Poorly Maintained Boy Scout Trail Camp (489.9) - Unmarked Tentsite (514.8) | Mileage: 24.9

Late start because it was cold and windy and Maddie bled through her menstrual cup and underwear and pants and left a butt crack shaped dark red smear across the otherwise yellow sleep pad and had to scrub it with the little REI towel and it was still cold and she came back to bed in her cleaner but still soggy shorts and didn’t want to get up. So I snuggled her and she went back to sleep in the crook of my arm and I laid there awake and uncomfortable but also cozy and felt torn between wanting to get out and going and wanting to stay snuggled and warm.

Every time we get out late like past 6:30 I feel stressed that the pack up is taking long and I get a little bit short with Maddie even though I know we are fast hiker peoples and will arrive before dark so it’s silly. But I always have so many ambitions for the day like text all the people we’re supposed to text and catch up the journals and the Instagram and have leisure time to sit and think and look at pretty views and do self-improvement learning online stuff and get to camp with a few hours to sit in the sun and let my clothes dry out from the sweat and stretch and have free time. But then we get out late and I know we will be rush rush rushing all day to make up time and not sit and feel relaxed midday and not get to camp til 6:30 which is too close to dark for my clothes to dry and too close to dark to be warm while cooking and too close to dark to not rush through tent setup and go to sleep immediately without doing any of the to-dos.

We walk for a bit in and out of the sandy trail and pokey bushes and then we are in the sun and it’s perfect warm comfortable feeling and easy walking and nice views of the valley so I feel a bit better. And it’s pretty much flat so that helps. And we are going fast I think or at least it feels like the miles are going by pretty quick without the time getting so late because we are at the water that was 3 miles away in no time and we are already catching people like Nora and the Dutch father daughter.

And we refill pretty quick and Brad shows up so we say hello and we are off again and we pass more people and dig decently efficient catholes (best spot I’ve dug in a while!!) and eat some oats and then we put headphones in and Maddie podcasts and I listen to music and the miles keep going by.

We hit mile 500 which is less exciting that the previous hundred mile marks, I think we are getting used to it or maybe they’re just coming faster but for whatever reason it means less even though it’s a big-deal number. Maddie gets hungry, it’s her hangry time of day, and we plan to stop in the next best shady spot. But we pass some people and she speeds up to a crazy fast pace and I know she’s rushing because she’s hungry and grumpy and doesn’t want to stop right in front of the people. She points out one shady spot and asks if I want to stop but I’m personally not super hungry and the spot looks uncomfortable and she’s asking me what I want so I tell her what I want which is to keep going a bit more even though in my head I’m thinking she should just tell me what she wants because I know she’s in the I’m hungry right now and having a bit of a meltdown phase. But then we zoom by a few other shady spots that actually look nice and I’m confused because I thought she would stop but she’s still zooming and I’m frustrated because it’s hot and I’m thirsty and I don’t like going this fast. But then I remember I can do my own thing so I slow down and have some water and walk my own pace and take some photos. And I finally catch Maddie three full miles after she’d first mentioned stopping soon because there was a dirt road and she is waiting under a tree and she is asking me if we should sit here or go up a side hill where there is a water cistern and maybe a view. And I tell her it’s her choice so we head to the hill.

And Sweet Pea is at the cistern! Standing on top of the large flat concrete circle waving with his hair all over the place like a silly beacon. So we catch up because we didn’t see him at all yesterday and eat lunch and it’s windy and chilly even in the sun now that we are stationary. And so obviously we are sitting in the sun which is of course ironic after so much time looking for shade but oh well that’s what Maddie always does. And we sit for a while, longer than I meant to but we did so many extra miles up the hill that it feels like we are ahead of schedule so I’m still relaxed.

And town we walk and the singalong begins! I say that I have a random array of songs stuck in my head and Maddie asks what and I sing them (think New Order, Girl in Red, Fletcher, Chvrches, Duran Duran) super off key and we play name that tune. And Maddie says my trail name can be Jukebox and I think maybe I like that a lot (unless people hear it and ask me to sing songs I don’t know or expect me to be good at singing which I am not). And then we talk about 80s bands and songs we like and spontaneous singalong those songs but mostly just the few phrases of each of those songs that we actually know since most of those bands have wholly unintelligible lyrics that you could not possible understand their mumbly + loud music combo (think New Order, the Cure, Tears for Fears, the Smiths, etc, who can actually understand anything they say really).

