Written Saturday, 24 April 2021.

Good sleep last night! I did have to get up in the middle of the night, after a waxing gibbous moon had set behind the western mountains, and the sky was atwinkle with stars and planets. The plane of the milky way was even faintly visible, almost overhead. I need to figure out a way to use my Night Sight camera feature on the new phone to capture this.

Chores, breakfast, and pack-up went by quickly, as they always do on a town day. I was on the Trail at exactly 0600, before official sun rise.

The first couple miles were almost due east, and the rising sun shine directly into my eyes, under the broad brim of my hat. That forced me to look toward the path, which is a good thing, I suppose, but I'll never know if I missed some views. I could have stopped to put on my shades, but if you have read this far, you probably know I'm not the smartest hiker in the world.

The path was definitely inclined downward, and by the time I had hiked 4 miles, the altitude had dropped below the altitude of the southern terminus, where I started the Trail 4 days ago.

After a couple more hundred feet of descent, the Trail bottomed out, flattened out, and turned just about due north towards Scissors Junction. I had an absolutely wonderful hike through the chaparral and sagebrush as the desert woke up for the day. I never expected the desert to be so beautiful.

Another 2.6 miles brought me to a metal gate. Passing through, I turned left and proceeded a few hundred yards to a road where I was met by none other than John, the gentleman who had given me a Gatorade when I arrived at Lake Morena on Tuesday night. He once again offered me an ice cold Gatorade, and no Gatorade ever tasted better. Thus ended my longest waterless hiking stretch so far.

John is just one of an amazing group of people who are collectively known as Trail Angels because they freely volunteer their time (and, often, money) to help out long-distance hikers. Thru hiking would be nigh unto impossible without these people. There are not enough thanks.

I tell John I hope I'll see him again and he says, "Same. Probably will. Be safe."

Another quarter of a mile brings me to spot known as Scissors Junction, so called because of the shape made by the roads coming together here. This is also the spot where hikers can hitch into Julian, 12 miles up the road.

Not for the last timeon this trip, I raise my hand, extend my thumb and go from hiker to hitchhiker. And today the hitchhiker gods smile in me. In less than 2 minutes, the second vehicle down the road pulls over to pick me up. The driver is a Marine, newly stationed in San Diego who has never seen the desert, and he is more than happy to cart me in to town.

In about 20 minutes, I find myself in the heart of Julian, a lovely little town in the middle of California apple country.

My first stop is Mom's Pie shop, where they offer a free piece of pie to thru hikers.I get the apple boysenberry with a flaky crust, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee. I'm lucky enough to join a table of half a dozen other hikers, some of whom I recognize and some I don't.

I send a message to Silke, Florian, and Lauren, to see if they are interested in joining me at the AirBnB, and I move across the street with some of the hikers to the Julian Cafe and Bakery for breakfast. I have the Julian Cafe Breakfast Platter.

After breakfast, I head over to Two Feet, the local outfitter to get a few supplies and then walk up the street for lunch at Heroes, a great, military themed deli, where I get a gigantic order if avocado toast and a 22 ounce hard cider (followed up with a good local IPA). While I'm eating, I get a message from Florian that they would love to join. And then, almost immediately, a message from my AirBnB host to let me know my rental is ready a little early.

So I schlep me gear down the street to a very nice little house that fits us perfectly. Along the way, Florian, Silke, and Lauren have picked up Karolina, a Czech hiker who I met previously in Mount Laguna. We have the space, so she's in.

We all get showers, get laundry in the washing machine, and head out in search of...food! I join the group back at Mom's while they get free pie, and I pay for mine (classic apple pie this time).

Everything is in walking distance here so we hop back and forth between Main Street and the house, getting chores done and eating.

Our last stop for the night is Romanos Italian Restaurant, where the portions are bigger even than they hikers can handle. We all take boxes home.

I'm safe, dry, and warm tonight in an AirBnB in Julian CA.

Miles hiked today: 6.1 Total miles hiked: 77.3

Sea Otter Fact of the Day: Sea otters are subdivided into three subspecies by range:

• Enhydra lutris lutris (or the Asian sea otter, which lives off the coast of northern Japan and eastern Russia)

• Enhydra lutris kenyoni (or the northern sea otter, which lives off the coast of Alaska and western Canada)

• Enhydra lutris neiris (or the southern or California sea otter, which lives off the coast of central California, from about Half Moon Bay to Santa Barbara)