Alright, this will be a short one. I'm hiking late and I need my beauty sleep.
It was dark when I woke and I lay there wondering what time it was. Before long I could see a headlight coming down the trail. That would be Big Sky, which meant it was about 4:15 in the morning. I thought about getting up, since I was already awake. I stretched and my body ached in protest. Guess not.
The day was a bit cooler, and though there were several thousand feet to climb, it was spread throughout the day. Still, yesterday took some of the piss and vinegar out of me, so I had only covered 30 miles by dinner time. I passed Big Sky as he was bedding down for the night. He had camped by some trail magic - two coolers of soda. I chatted with him and sipped a Coke, which gave me the boost I needed to make a few more miles.
I did pass from California into Oregon about midway through the day. I reached a couple of signs marking the spot and stopped to snap a couple pictures. I thought about the 1700+ miles of hiking I had done in CA. All the beautiful sights and amazing people. Then I thought about the challenges - the heat, blisters, bears and snakes. I thought about the final 7000 foot finger that CA had flipped me on the way out. With all these things in mind I stepped over the border into OR and turned for one last look. I sighed wistfully, then whipped it out and pissed on California. Much better.
I hiked until the sky turned a bruised purple through the lingering smoke. If I had to pick a color to describe the way my feet feel, that's it. I continued to hike as the purple faded to black and the light of my headlamp joined the millions of stars glowing in the tapestry above. Finally, after 39.5 miles, I dropped my pack on a level spot on a ridge overlooking the I-5 corridor. My trail has taken me east-northeast, and I look forward to turning onto a more northerly course once I cross I-5 again.
