October 21

We were up before the sun and ready to hike to the road to hitch into Mojave. The town day had us motivated and we went to stand by the road. It took about ten minutes for an early commuter to stop and take us to town. Our breakfast was excellent, especially as walking in we noticed Monday's special was McGriddles 2 for $4. My appetite nowadays goes beyond what I can fit in my stomach, but I do what I can for it. Around 10 we left to find the post office and stopped in to where two sobos Nat and Jane were having breakfast. There we met Bobcat, who was the first sobo to finish and is now back out hiking for a while as he has time in his work schedule. At the post office, Tom "Special Ops" showed up and we all worked out our resupply packages and tried to lighten our packs to allow for more water weight. We split into two groups and finished our town day by 2:30 pm. We all met up and packed 6 hikers and 6 packs into Bobcat's Toyota Camry and drove to the trailhead. Louis and I started out ahead as we had finished the 8 miles between the two highways and headed up the climb out of town.

The main thing I notice when first leaving town is how silent the wilderness is. Every store has music playing and even when it's quiet there is still noise, no matter where you are in an urban setting. Once we were clear of the wind turbines, the desert silence came to my ears. It is always more noticeable upon first leaving town and is a welcome home for me.