I woke up from the sun beating down. I had slept decent aside from the traffic waking me up on and off through the night. I was right at the bottom of a steep hill where cars were gassing it to get ready for the steep climb up the pass. So some of the louder engines woke me up here and there.
I sat up and right away started thinking about how close I am now to finishing this journey. In reality, I still had a ways to go. But I was thinking more in terms of days. When I was in Texas I didn't feel what months seemed like until I was close. But now I am thinking in terms of weeks. Less than 2 weeks in fact. And now I can feel it! I am close and I know the ocean is not too many mountain ranges or deserts away now. These are the times where I can think for 20 minutes and keep trying to grasp it. But I have to stop myself and keep moving. I have a lifetime to remember think about this if I want to. But for now, I need to finish.
I started packing my things up. I shook out some of the sand that was on my tarp and folded it up. I tucked my sleeping bag and gear away in my cart and was ready. For some reason getting out was a little tougher. I couldn't find a clear path to roll my cart back out to the road. The way I came in was a little easier as it was downhill slightly. So I had to muscle it a little more and lift my cart over a few rocks and some small thick wood root kind of things.
When I got out to the road, I was stretching a little while leaning on my cart handle. A dark colored Tahoe passed me and hesitated then honked. Then they passed by and started heading up the pass. I wondered who it was but I didn't think much and just started heading to Morongo Valley. Then I heard a honk again from behind me and it was the same Tahoe coming back my way. It passed me then made a u turn towards me and pulled off. A girl popped out with a bag. She handed it to me and said she had just heard about my journey on Facebook and wanted to come help out. I was really thankful and gave her a big hug!
After she left I headed on down the road again and made my way into Morongo Valley. I was expecting more of a town but it was not a whole lot. I was getting low on water and pretty thirsty, so I stopped at a gas station to go inside and fill 2 gallon jugs I had. I went into the bathroom and filled them in the sink. The water was not the best, but it's water. And I've had worse on this trip.
I walked the rest of the way through Morongo Valley and was just about to the end of it and nearing another long steep pass down the mountain. Just before the pass I was planning to stop for a break and to stretch. My body was ok but my knees had a pretty bad full pain in them. Especially my right knee.
Just as I approached a nice shade tree next to the highway, 2 motorcycles pulled off right by the tree. Two guys hopped off and tool their helmets off. They came up and shook my hand and said they were following me now for a while! They heard about the journey through the motocross community and really thought it was cool. I was happy to talk motocross with them and took my break with some cool dudes. They brought me a gatoraide too which is always amazing!
After my break and the guys taking off, I headed towards the drop off the pass. It was pretty hot by know and was warming up still as the sun was coming over the top of me. I started down the hill and it was pretty steep! Also the shoulder of the road was more narrow and narrow the more I went down. It was also getting to be pretty curvy around the mountain which was pretty scary since the cars were staying on the throttle. I was just about riding the white line and was honestly ready to jump at any moment just incase a car came at me. It just took the wrong person to not be paying attention and to swerve at me and I would have been over the railing and on the sand to get out of the way. I was paying very close attention to the oncoming traffic.
I made my way down a pretty long ways and finally was out of the more dangerous part. I was releived, and from looking ahead, it seemed to be the last really sketchy part (road and traffic wise) that I would have to face. When I dropped to the bottom now it flattened out and it was really Hott! It was 8 degrees warmer down here than it was atop the hill where I was before the pass. The elevation really made a huge difference in temperature. Just as it flattened out I had 2 cars pull over back to back. One was the mother of a girl who met me in 29 palms. She wanted to come check on me after talking to her daughter. She lived down this way and was now closer to me. She asked if I needed anything and I told her I was just about set on gear and everything, but if she wanted to say prayers later for me I would be greatful! The next car was a guy who was driving back to Arizona from Los Angeles. He had heard about me on the Internet and wanted to come say hi. He gave me $5 even after I said no. He insisted and was really nice. He took off and I was thankful for both cars checking on me!
I decided to pull off for another break in the median under a tree. So I darted across the highway with my cart and went into the shade! I was a little tired from holding my cart back down the hill and so I plopped my sleeping bag down on the ground and took a break. I had some of the snacks that I was given by the girl in the Tahoe earlier that morning. I ate a bag of chips and a fruit cup. I really didn't have much food when I started the day, so that really helped me.
I took off after about 20 minutes and a quick stretch. I darted across the other side of the highway from the median, and after maybe a half mile turned onto a small paved road where my route took me. This was now the end of my walking on route 62. Thank god! It has been the toughest road yet!
The road I was now on was residential, but very spread out and looked somewhat deserted actually. It looked like a really trippy place for houses. It was so dry and plain and quiet. As I walked through there I was starting to wonder where my GPS was taking me. It didn't look like much else was ahead except some mountains that had not roads on them. I kept on the path though.
I finally came to a dirt road that had a gate. The gate looked like it was normally closed, but happened to be open now as there was a truck up on the hill and working on a windmill that was inside the fenced area. It was a whole windmill farm actually. I didn't know what was at the other side or if I would even be able to get out. But it honestly looked like the only path that would get me in the direction I was going. And il be dammed if I don't finish this journey the ENTIRE way of ONLY walking! So I went for it. It was a bumpy dirt road for about a mile when I came to another gate. Luckily the other gate was open as well. So I went through that and continued on the dirt road. It then dropped down a steep mountain and I walked down and it dropped me back near where the 10 was. The dirt road then flattened and I crossed over a bridge that was over the white water river. It was fast flowing water that looked really refreshing! I stopped and went down there. I dumped the gallon of hot water I had a refilled it with the cold water that flowed here. It was sooo good! It was really refreshing and I seriously downed about a half gallon!
I slowly headed past there and knew it was about that time to sniff a spot out for the night. I walked past a yard where there was a company that had tile and rock and stuff. There was a guy dressed in military clothes sitting up against the fence. He looked to be out of place or something, possibly in a troubled situation. So I asked if he was ok and if he wanted a snack or anything? He sort of declined in a rude way and waved for me to leave as he answered his phone. I didn't take it personal though. If he was starving, maybe he would have thought different to my offer.
I walked another quarter mile where there was a freeway exit. I pulled off of a dirt road next to the exit and decided that was the spot for the night. It was a quiet exit with basically nothing there. It would make for a decent spot with not a lot of people to see me. I found a spot behind a bush and made up my bed. My feet were cramped and stiff. So after I pulled my bedding out and sat down, I pulled my shoes and socks off and cleaned them with baby wipes. Putting the wipes between my toes honestly felt like a message. It felt amazing. I watched a really relaxing and beautiful sunset over the mountain, and laid back to get to bed. I fell asleep and was excited for the coming days. I'm so close to what I know is going to be an amazing moment!
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