October 16

I could get used to the weather in SoCal. I still am trying to comprehend how fast the scenery and climate changed. It is a beautiful night, with a clear sky and I'm still wearing my shorts two hours after the sun has set. We traded snow and freezing nights for a warm, dry high desert. I don't mind having to carry extra water because I know I won't freeze in my sleeping bag tonight. 

We started this morning having to hike 9 miles to water, each of us had 1/4 liter to start the day. We had leftover noodles and sauce for breakfast which had enough water in it to be sufficient for our hydration needs. It wasn't much and we arrived at the spring thirsty. Fortunately, the spring was flowing with clear water even though it was quite slow. Louis and I took an hour rehydrating and snacking before we left with about a liter each to hike to lunch, then the next water source 15 miles further. We hiked a few miles after sunset to shorten the distance to our next water source and have camped on the ridge top. It is again, a beautiful night with moon in full and stars everywhere. I'm sleeping without my extra layers for the first time and excited about being able to cowboy camp very soon.