Need a ride?

On Friday morning I cleaned off a plate of delectable eggs and salsa verde, gave Yeags a double helping of chow, and drove a few miles to Singer's place.  I shut off and got out as he pulled out of his garage... threw my bag in his backseat and got in... my car faded in the rear-view mirror as we took off on the 20 mile drive to work



Sunrises never get old in the desert


After a long day in my window-less office, I called it quits and balmed up my feet, changed into my hiking kit, and took off for the desert.  Since I had decided to park my car a little ways away, I had some walking to do...





The little wizards kept me company for what would turn out to be a decently long evening.  I set off towards the setting sun and by nightfall, I had made it off the main reservation and began a 10-mile stretch of dry lakebed towards Rosamond.


When you're walking alone for 6 hours at night, you definitely start seeing things.  Getting pulled over by security was definitely not a hallucination, however.  There are a lot of drifters out here, so I had to flash some ID, etc, etc.  After my repeated "uh-huh" responses to all his coyote warnings, the nice fella wished me luck, got back in his car, switched off the flashers, and drove off.


On another segment of who-knows-where (my headlamp provided about 10 feet of canvas on this moonless night), my friend Kirk from work found my bobbing light and stopped his car to hand me a sandwich, water, and a goody bag!  He probably still thinks I'm nuts (who wouldn't), but what a great friend.  Rav and Eddie kept me company on the phone while Dave, Bruce and the Cooleys entertained my bored rants on the 3G.


It was an absolutely beautiful night... perfect temperature, light breeze, and not an unnatural sound entering my ears.  The Gobi walk will be a radical departure from these niceties... blazing sun, no food deliveries, no contact with the outside world... just eyes on the horizon and one deliberate footstep at a time.


My only mistake was walking in hiking boots.  Because of the darkness I had to stick to the asphalt, as any flat hard pack trail was hundreds of yards from the road.  I should have worn sneakers, and I definitely plan on doing that on any future long commutes to and from work!

I rounded the last of the 20 miles and got back in my car... with stiff legs on the pedals I slinked back to my house, fed my happy dog... and rolled into some nice dreams... which weren't quite as exciting as the things my imagination was conjuring during the previous 6 hours... =)