The first day of my new routine and it really felt good to be walking early in the morning before the sun is burning down on me. I feel like I get many more miles in the first 3 hours of walking than at any other time of day. I mentioned in the previous post about how the trail went on the other side of the mountain at Bear Lake. This is generally the case. The trail always seems to go on the “other side of the mountain”. Where the other side is the side that is generally desert. It makes sense the trail would go on the desert side rather than the “civilized side” and I’m sure it was a lot easier to get the rights to put the trail there. The other effect of being on the “other side of the mountain” is that generally there is no cell service on the “other side” and so you only get service when you happen to wander up to the crest and/or pass over to the “civilized side” for awhile. Here is a picture of the early morning walk where Big Bear Lake is still in my view.

Met a young man named Kirby today. I actually caught him… how can this be? Anyway, he was a nice guy and was not in any hurry and so we kept passing each other on breaks and ended up camping at the same place this night. The camping spot was right next to a river and it was pretty and quiet. There was a town about 4 miles away and Kirby was going into town to get some needed things and so I never saw him after that. I think I actually may be faster than Kirby which means Kirby is really not in any hurry and is just taking time to smell the roses. Good for him!!

It was a 20 mile day. I like the new routine. For dinner I had risotto and chicken and I ate both servings and it was delicious.