Day 5 - Day 6

The resupply yesterday at Mount Laguna ended up being extremely successful. We found and were given (thanks Kristen and T.J.!) lots of good food and Mike and I ended up spending less than 5 dollars on our resupply. We spent more than 5 hours chilling there, taking care of our errands, and meeting and talking to lots of cool people. Taking all this time at Laguna also served a second purpose in that by the time we left, the heat of the day had passed and we had the cooler part of the day to make our miles. 

We were in the trail again by ~2:30 and soon left the pine forest (which was actually pretty sparse and lacked a real canopy) through a burn area. After the burn area we were walking along the western edge of a mesa with mixed forest to our left and a sheer drop of 3000ft leading to the desert floor to our right.

Stopping at our first real overlook we gazed into the barren expanse far below which was bordered by treeless and rocky mountains.

We're all feeling a little out of our comfort zone due to just how desolate the landscape was, but we're excited to be taking it on.

Hiking into the evening, we got into more exposed areas where the wind got really intense at times. 

Stopping at our next water source (a pump in a small grove) we talked to a few hikers, filled up and headed back out to get a few more miles in for the day. The sunset was very beautiful as we hiked and we were able to see distant mountain ranges receding into the horizon in so many different colors of blue.

After 4 more miles we arrived at our next water source and were pleased to find that it was also a rustic campground filled with some familiar faces. Deciding to call it a night, we found a little bit of a wind break behind a small shrub and set up camp. Dinner and beautiful stars (again) rounded out the evening, ending another incredible day on the trail. 

Today we woke up early and tore down to make some miles before the heat.

We filled up at the horse trough and set out.

So far we've boogied about 7 miles down the trail, arriving here (the next available water source) by about 11 am to take a siesta.

We are currently posted up in the small sliver of shade that the water tank is making in the above photo. We've been here for a few hours now and are planning to head out by 2pm and make the 9 miles to the next water. Our daily itineraries are totally decided by water at this point. I think we'll fill up at the next one and find a camp spot a mile or two past, depending on how dark it is.

Amazing view after amazing view today. We're all having a ton of fun, despite how hard it is.