Trout Farm

One of the things that really gets old after being on the trail for 17 days (ONLY 17 days!!!) is the inability to connect with people on the phone. First off, I'm conserving my battery as much as possible by keeping the phone off. In case a real emergency arises, I'd like to have the option of calling someone. Second, it seems that, main resupply points like Idyllwild nothwithstanding, every time I have access to an AC plug, I don't have cell coverage! Which brings me to tonight. After crossing Interstate 10 in the late morning and then continuing my quick pace in an effort to get off the desert floor before temperatures in the triple digits began suffocating me, I found myself with zero bars. Zero! I even had a bar at the top of Mt San Jacinto, but I still couldn't make any calls for whatever reason. But at least I had a sign of life! Not here at the Whitewater Trout Farm though. It really frustrates me because I wanted to call my sister and wish her a happy birthday today, but alas, no bars. Sorry Kristin. I've also been playing voicemail tag with Adrienne for who knows how long.

Anyway, the good news is that I'm already in bed and it's not even dark out yet! I also went farther than I had planned to today which means I don't have to do those miles tomorrow...woohoo! So now I'm 210ish miles down the trail (sorry I can't be much more specific...my data handbooks were in my bounce box...sore subject) and I'm planning on another 3-4 days to get to Big Bear City. I'd say definitely 3 but my knees have been protesting ever since all those descents I had to do in the last couple days.

Alright, that's all from Day 17. This won't post until at least May 22, possibly later.