Mile 71.2-77.3 (Scissors Crossing)

I woke up about 6am from the best night sleep ever... it was a warming night compared to what we have been having....and I think the day before just did me in. I felt much better muscle wise... and despite the burning spots of fire on my feet ... was motivated to hike today... okay to be honest - the thought that if i rushed packing up - i could make 7 miles before they stopped serving breakfast in town, I.e. bacon and eggs and real coffee was the real motivator.

So two things... it had been taking me 45 minutes to an hour to breakdown camp and get going in the mornings - today I did it in 15 (and I mean organized pack - not just throwing stuff in)... and 2) my appetite has not been great - pretty much I have been having 2 bars a day, a bag of salty something, and then dinner (and even then only half of the dinner I had planned for the day)... however when I get to town and stop the grind - my calorie deficit kicks in... did I mention bacon and eggs were only 7* miles away...

I hit the trail and took my mind off the pain in my foot by making up my own green eggs and ham rhyme for the next two hours... bacon and eggs, ... I would eat them on a keg, I would eat them with a leg... yeah I am no Dr. Suess... and for two hours the rhyming got dramatically worse from here - I will spare you the pain... but it passed the time...

However, the time did pass... the heat ramped up... i discovered that while I only had 7 miles to walk... that was to an underpass and i was going to have to hitch a ride 15 miles on a mountain road (30 minute drive) and slowly I began to realize I wasn’t going to make bacon and eggs... Defeated with 2 miles left to go and under a half a liter of water with no water in sight... it was going to be a bummer for the last hour...

About a half a mile from the big bacon and eggs letdown of 2021... I received my first trail magic...an older couple out on a day hike approached me - the wife first... she excitedly asked if I was a thru-hiker and said she was so sorry she didn’t have anything to offer me but a ricola cough drop... omg my mouth danced with the cooling of the lemony menthol... she said they were rv’ing and based in Gainesville, GA...we chatted for a bit and it led to her telling me her husband about a quarter of a mile behind was the biggest Dawg fan there was... I skipped away (seriously that ricola changed my mood at that point) and as I approached her husband I let out a big ... who’s that coming down the track... and his grin was priceless...(I had been saving this for a hiker from Macon a few days behind me... but it seemed fitting).

The last mile flew by and as I approached the underpass at Scissors Crossing - I saw Warp Drive sitting in a chair... thank god I won’t have to hitch alone I thought... as I got closer, I see the most amazing sight...a pot with what else but scrambled eggs, bacon and potatoes and tortillas on the side... Legend, a local trail angel, had set up breakfast while he was shuttling hikers to and from town... and Professor, another local trail angel, who maintains the water cache under the hwy was there and offered us a ride.

It was a magical day on trail for sure... when we got to town we immediately ran into Scout, Andrea, Juice, and some new hikers ... Sean, who i had driven to the terminus had gotten a ride from Laguna to get all new gear (I was honestly worried about him with no sleeping pad and a tent from WalMart)... we got our amazingly yummy free pie from Mom’s pies... and I hungout with a bunch of hiker trash on the bench downtown and watched all the tourists stroll about.

Tonight was bbq and wine with Bill, aka Spirit, a super interesting soon to be retired Col. in the army special forces and accomplished author .... and tomorrow Charlie arrives... the only thing today that seemed better than bacon and eggs!