LaGrangePoints5 - Pacific Crest Trail Journal - 2016

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Flying over Mt. Baker

One More Day to Wait

I flew down to Moms house in Palm Springs from Bellingham Wednesday morning. I got to the airport in plenty of time to catch my 8:30 flight, and we all started boarding at 8, just like we were supposed to, but then around 8:35, the pilot came on and announced that the paperwork for this particular flight had been inadvertently given to the pilot of the plane that had left 30 minutes ago for Las Vegas, and that we couldnt leave, according to federal regulations until the correct paperwork had been created at corporate, signed by someone, and then transmitted to the plan. So we waited. For an hour and 40 minutes. For paperwork. The airline folks were nice about it. The passengers were mostly nice about it. One of the flight attendants apologized to me, but I said, Its OK. No matter how long it takes to get the paperwork, its still going to take me longer to walk back.

Last summer, one of the ironies for me was that in the summer of a pretty significant drought was that between late June and early July, I took 4 different hiking trips in Washington and California, and managed to get rained on all 4 of them. Today, here in Palm Springsthe desert while I was here, it rained. And the forecast for the next several days in the mountains calls for rain. I dont know quite what to make of that yet.

Today we picked up last minute thingspropane, some last minute foods, an electronics cord. My sister Karen arrived here from Sherman Oaks with the box of food and maps my daughter Leah sent me. I had already spread out pretty much everything so Karen and I put it all back together in the pack. We split food into 3 pilesone to go in the pack to Campo with me, one for a box to drop off at Warner Springs, and the rest to have back here for a third leg to Big Bear Lake. And, since this is the first time I have done a trip on this scale with different approaches to gear and weight, I was a little surprised to learn that my pack was 22 pounds without food and water, and that 6 days of food was 11 pounds. By the time I add 7 liters of water, Ill be up to 48 pounds! Rats, that is way too much! Ill need to rethink this in the morning on some sleep. (By noon, we are off to Campo!!)

Entry 13 of 14
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