Sometimes, you don’t realize how tired you are until you stop. Waking up this morning, limping to the bathroom on the nice carpet, it hit me how beat-up I am. Definitely time for some rest and it boggles my mind that, tired and sore as I am, under different circumstances I would have woken up today and walked twenty miles. I would have done it too.

But thankfully I got to sleep in until after six. I also wasn’t feeling that hungry, but sometimes you don’t know how hungry you are until you start to eat. I almost didn’t go to the breakfast buffet, but I know I need to eat so I went. Once I got started, I couldn’t stop. I had eggs, sausage, and biscuits with gravy, then a egg/sausage/biscuit, with toast and jam, then yogurt, then two bowls of Fruit Loops (with whole milk), a bowl of Raisin Bran, all washed down with four large cups of orange juice. Maybe I was hungry after all?

After that I consolidated some laundry with my Humboldt friends and hung out with hikers for a bit. I hope I convinced “Lost & Found” not to leave tomorrow. Looks like bad weather the next two days.

And after all that, man, I was wiped out. Came home and took a nap!

But, no rest for the weary. I need to make plans for the next section all the way to Tahoe. I am going to meet my Dad there and we will hike through Desolation Wilderness together again (and all the way to Donner Pass) just like we did back when I was a boy in the Seventies. That’s where I learned to backpack (I was 8 or 10 or something), and that’s where I first learned about the PCT. I think it’s so cool that he wants to do this and I’m really looking forward to that part of the trip.

But naturally, he wants to make plans (like plane reservations), and wants to know when I will be at mile 1093 (I’m at 566 right now). That’s a lot of planning! So, I spent the day checking weather reports, water reports, trail reports, guidebooks, and maps trying to figure out where I will be and how will I get water and food for the next 36 days. It was a daunting task, and not something I particularly wanted to do today, but I do feel a lot better now that it’s done.

Now, I just have to make it happen. Buy the food and make up packages to ship for the next 200 miles. Fortunately, my Dad’s friend from Bakersfield is going to come over on Friday, bring me some hiker food I can’t get here, and help me get to the Post Office (which is about a mile away from town). This makes my life 1000 times easier than it could be, so I am very grateful and hopefully I can relax a bit tomorrow.

Which should be easy here. I have a very nice room. Ground floor. At the end of the hall so I can step right out for a smoke. Laundry across the hall (I’m going to keep washing my shirt until it’s clean, dammit). Short walk to breakfast and the hot tub. What more could a hiker want? Oh yeah, I have a nice view of this tiny landscaped part of the property that’s not paved. It’s got some trees that are full of songbirds all day. Very nice.

It’s getting about hot tub time again. I think a daily soak is pretty much required at this point. After a largely sedentary day, I can walk almost normally now. I can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow!