Day 37: mile 478.2-493.4
I left Casa de Luna the same way I came in, with a hug from Terrie. She dropped myself and a few others off at the trailhead. Still super happy I stopped, I couldn’t help but think about this 1,000+ foot climb that was starring me in the face. Between that, the heat, and the 15 miles I promised to do that day I knew it would be a long one following the good times I had over the previous two days.
Courtesy of my friend Stark Naked
I began my climb, feeling good to start with. Expecting this would be the hardest part of my day I pushed to the top with that thought as my reward. Following was a nice flat shaded section, glorious! Unfortunately it didn’t last too long, it was back out into the hot sun to sweat out those beers. Nothing like a long hike to detox.
I passed three caves today. I only spotted the two not on the map, go figure. As I crawled down to look into the first one, I fully expected some glowing eyes to be starring back at me when I shined my light in. 😳 I was pretty happy when it didn’t happen. I got to the second cave where I planned to meet Buddy and Lisa for “Rave In the Cave”. They’re both hikers I got to know at Casa de Luna. I was promised music and a light show, neither of which happened. That’s okay, I saw a giant rat instead. I guess that’ll do. I relaxed in the nice cool cave for a few minutes, but my eagerness to get to the campsite before my body realized it should be hungover kicked in and I left the boys with the cave to themselves.
It was too late. The rest of the day I wasn’t just riding the struggle bus, I was driving it. I think I took more breaks today than any other day. 😂 Oh well, still 100% worth it, no regrets. I finally got to the campsite and found a spot for SOS and I to camp for the night. He rolled in shortly after me and was on the bus too. What a pathetic pair. 😂 We ate our dinner and headed to our tents. So tired, my eyes are closing as I write this. Possibly a record for earliest bedtime, I’ll be asleep before 8 pm. Going to rock it tomorrow!
Goodnight!
XOXO Becks