And then we stop for more food because apparently singing and walking uphill makes you extra hungry. Cold soaked Annie’s mac and cheese anyone? If you were accidentally convinced to try that based on this comment btw, don’t, cold soaked pasta noodles stay quite al dente and the fake cheese packs definitely are at best mid especially when you always forget to drain the water so it’s really a fake cheese soup.

And we are off speeding downhill and it’s hot again and the earbuds go in and we hit a tent site that’s supposed to have a stream and I look at my bottles and they’re pretty much out and I know Maddie’s are too so I look up to ask Maddie if we should stop for water but she and Sweet Pea are gone gone gone. And I stand there thinking and then I ask the hikers at the picnic table where the water is but it’s 0.25 miles down a steepish scramble so I decide I guess I’ll ration the little bit of water left until the steam over the trail in 3 miles. But I’m thirsty and I know Maddie has some coffee water left so I zoom to try to catch her and Sweet Pea but they are long gone. And then I’m sad because why didn’t Maddie wait for me? And I go around the switchbacks thinking hoping that maybe she will be waiting in the shade in one of them but she’s never there. And I am sad and mad and I think of what I will say when I see her like why didn’t you wait for me and why did you go by our water source and I thought you said it was on the trail and I miss you and what if I wasn’t behind you because I fell or got hurt or something bad and you wouldn’t know because you didn’t stop and I was so thirsty and there was no water and I was so sad.

And then I’m at the water and all these things tumble out of my mouth but Maddie is distant and cold and grumpy and says she didn’t know the campground had water because I had the phone with FarOut and also don’t you have a liter left but I drank that and she thinks it’s unfair that I’m upset and is distracted by the mosquitos so I sulk in the shade and chug the coffee water while she gets the new water. And I know that it’s not fair that I am grumpy and was kinda mean to her and blamed her because really we did have enough water and I obviously was not going to die of dehydration in 3 miles and obviously it wasn’t really an issue at all and really I was just sad that I got left behind and I wanted her to pay attention to me and wait for me even though that’s silly and it’s really not a big deal or even rational at all.

And then the water stop is over because the mosquitos are too much and Maddie starts going fast again and seems grumpy in that competitive way is plugged into her music and really and intent on getting to the tent site asap. But its still early like 4:30 and I’m pretty sure going fast and rushy and trying to keep up would make me grumpy again so I yell that I’m going to stop and journal and will get to the campsite later. And turns out being independent and feeling in control works because I feel awesome.

I write down some stuff and take some pictures of the pretty hills and start jogging down the hills because my legs finally feel fantastic and my pack feels light and everything feels great. And then I remember that the out loud singing was fun so I start singing out loud again all the old stuff I know all (or most) of the lyrics to like Magic Man and Hippo Campus and Death Cab and Glass Animals.

And the almost four miles feels like nothing and zooms by and I think I see prairie dogs? And I keep hearing chirps and hoping it’s not mountain lions and I’m pretty confident it’s not but I can’t help thinking it. And I don’t pass anyone and no one passes me which is probably good because my singing is rather loud and off key but maybe it would’ve improved someone’s day.

And then I’m around the corner and I see Maddie and Sweet Pea sitting on their tarps on the sand between the little bushes that rattle sometimes. And Maddie is doing pushups and abs and apparently feeling like she misses sports and exercise and competition which is a wholly unsurprising unironic comment for her to make.

So I sit down on the tarp still feeling kinda distant and keep journaling. And finally Maddie wears herself out and pays attention to me and we make brown rice and spicy red garbanzo beans and sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and chat with Sweet Pea about music still and our favorite Wolf Alice songs. And then we set up our tent and it is still warm and light out!! And we are doing our to-dos and maybe catching up on things finally which is the first time ever really and it was a 25 mile day even so that’s kinda really cool.