Last night I’ve had the best nights sleep on trail yet. In the riverbed valley there was hardly any wind, and it was not a cold night. I probably started hiking around six. Pretty soon after I hit the trail I discovered my legs felt strong today. I decided to push hard and flew over the hillsides. In the brisk morning I would be able to put in most miles of the day fast. Yesterday hikers were suggesting the on-trail common phrase ‘ten before ten’; getting ten miles in before 10 am. I didn’t check my mileage exactly but I’m pretty sure I got close.
Cruising through the arid hillsides I got lost in thought. For some reason being out here felt very familiar. And that’s when I realised the hiking experience so far bears much resemblance with the Geological Fieldworks my fellow students and I partook in, in the South of Spain during our years of studying Earth Sciences. In both cases we spend the entire day out in the burning sun. Sweat, dust, sand, and thirst our daily companions. Also sleeping in a tent every night and no access to daily showers and laundry, were a given during those fieldworks. My clothes smell the same as they did back then. And there’s the fact that everybody around you is in the same boat, having a similar goal, which creates a strong sense of solidarity. In a way I think that these experiences from back then, help me now. It’s like I already knew how to be really very dirty.
Before noon I found many hikers hanging around nearby the water cache. I stocked up on water and grabbed some bites out of my food bag (tortilla with chips and sardines). 
The whole of the day so far I’d been hiking alone. Around lunch time (12:30) I’d gotten around 13 miles in. I found a nice shaded area, where I chilled out for some time, giving my legs a well deserved rest.
After lunch it turned out to be less hot than I expected. The whole area has been hit with a wave of ‘cooler weather’. Around the twenty degrees C. You won’t hear us complain. I caught up with Jimmy (FL) and we hiked together for the rest of the stretch. It was mostly downhill and we were pushing hard to get to camp early and have a long time to relax in the evening. We were excited and happy to be hiking together because this afternoon we hit the 100-mile marker of the trail!
Around 1600 we walked into camp, a nice and shady wooded area with plenty of place for all the other hikers who were still behind us. I’ve gotten just under twenty miles in today (biggest day yet) and we’re camped at mile 101.1.
One by one the others joined us in camp, and now we have a group of seven or eight hikers together having a good time, excited to get into town tomorrow. The majority will be heading into Warner Springs. Here I will pick up a resupply-box with food I sent myself from San Diego. Remembering my packaging strategy I will probably have way too much food again, but I’m not too worried. There’s always plenty hungry hikers out there who will be happy to take anything with calories off my hands. At 2015 it’s about time for bed. With us here, we’ve got some bats flying around and a bunch of ridiculously loud frogs serenading us to sleep.
It’s like ooh, ooh
Something like a bolt of lightning
Ooh, Ooh,
It’s going on inside…
‘Cause I’m burning up it ain’t know joke
And all my cells are going rogue
Caught up in a blaze with now way out
And as my self-control goes up in smoke,
One more hit, I get so stoked that I,
I’m glowing in the dark
You lit a fire in my heart!
Fire in my heart – Simple Plan
