Heeeeyyy everybody!! Its daawwn! Time to play another round of… Waallk tiill you drop!!!

Third night in a row for burning of the lamp. Today we did keep to our newly set mileage ceiling. In fact, we weren’t even able to walk the twenty-five we computed yesterday would be necessary every day for the next two months in order to make Canada in time. Yesterday Dyl said he was beginning to see the error in his ways. Moving to a strange place and beginning a new life a week after walking 2,600 miles was, I’d agree, a tight squeeze. He has said when August 29th comes he is done. Even if we are only a hundred miles shy. I haven’t told him; but, if we get under four hundred miles and he has to quit, I’m seriously considering finishing solo. It would be a terrible thing to do. I wouldn’t have made it through those mountains without him. I probably wouldn’t have made it off my street.

A large owl flew off its perch two feet left of me this morning. Time king of slowed down as it flapped twice in front of me. It was three feet away at waist level. I could have reached out and plucked a feather off its wing tip. We have entered an area where the guide describes the mosquitoes as “particularly viscous.” They are quite horrible. Dyl claimed, “I no longer get satisfaction from killing them. I like to catch ’em and pull off their little poker so that they slowly and harmlessly starve.”

Tomorrow, after resupplying in Old Station we embark upon forty waterless miles on the Hat Creek Rim. We will need to do something to bump up our water carrying capacity. The moon is full and the rim is supposed to be burnt clear of any vegetation. We’re going to have a go at night walking in order to limit out thirst.

There is a great deal of geothermal activity around here. We have entered into Lassen Volcanic park so this should be of no surprise. This morning we went and checked out a perpetual geyser. This afternoon we saw a bright blue green boiling lake adorned by several large bumbling mud pits. Most of this stuff is very interesting but extremely putrid smelling. Its like being surrounded by thousands of rotten eggs.

I don’t have time to do anything but eat walk and write these entries. Sometimes even this writing is forced as there is neither time nor energy to do it.