It’s difficult to keep a blog on trail–somehow I feel so much more busy now than I’ve ever been.

I wake up, make coffee, eat breakfast (tortilla with Nutella, peanut butter, and two blueberry pop tarts), pack up my things, and hit the trail. Life out here is incredibly simple, but the days are packed.

Since last posting, I’ve hiked through a snow storm near Wrightwood, camped on peaks and beaches, gotten lost, met new people, and benefitted from an incredible amount of generosity from strangers.

As I write, I’m sitting in the crowded living room of The Anderson’s at Casa de Luna–a trail angel’s hostel near Green Valley, CA, north of LA. Yesterday was the most physically trying day yet. The temperature hovered in the low 40s, and incessant rain pushed from the clouds all day. Despite my rain gear, I was soon soaked.

About four miles before the road at which I would hitchhike down to the Anderson’s, I pulled a muscle in my calf–it slowed me down substantially, but I was too cold to stop and take a look. I rounded hill after hill and it felt like the trail would never end. Water rushed between and through my shoes, rain whipped around my legs, and I started the shiver.

Thankfully, on reaching the road, a ride was quick to come, and I was able to avoid the three mile road walk to the hostel. I got warm clothes, taco salad, and the loving arms of strangers in an unfamiliar town.

Today I’ll take it easy. Massage my leg, eat pancakes, drink beer, and try to dry out my things. The next section brings the low desert and a 17 mile road walk to avoid a bad burn area.