Day 3, mile: 27.7
The rain carried on all night. The metal roof making it sound all the worse. We all felt sorry for the folks in their tents in the park. Despite having great accomadations, I didn’t sleep well. But I guess it was good enough to snore a little. After my morning bathroom break, stepping back in to the cabin was a…shall I say funky experience. Three hikers after two days on the trail without showers and all of their gear and wet hiking clothes strung up to dry. No offense to my roomates. We’re hikers and we’re going to smell like them.
After goodbyes and photos, I headed back to the Malt Shop to buy some trail food and a breakfast burrito. And of course it started raining again. With no onsite eating allowed, finding a dry place was a challenge. What more could a hiker need than a bathroom with flush toilets, electricity, hot and cold running water and a roof? Another first for me and I’m not too proud to admit it, either.
The rain today was more scattered, enough so to let the sun out for just a bit and entice me into taking off the rain gear even pulling out my sunglasses. Thirty minutes later I was back to being wrapped in water-resistance. The final straw that made me say, “Really!?” was the creek crossings. All of the rain recently made the desert flow, sometimes even on the trail. So despite my best efforts to keep myself dry today, wet feet it was. The creek just before Boulder Oaks campground was up to my knees. The three-day used, creek-soaked socks hanging in my tent right now are giving the cabin smell a run for the money.
Tonight’s camp is on a ridge above Interstate 8, trucks, buses and cars carrying on like theres nothing going on. Tomorrow is Mt. Laguna. Reportedly snow on the ground, and more falling right now. But at least the rain is supposed to stop coming down here sometime tonight (as the pitter/patter of raindrops hits my rainfly again).
Physically, my calves were sore this morning after the 13-miler yesterday. Not surprising, really. They warm up and get better, but I’m going to start massaging and stretching more. What really hit me today is that 3 months ago I was doing physical therapy for a sore knee that was going on for months. If I sat for too long (office chair, hour-long commute in a carr), it would hurt. Walking: nope. The PT wasn’t helping too much. Two weeks before my start date, I was diagnosed with a torn meniscus. After I calmed down and starting asking Dr. Google some questions, I got a better feeling that I’m probably going to be OK. I’m able to walk, go up and down steps, and my knee doesn’t lock. All of this is a prelude to the realization that hit me today on a downhill portion when the sun came out. My knee hasn’t given me any grief. So it seems the best rehab I can do is to keep walking.