Jeep Road to Lake Morena
With a goal of 11 miles in mind, we were off to an 8 am start.
Passed as we were still in our bags by two hikers known who I later met, Matt from Montreal and Chris. We eventually caught up with both. By mile 6 for the day. We also leapfrogged with another fellow named Spencer who I spoke very little with for some reason. I treated a possible hot spot on my left foot before anything else became of it. Keeping blisterless feet is huge for me, as blisters are a drain on recourses, hike speed, morale, and risk infection.
A little whole later, we all convened at Hauser Creek. Lunch was had with a new groups. Ross, myself, Big Red, Gottawalk, Matt, Chris, Clint, and others. As we all took our queues to leave, Ross and Mat stayed behind, opting to camp. Both had used more than 5 liters to get here, and Ross was relieved to find a water cache of 20 or so jugs, nestled in the dry creek bed. Clint and I left together at a brisk pace. Eager to conquer the looming pull ahead in the heat of the day.
Not too much later I began to feel pretty awful. Slightly nauseous, feelings of uncertainty and wavering, I expressed to Clint, who I had only known for the past hour, my discomforts. He rested with me while I drank water. That wasn't enough though, as I soon felt worse and worse. We rested again. I took this chance to head into the brush for some relief. I realized that I needed to get myself together physically because that was the root of my symptoms. 80 degrees in the shade, with no shade to be had. I knew we should take it slow, get off this exposed face, and take a break then. So I drank more water and continued on slowly. It was a long process and a hot one. But I was obviously not drinking enough water previous to this, and was showing signs of heat exhaustion. Eventually making it over and grabbing some shade, we rested and talked. We shared a love for benchmade knives and it was good to connect at least. May hikers don't carry single blade knives and opt for multi tools or tiny swiss army knives. It was nice to see another traditional knife at use. Even if it's mostly for cheese and things...
Once feeling up to it, we made the final two miles into Lake Morena with ease. Saw a baby rattler with no rattle yet, and soon were at the campground.
Upon our arrival we found Big Red, and some other folks. Molly, Max, Steven, and maybe a few others. Clint and I proceeded down the road and bought beer and then took showers. Max had a friend at there who had shrimp and other great food and beers! It was a rewarding first two days and we knew that in the morning we'd be leaving with some new friends on the trail.
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