Day 19: Bye bye San Jacinto
Four days and I don't know how much elevation gain (today only, more than a thousand meters). It was a demanding ride, mentally and physically. It challenged me several times, but the environments we walked through left us breathless.
After twenty grueling kilometers, I find out that the tent site where we were all planning to stop had been a poor choice: a strong westerly wind makes almost all the camp sites unsuitable – those who arrived first got the best ones, that’s how it works. Disappointed and angry – it wasn’t clear to whom I should’ve addressed my anger because wind and water don't play favorites or hold grudges – I ate a candy bar, took an ibuprofen for my knee pain, and got back on trail. Another five and a half kilometers to an unstable, sloping little place. The wind doesn’t cease and fills my tent with sand, it rains occasionally, and I keep slipping on my mat. It’s not going to be a great night, but this was the best I could find today.
What am I forgetting? Something about the life I put on hold and it seems so far away, I don’t know. I wish I could take a shower, eat something, and return to civilization for a short time. We should celebrate that we have passed two hundred miles 🎉
