
 
Other items worth mentioning include a rattlesnake sighting (my first ever!) and my lost sunglasses (so sad).  The rattlesnake was about 3 feet long and I saw him last night about 30 minutes before sunset.  I make a habit of alerting them to my presence by hitting the ground solidly with my walking sticks as I plant them.  They feel the vibrations and generally get out of your way.  This guy was about halfway off the trail by the time I saw him, but I got a somewhat obscured photo of him.  He seemed really annoyed that he had to move for me.  On a sad note, my sunglasses of nearly five years are somewhere up in the mountains.  I know I lost them after the sun went down and I'm guessing that my croakies slipped off one end and I didn't notice them fall to the ground.  I loved those sunglasses...guess I'll have to find another pair.