I left Julian around 9. It took a while before I actually got moving — messages, sunscreen, the usual. I was on trail by 10.
It was hot from the start, and steep. I eventually found a rhythm.
The electrolytes were a problem again. I’ve tried a few brands — today’s version was salty. I mixed it with a sweeter one hoping they’d cancel each other out. Instead I got something too sweet with a salty aftertaste. Neither worked. I had three litres with electrolytes and 2.5 without. Around midday I stopped for an hour and drank a litre of plain water.
I saw several people throughout the day — most had stayed at the same place as me the night before. The heat was serious. People were hiding in whatever shade they could find.
After 14 miles I reached a water source and stopped for the day. Partly because camping near water makes sense. Mostly because my knee was hurting. I’d bought a compression bandage in Julian — it made things worse, not better.
About three miles before the water I ran into an older man on the trail. He’d fallen a few days earlier, knocked out some teeth, and his chest was bothering him. He kept walking anyway. He had no water left so I gave him what I had — the plain water, no electrolytes. Later at the water source I met others who’d also crossed paths with him and given him water. He’d already drunk that too. I saw him again the next day — he was fine.
I reached the water around 4pm. I didn’t want the sun heating up my tent so I waited before setting it up and talked to other hikers instead. One was travelling with just a tarp.
I tried a freeze-dried hiker meal for the first time. Just add water, wait 15 minutes. Impressive calorie density — 1300 calories in 150g — but the taste didn’t match. It was bland enough that I used my emergency salt for the first time. Volume-wise also very small. For 14 USD I can buy several packs of Knorr pasta or rice, wrap it in a tortilla, and eat better. The freeze-dried meal is lighter and easier to prepare — but it’s not worth it to me. I’ll stick to my system.
I read for a while, then slept.
