Mile 651 to 664 Joshua Tree Spring.

There was some last minute debate among the group about whether to hike today or try to hitch to Lake Isabella. Valdy wanted to hitch, Burnout wanted to hike, as did Bedazzled and myself, and Fun Dip and Vipr were indifferent. There was a vote and going to town won, but somehow everyone packed up and started hiking.

We got a late start hitting the trail at 8:00 with an 8 mile climb and +2,800 feet of elevation gain. I was leading, but after about 40 minutes I had to step to the side because I got nauseous and couldn’t tell if I was about to puke all over my shoes or not. I didn’t immediately puke, so I got in the back of the line and slowed my pace. I had already sweated through my whole shirt and even my shoulder straps on my pack were soaked through. This wasn’t looking good.

I thought back to last night and remembered that in the excitement of trail magic I had only drank two sodas and a beer. I hadn’t done my nightly ritual of drinking Gatorade and rehydrating myself. That combined with the late start and long sustained climb on a stretch of exposed trail wasn’t doing me any good.

I let everyone know I was feeling nauseous and Valdy was kind enough to offer me her umbrella to block the sun and Burnout checked to see how far the next campsite was so we could take a break. We continued on and I thanked my lucky stars that the campsite was shaded. I made a Gatorade and ate some of my salami, which has a high salt content. Bedazzled also offered me an electrolyte packet, which I mixed up with some water and drank.

After a good break, I was feeling somewhat better and we decide to carry on the 3 miles to the top of the climb and break again. Fun Dip, a trained EMT, hiked with me and it was reassuring to have her close by. We talked about Irish food, which she likes to make, and traveling in europe. She hopes to go to the UK and Iceland as well as Scandinavia.

With a couple of breaks spread out throughout the day, we made it to our campsite, which was just 12 miles from Walker Pass where we started. It was supposed to be a nice relaxed day, but with the temperature pushing 100 and me being dehydrated and having heat exhaustion, it turned into a personal struggle. It is no fun being sick on trail.

We arrived a little before 2:00 and we all drank copious amounts of water and gorged ourselves on our food. After several attempts at napping near the water, we retreated from the buzzing mosquitoes and went to Fun Dip’s tent site to play Farkel, a dice game where you try to be the first to 10,000 points.

Wildlife: Red Tail Hawk