Today was a nice relaxing day for me. There is a great deal of irony to the break. Dyl strained, pulled, sprained something in one of his thighs. It seemed that he was taking much too much time to catch up. I waited a long time, eventually backtracking only to find him hobbling along. He stopped to stretch. We both thought silently about the fragility of our journey. I, in turn, considered the nature of this experience together. It is something we would have only started together. So, reaching our goal or not, we would finish together. Anyhow, we stopped early after only eleven miles.

The hiking, though slow today, is getting better and better This stretch, along the spine of the San Jacinto range, is called, “The Desert Divide.” Pleasant alpine terrain to the west still receiving the oceans moisture, contrasted with the barren lifeless Colorado desert to the east. The early stop afforded us the time to take it easy, wash our feet and legs, change the bandages on our feet. A rare treat after dinner Chocolate pudding mix, powdered milk, and water. I would say chocolate pudding but that’s a stretch. Now we are in “Blue Land.” Inside the tent we have pitched for only the second time so far.