Day 6 – Julian

I had a tough time falling asleep last night — I kept imagining coyotes were going to drag my pack away and eat my tuna packets. I had a plan to kick their asses if it came down to that, and eventually drifted off to some weird dreams (been having a lot of those on the trail). 

  

We found a great stealth camp spot right before the sun went down yesterday and spent the night completely alone. Our morning routines are similar and we are usually able to break camp efficiently in the morning which is great. There were only about 2 miles to the next water tank so we hustled there and filled up for the 9 mile hike to highway S2 and Julian. I kept talking about what I wanted to eat, mostly omelets and tomatoes, until Rt politely asked me to keep it to myself (haha).

Stunning views again today as we slowly descended to the desert floor.

 

 

  

The last few miles seemed to drag on forever even though it was flat and definitely less rocky. Once we got closer to the road we prettied up our packs and put on our least smelliest shirts in hopes of a hitch to town. No sooner had we stepped on to the road, a car came up behind us and I threw out my thumb for my first real hitch. The car pulled over immediately! The driver was a very sweet lady who was going in to Julian and gives rides to hikers all the time. We thanked her profusely and watched with intense gratitude as the road we had thought to walk on become narrow and very steep. She told us the road to Julian is the longest 12 miles you’ll ever meet. Our trail angel dropped us off in front of the Julian B&B and recommended the cafe before heading on her way.

The rooms at the bed and breakfast were moderately priced ($91 for one room) with wifi and laundry and, of course, breakfast so we dropped our bags in our room and grabbed burgers at the cafe.

   

 

 I started giggling at the table and Rt asked me what was up.
“I can’t believe we were sleeping in a canyon last night and now we are eating burgers.”
It was kind of surreal.

Fresh laundry 🙂

Posted by Jill