Day Eight & Nine

Big Oaks Leaving Warner Springs

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Really small campsite

Banjo and Nails Coming around a ledge up in the clouds

Cactus and a lizard

 Banjo, Nails, and I walked out of Warner Springs late on the 20th and camped in some boulder fields. We woke up surrounded by clouds which made it really easy to hike. In the afternoon I broke away from the crowds and reflect. So far the trail has humbled me quite a few times. Most people on the trail are battling a lot of physical pain daily, for me I've been lucky enough to not have any blisters but my feet have been very sore everyday and the arch of my right foot was beginning to swell and became dangerously painful however my day off in Mt. Laguana eased the pain and prevented any serious injury. Everyone has been able to ignore the pain and hike through the next twenty mile day. I read "I argued that physical discomfort is important only when the mood is wrong. Then you fasten on to whatever thing is uncomfortable and call that the cause. But if the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn't mean much."(Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig) Something about being outside allows us (thru hikers) to push past our pain to enjoy our endless landscapes of unbelievable beauty. We are able to push past filtering water out of horse troughs, the smell of 5 day hiker that has been sweating in the desert heat, or sleeping on a 1/2 inch foam pad to be on the PCT. We are the happiest people in the world when we all sold our life's away to be homeless and walk for thousands of miles. I love my fellow hikers and I love where I am. I love my off colored water, my sore feet, and my dirty clothes!