Day 11-12: Warner Springs
April 15-16; Mile 109-119
There is a measurement used to describe the height difference between the heel and toe areas of a shoe called the “heel drop.” I’d only learned about it a few years ago when buying trail runner shoes for the first time, because certain shoes are known for being zero drop: having a 0mm heel drop. Altra shoes are one of those. Before switching I’d been using shoes with 6mm of heel drop. It doesn’t sound like much, but I found myself naturally walking on my toes since my heels were used to having cushion beneath them. And when I forced my feet to be flat, after a few miles my Achilles’ tendon was really hurting.
It was time to bring some veterans out of retirement. And so it was that I found myself waiting a day in Warner Springs for my old, worn-out hiking shoes from last year that my wonderful, charming, handsome fiancé had mailed after a tearful phone call on Thursday morning. They’d been through very hot days and heavy loads, and so I knew that they were my best option for completing the desert. Even if they already had holes.
Day 11
On my day off I slept in until the sun woke me up. The tent was slick with condensation. I took a lazy approach to the day, lying around for hours drinking electrolyte mix and eating peanut butter by the spoonful. On top of my foot troubles I’d picked up an awful head cold over the past few days that had completely suppressed my appetite. There had been one day that I’d realized around 2pm that all I’d eaten by then was hot water with some honey mixed in. Combine that with hiking 10 or more miles per day, and my pants were already starting to feel loose.
Around lunchtime the inside of my tent was unbearably hot with the sun directly overhead, so I shuffled my way to the post office to pick up the box of food I’d mailed myself back in San Diego. While I was outside sorting through my food, a random person asked if I was hiking the PCT and if I needed anything – including an offer of fresh fruit. I happily accepted bananas from the kind stranger, and then a few minutes later someone offered to drive me back to the resource center!
I spent a few hours that evening spending time with other hikers, washing my clothes in a bucket and hanging them to dry. I met someone named Jenna who had the worst poison oak rash I’d ever seen: she’d taken her shirt off at Hauser Creek on day 2 to cool off, and then leaned back into a patch of poison oak. A week later she was still having new spots appear. There were several other fun people that I ate dinner with and who ended up camping near me.
Day 12
I had a leisurely morning waiting for the post office to open. I got an immediate hitch with a couple other hikers from the resource center from a van reeking of weed. My package had arrived! It felt odd to take off my almost-brand-new shoes and put on my old ones, but they’re working.
The trail started through more beautiful meadows, before following Agua Caliente for several miles. I had two luxurious foot soaks in the cool water, an essential part of backpacking trips in the Cascades and something I’d sorely missed in the desert. I chatted with day hikers and another thruhiker named Brian – who went to Fenwick HS! – before heading off into the heat to make sure I got a camp spot near the off-trail water at mile 119. My feet were feeling hot and sore in comparison to the break in the creek, but my heel pain had magically disappeared.
When I got to camp I lay in a dazed stupor for an hour in my tent before I was ready to climb down the road to the Lost Valley Spring. There was a small metal trough by the side that I scooped water from and filtered. I made myself drink a full liter while sitting there, and the cold soaked into my core and made me shiver.
For dinner I treated myself to one of my fancier dinners: couscous with pine nuts and pepper salmon, plus some of the Parmesan cheese I’d been gifted at Eagle Rock. I had hoped to go at least 5 miles depending on how I felt, and it seemed like the day spent in Warner Springs had done a lot to heal my feet and my cold.
When I called Dov in tears on Thursday morning, I’d said that if these shoes didn’t work then I was going to come home. The shoes had worked, but I was still headed home. Except this time I’d get there by foot.
15 Comments
Dov
Nice fakeout in the last paragraph 🙂
I’m so glad your foot problems finally seem to be resolved and that you’re feeling better. Happy to hear that I was able to help, and that I’m wonderful and charming.
kate bowman
I think it was “my wonderful, charming, handsome fiancé “. You forgot the “handsome” part.
Dov
Or I deliberately witheld it to prompt someone else to mention the omission. All part of my cunning plan…
Tom Altergott
Dov, looks like your Mom took the bait!
kate bowman
From working with glass, you and I both know what 6mm looks like. It does seem small, but to an Achilles tendon it can be significant. Once these wonderful shoes fall apart, if you have to get another pair with a heel drop, you might want to consider silicone heel cup inserts. They seem to be about 3-6 mm, and are nice and squishy into the bargain. I’m so glad you are taking days off. I’m also glad you are feeling better and regaining some appetite. Once again, beautiful beautiful pictures!
HiNorene Lewis
Hi, Kate – Nice to “meet” you. I’m one of Karen’t aunts. Does “working with glass” mean you do glassblowing? Our daughter, Karen’s cousin Maria, used to do that. Of course, you may have meant working in a lab with test tubes. Either way, hope we can meet in person some time soon.
chasingalpenglow
I’m sure you’ll meet at the wedding, if not sooner 🙂 Kate has two kilns in her garage for doing fused glass, and she was kind enough to teach me when Dov and I visited two years ago!
kate
Hello, such a pleasure! I do what is called ‘warm glass’, where it is fused together at about 1500 degrees (F), enough to make it soft and a bit sticky, but not enough to make it completely liquid. Glass blowing is ‘hot glass’, and is done at about 2400 (F). It takes a forge, and several kilns to keep the glass at temperature, then to anneal it. Everyone I know who does hot glass has a barn, shed, or other outbuilding not connected to the house. We have kilns in our garages. They’ll go to 1700, but no higher. Karen has made some beautiful pieces using a variety of techniques, and different kilns. She has a creative spirit and is artistically adventurous.
Chris
Greetings Karen! I really appreciate the realities you depict with such a calm narrative. And love your problem solving and the supportive camaraderie you find as you travel. The word ‘travel’ evolved from and shares the same roots as the word ‘travails.’ Share this tidbit with someone who is really stoned. They will love you for it. I look foward to your travelogues, come what may, lightly varnished or raw. Thanks for sharing.
chasingalpenglow
Thanks for reading Chris! There are definitely lots of stoned people out here to try that on haha. I hope you’re well!
Dianne Wilburn
Very happy to hear you have the tried and true pair of shoes!
chasingalpenglow
It’s amazing how much more fun it can be when every step isn’t agonizing 🙂
peggy
lovely broken in shoes are so much more comfortable – and the holes only help to dissipate the heat in the desert !
chasingalpenglow
It’s been such a game-changer!
Dorothy
Hi Karen, I’m really enjoying your updates. Stay safe!