Meetup: Day 9 – Tuesday 7/21/2020 – 1404.9 – clear, sunny, hot, windy afternoon. I woke at 4:20 am, packed up, had my pop tart and MIO water, and was on trail at about 5:05 am. Today was going to be my longest day yet – 22 miles. I was zipping along. First part was on a dirt road. I did a climb up to a hill top and on the far side was a very steep descent. I had to get out my hiking poles for the first time. I went by several evaporation ponds in a park. The country is changing. It is getting more hilly. But then after a while the road stopped and I had to navigate point to point. Now it was very slow going. It was very hard on me. After a few miles I was exhausted and finally came to a dirt road. Just down the road I saw Justin’s Jeep driving towards me. What? He was supposed to meet me two miles later but here he was early. Yippee! I’ll take it. I put my pack in the Jeep, had a short 30 minute break, drank a Coke, and prepared to slack pack the remaining miles. He left to do more errands. It was a slog even with no heavy pack but I completed all 22 miles by 2:30 pm. A NOBO thru-hiker named Moonshine stopped by for a free cold Coke. Justin and I had chicken quesadillas, chips, bean dip, and lots of water. The plains are ending and the hills are coming. I can feel it.
