So I had a good night and actually slept later than normal.  Starting heading toward the water and I was looking forward to having some food.  About 6:30 in the morning I reach the creek and there is plenty of nice cold flowing water.   So I fill up the water holders and start boiling 2 cups of water.  I have Ramen Noodles with cheese cut in and with some olive oil and with some summer sausage.   While that was cooking and cooling I had two Carnation Instant breakfasts which seem to energize me more than anything else.   I eat the food rather slowly and towards the end I am already feeling nauseous but I was use to that and figured it would pass.  I pack everything back up and continue the hike.  The whole process takes about 90 minutes.  I wasn’t in any hurry really.

Not far down the trail I meet “Big Bird” so named because he is a rather large man and is a birder.  He is about my age and is doing some section hiking and birding along the way.  We talk a bit about birding and he gives me a tip of where to see a Calliope Hummingbird that he had just seen.  I was not aware that bird was possible here and thought it had to be a rare sighting.  However, I stopped where he had indicated and waited and sure enough there he was visiting the wild flowers.  Found out later it is not even considered rare.  Nice to see!!!

Not long after this my great meal was on the ground.  Just would not stay down.  This made a bit concerned and so I started wondering if there was a road where Lenora could get me.   What happened next was a series of bad communications and is rather embarrassing.   Lenora thought I needed extraction now come hell or high water and what I wanted was to get out if there was a decent road near by where she could get me.   Messages back and forth were missed and delivered late and in the final result Lenora made a super human effort to get where I was.  This was not easy because I was still hiking and trying to get to some decent road while she was traveling over every little jeep and logging road she could take.  At one point got to a ravine she could not get past and backed up to a place where the PCT crossed the trail.  As it turns out this point was about 3/4 of a mile from where I was.  I backtracked to where she was and proceeded to get upset because she had put herself in great danger and as it turns out broken some laws to get to where I was.  Not my finest hour to be sure.  By the time we got back to the hotel we had pieced together all the messages and how things had gone wrong and hopefully have learned something.   I asked for forgiveness.  She forgave me.  God is good.

Lenora’s Note:  It was a big day for me.  Started with missing the expected text from Alabama but caught his followup call and picked him and another hiker called Young Blood at the I-5 and Soda Creek exit.  Made it back to town in time for my Chiropractor appt. and he not only adjusted my neck but used ultrasound on my shoulders when he saw I could not lift my arms at all today.  He then called an Orthopedic Doc that he knows and arranged me to see him. Dr. F thinks I have inflammation in tendons of both shoulders and perhaps a cortizone shot would help.  I was just about off the round the clock advil for the inflammation from the dental surgery and now I’m back on that regimen.  Quick stop at the local craft store and a long talk with Martha who shares that her bird count is over 100 now with chickens leading the count followed by Guineas and now 5 new Turkeys.  She is a crazy woman.

Don pretty much summed up the adventure on dirt roads that were abandoned to the bushes and trees a long long time ago.  Since I never saw the “Do not come messages”,  I went on.  I was afraid the loggers would cut a tree down to fall on the car, or have me arrested or I would get stuck but thanks to John Wayne I knew what to do.  Something he said about courage being when you are scared but you get back up on the horse anyway (this is the week of movie quotes).  The end of the tale is that we found each other and both tired and emotionally drained we still considered ourselves blessed to have each other and to be together.  Morning readings this weekend will be all the sweeter for being shared.