Miles hiked: 1.1
Mile marker: 369.4
Today is a day to sleep in, but it’s 5:15 AM when I start shuffling around in my tent. The sun hasn’t yet made an appearance for today, but after I use the restroom (in nature, that is), Bumper is setting up his tripod for a morning sunrise shot.
I’m making a cappuccino when I turn and see the orange circle just over the horizon. Savannah and Lucie are taking photos as well.
My cappuccino is pretty watery, but Savannah has a hot chocolate I can add to it. Much better — even though I didn’t wash out my pot the night before. I’m getting pretty bad about my dishes. It’s hard to wash dishes with no water!
Truls (pronounced THRUCE) is still sleeping as everyone shuffles around to make comfy morning drinks. I go over to Dad’s tent to offer him a hot chocolate. Apparently he’s out of coffee too!
Now we’re almost all awake.
“Like the view?” Bumper asks.
Truls says, “I saw it yesterday.”
“I like it at the top,” Lucie says.
I can’t get enough of these two.
We start the hike down. It’s only a mile or so before we’re at the first parking lot. Dad says hello to the guys in their vehicles.
Not five minutes later and we’re at the second parking lot. The guys we just saw at the first parking lot drive by us.
Dad talks with them for a moment while a poodle-chihuahua mix of a dog named Carbon barks his head off at us.
Soon the lot of us are piled into three vehicles. Dad, Lucie, and I are in the backseat of our driver’s car. His name is Jai, and he’s from Washington. He lives here, in San Diego. Carbon sits up front, which is completely understandable and also makes me laugh as the three grown adults are squished in the backseat.
We meet Rafiki for breakfast with some other hikers. I order my first breakfast burrito! It was actually kind of bland. The coffee was weak. I’m beginning to see a trend at all these breakfast spots with their weak coffee!
No biggie though.
We head to the Mountain Hardware store where I get a package from Dad’s girlfriend, Isabella. She sent me a tent! Also some homemade cookies, peanuts M&M’s, and snickers! Plus some awesome quotes that I really enjoy.
We hang out in the back at the hiker station. You can weigh your bag, charge your stuff, and just sit back here!
We go to the bakery and get a cinnamon roll. It is the size of my face! Unfortunately it’s also a little bland. I get a coffee here too, which is better than the other coffee!
At last we hike up the road, which is long and uphill. We go into the Airbnb. It’s nice in here! To the left is the kitchen with lemon decor and a checkered yellow tablecloth over the round table. To the right is the living room with a white shag rug — not good for hikers — and yellow plush footstools.
Soon we go grocery shopping. Everyone splits breakfast essentials and hot chocolates. My resupply was $140. Much more pricey than I guessed!
We walk back to the Airbnb and everyone organizes their food until dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The restaurant only takes cash. This is the first I’ve had to dip into my cash store. There are a ton of hikers here.
I get a burrito chimichanga, even though I’m not too hungry. My top two options were the burrito chimichanga and the salad. I should have gotten some oranges from the store!
I hear you can get scurvy if you don’t eat your fruits and vegetables.
We go back to the Airbnb and everyone hangs out. There is a French braid train happening with Lucie braiding Savannah’s hair, and Savannah braiding Bumper’s.
Rafiki goes to repair his mat, but the valve completely pulls off! In his frustration he tears it in half. I wasn’t here to witness this, but Bumper fills me in.
Rafiki helps me repair my sleeping mat next, but I’m sure to not make silly jokes. He’s pretty upset right now. Long hours on a cold ground make for some sleepless nights.
Bumper and I slink off to bed as the girls sleep on the floor in the living room. Bumper and I stay up late. He is working on his videos and I’m working on my blog.
I’ll get around to putting moleskin on the back of my shoe later. How bad can the back of my ankle get from the high frame of my shoe?
Oh. And my Garmin In-Reach — the device that I can contact the outside world with on trial and hit an SOS button if I need to — I’ll get around to activating it. For now, it’s just useless weight.
So many things to do on trail!
The Wonderland Journal 
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