Distance hiked today: 11.4 miles / 18.3 km.
The trail meandered through more open meadows today, past Eagle Rock (we practiced our eagle pose), some cows, and then into the small community of Warner Springs.
Hikers hang out in the yard of the community center, with bucket showers, charging plugs, and shade. A minivan with no back seats ran shuttles the 1.2 miles to the post office and gas station for resupply packages and cold drinks, floor seating only in the back of the van. I waited about an hour for the FedEx truck to arrive with my box, sitting in the shaded bushes outside the post office, and intercepted the delivery to avoid their fee for accepting non USPS packages. I was lucky it even arrived today. The FedEx driver texted afterwards saying he decided to do the route backwards today on a whim, and had he not, he would not have arrived on time. It blew his mind how these things happen, but as hikers know, the trail provides!
I haven't eaten as much food as I expected and now have waayyy too much. I stuffed it into every nook of my backpack and made it fit (barely) - I could leave some in the hiker box but since keto trail food is hard to come by I'll suck it up and carry it until I eat it. We hiked another 3 miles to a tent site with a stream, enjoying warmer evenings and meeting new people.
On the blister front, I removed the liner/insole in my shoes completely. Turns out you don't need it! The shoe is quite roomy and empty but still tightens enough so my foot doesn't move around too much, and there's nothing for my heels to pinch on. I'm carrying both pairs of old insoles for now in case I need to switch it up, but at least my heels can heal and hopefully callous over so I can put them back in later... Or maybe never. 🤷♀️
Total trail mileage: 112.5 miles / 181 km