April 10

April 10  Unusually nature called twice In 6 hours for me to dig a hole before I was really ready to get out of that warm quilt.  Worse yet, the temp outside was only ~25 deg F at the Coon Creek Campground.

I got on the trail with a new operating system: start with a big meal, walk with a water bottle in hand, snacks in the pocket, hiking pole in active use. Take snacks on the move and lunch big.  I left at 7:50 arriving at Hwy 18 at 15:45. The eight hour interval included a quarter mile detour when I missed a turn, visiting with Smiley at trail side, a stop to fill/treat water, a few minutes to consider the sign/offer Papa Smurf left at mile 251 for a ride into Big Bear Lake and a short lunch break.

Trail angel Shauna/ picked me up at hwy 18. Very nice. I checked in at the hostel $31 per night.

Dinner at Nuevo Vallarta: pork tamale & chile relleno. Amazingly, I  had to "dig another hole" right after dinner. The human digestive system is not efficient.

Almost all the goodies arrived at the hostel: shoes, pack, sleeping bag, phone/case, food.

Now what do I want to re-invent? Pants with roll up legs instead of zip off legs (gets rid of the fuss putting away/retrieving/losing legs). A hiking pole with a t-grip or a palm grip maybe 130 cm, maybe with a forward bent tip, like XC pole tips