Start:  0615 -  PCT mile 635
End:  1400 - Walker Pass
Miles (today): 16
Miles (cumulative): 669 (567 PCT, 89.5 alternate, 12.5 off) 

How dehydrated was I? Very, very dehydrated.  An ok night of sleep and a few liters of water didn't help much at all - I woke up this morning feeling nearly as bad as I did yesterday and the thought of hiking 16 miles made me almost want to cry.  But there was nothing else for me to do except hike - it's not as if I could stay in the tent all day (limited water) - so I strapped on the pack and took one step at a time.  One SLOW step at a time (I'm pretty sure Turtle Don could have beat me again).  I took a lot of breaks because even walking up the slightest incline made my heart race like mad.  I did my best to force down water all day but it just doesn't taste good at all (why is that? Shouldn't my body be making me crave water at this point?).  

Everyone passed me, including Benjamin, who I haven't seen since Pioneertown (his name is now Flash).  I apologized for being so slow and he made me feel better - he said I have all day to get there and that there is no reason to push at all.  He told me it could be worse and that I could have explosive diarrhea like another hiker we know.  He was kind and understanding when I needed kind and understanding.

Once Nick witnessed how painfully slow I was moving he realized something was really wrong (he knows how much I hate being the slow one).  He graciously decided to walk behind me so he could keep an eye on me. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to collapse on the trail but it was comforting to know he was there. 

I listened to various albums and did my best to zone out and not think about time passing.  I forced myself to drink with every new song and I allowed myself a 10 minute break after each album was complete.

Happily, the trail took pity on me and there weren't any crazy ascents or descents and there was a decent breeze.  

Somehow I made it.  Seeing Coppertone's truck  at the campground made me so happy (I had forgotten he was going to be here so it was a nice surprise).  Nick and I hung out at Coppertone's the rest of the day while we waited for Jeff.  It was fun.  We got to know even more hikers (I really like Red Hawk).  I even had a little ice cream with a banana because it was the only food that sounded good.  I continued to force down water - when was the last time I peed?

After a few hours, Nick and I decided to clean up for Jeff (cleaning up consisted of walking to the spring, taking bandana baths, and putting on our town clothes.). When we got back to Copertone's, Jeff was there!

Jeff is, hands down, the most amazing personal trail angel ever.  

He brought camp chairs to sit in - chairs where you can prop up your feet.  He brought tons of water bottles (which we shared with other hikers, although we did selfishly save the Fiji water for ourselves).  He brought orange juice.  He brought sparkling water.  He brought a cooler full of apples, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and a fruit tray.  As I sat in the chair and Jeff pulled everything out of the cooler I couldn't contain my joy -my dehydrated self was full of happiness.  (We shared a lot of the fruit with other hikers, don't worry.  I think the fruit tray was consumed in under 2 minutes).

We hung out with Jeff for a while, just chatting and relaxing.  Jeff is so amazing - he's the type of person who gets along with everyone and who fits in anywhere.  :)

Towards the end of the evening Jeff started to set up his telescope.  I'm not sure what I was expecting when he said he was going to bring his telescope but I wasn't prepared for how big and intricate it is!  It is a NICE telescope (nice is a complete understatement) - I was impressed with how nice (and super excited to look through it).

While Jeff was setting up and calibrating the telescope, a lady (Rita) drove up to Coppertone's and in a frenzy said she needed water, as much water as we could spare (she is a trail angel and assured us she would replace it tomorrow). She said she saw a bush on the side of the road in flames and wanted to put it out before it spread.  Zaps, Down Time, Nuco?, and I grabbed as many gallon jugs as we could and before I knew what was happening I was in her car and riding out to the fire.  The whole way Rita kept saying how they didn't need another fire and how easily it can spread and how scared she was that it would.  It was such a shock to me, someone born and raised in Illinois, how very serious fire is taken here.  It's completely understandable but just not something I'm used to worrying about.

By the time we got to the fire someone had put out most of it with an extinguisher; However, there were burning embers everywhere so the four of us thru-hikers used the water we brought and put them all out.  Then we waited for the fire department to come and make sure we did a sufficient job.  That's right, I also fight fires now.  LOL :) 

By the time Rita returned us to Walker Pass Campground, the telescope was almost calibrated.  We spent the rest of the night (until about midnight) looking at the night sky.  We saw Jupiter, Saturn, the Lagoon Nebula (Jeff's favorite), the Swan Nebula, star clusters, a few galaxies... It was phenomenal.  We even saw a few shooting stars.  I completely nerded out.  What a fun night!

Now I'm cowboy camping and looking forward to looking at the stars some more - the Milky Way is so spectacular!  I still feel off but at least I'm peeing again.  :)

Along the trail: