Day 169, September 19, 2012

I woke up at about 8:00. The sun had just crept over the top of the building and was shining toward me. I hadn't slept too great since I was in an area that seemed a little sketchy. I had heard people on on off through the night either roaming around, or making noise from their houses, which were on a street behind me just about 100 feet away.
        When I woke up I was hungry. So I popped open a can of mixed nuts that was given to me the day before from the family that lived in Joshua Tree. I snacked on them while laying there for a bit. Then I took my time and stretched out really good. It always helps my knees so much.
     I packed my stuff up and then hit the road from there. I got right back onto the 62 (I slept right off of it) and started to make my way toward Yucca Valley. When I started walking, I felt ok aside from a small amount of dull pain in my knees. But compared to other days I felt good. I wanted to go about 15 miles or so for the day. But I just figured I would go with the flow and not push too much.
       I came to a McDonald's along the 62 in Yucca Valley. I had already covered about 8 miles or so and was ready for a long break. I went in and ordered a drink and a salad and sat down. I sat in the play place and plugged my iPod and wifi device in to charge. I sat there mostly because it was the best spot to keep an eye on my cart. I hoped I wouldnt creep out the kids too much. After all I'm a pretty grimy looking hobo by now.
      I hung out there for a good amount of the day. I wrote some journals and was watching the TV they had playing up on the wall as well. TV is a trip when you havnt watched it in a long while. It seems so weird. Like its almost some fake form of displaying the world. I found myself really analyzing the things they were reporting on. I'm to the point now where I have a good amount of media coverage and not 1 of them were 100% accurate. So I just think of how much the stories they are reporting could be off. And how they want to display the stories. There are definitely different ways to tell stories to make them seem like something other then what the reality is. It's like when two of your friends tell you the same story in their seperate emotions. Some can really make the story excitable with the choice of words and gestures they choose. Then others can tell it in a more factual way. Or maybe they felt different about it and would tell it in a more negative way. Like it was a bad experience rather than good. I just don't buy the stories on TV anymore. I can't trust that things are justified or correct. So I always find myself questioning everything and then realize I should take it to heart since I really don't know. It's a personal thing I guess. But the news really bugs me. I just know they can twist things if they want to if the right price is paid.
      So after being frustrated watching that, I through my headphones in and listened to some music while writing. I stayed there for most of the afternoon. I was about ready to head out of there do I packed my things and hit the road again. I walked out of Yucca Valley and was headed toward the pass that dropped down into Morongo valley. I took my time walking and was stopping to stretch out quit a bit.
      I finally reached the pass as the sun was starting to set. It was pretty steep as I went down and I was feeling it in my knees. Especially holding the weight of my Cart back. I made it about to the bottom and figured this was a good spot to try and find a place to crash. There were houses coming up and then the town. I preferred to sleep in the open desert area here and stay away from people if I could.
     I found a dirt road that went off the main highway and there wasn't much around in the area. So I trekked down the road about 100 yards and then walked off of it to hide behind a big bush I found. It was big enough to keep me out of sight. I laid my tarp down on the soft mushy sand and made up my bed on top of it. I laid down and it had just gotten dark by now. I laid there for about 20 minutes while checking the route ahead on my GPS. Then I was ready to crash. I fell asleep there and was another step closer to the big blue pacific.
Sent from my iPod

Day 168, September 18, 2012

I woke up pretty early. My knees were tight and locked. Sometimes I will go to sleep with something under them to keep them slightly bent, but I was so tired the night before that I honestly didn't remember to. I woke up on my back and my knees were burning from being locked straight.
I unzipped my sleeping bag and stretched out right away while still laying on my back. Stretching my IT band really seems to make my knees feel better quickly. So I stretched them out for a good 15 minutes and just worked my knees back and forth a few minutes to loosen them up. They felt much better.

Day 167, September 17, 2012

I woke up pretty early. I was between a dumpster and a fence behind a jack in the box. I didn't sleep very well but I felt very rested just knowing I was going to take a day to rest. I had just went through one of the toughest weeks in my life and through the unexpected toughest stretch of my trip. It was a very emotional and spiritual experience. I was ready to have a day to just soak in what I could. Plus rest. I was excited to rest!
I got up and my eyes were heavy. It was a nice day and I felt good! My knees felt a little weak and sore so I wanted to get some ice on them throughout the
day. I packed my things up from off the dirt there and packed my cart in. I slipped my shoes on but didn't tie them. It was gonna be a lazy day ahead.

Day 166, September 16, 2012

I woke up hearing something creek. I opened my eyes and instantly was relieved that I was around something. It wasn't just sand for as far as I could see. There were objects of society around and it felt good to see that.

The creek I heard was coming from the tank next to where I slept. It sounded like a valve or pipe was making the sound. Maybe someone turned on the water or something. I'm not sure.

Right when I woke up I grabbed a full bottle of water and downed it. Man that felt good. I sighed after I finished and grinned as I was thankful for that. I ate some of the Mexican donut that I was given from the day before. Today was my birthday and the first day of being 26. It was a good day as I would see 29 palms at some point.

Day 165, September 15, 2012

      I woke up and had slept pretty decent. I was still feeling good and right away thinking I only had one more full day of bare desert as long as everything went smooth. 
I got up with a positive attitude and was ready to tackle another day and meet my goal. I wanted to cover another 15-17 miles today. I was mostly guesstimating the miles at this point and was also using mile markers to do the math. My mind was so blurry that I hadn't been paying to close of attention the last few days, but I was getting more on track as I was getting closer.