Day 13: After a delicious coffee in the coffee club next to the accommodation, the day started leisurely at 9 am. The walk was not particularly difficult and was made very beautiful by the many flowering cacti and flowers. Moreover, the weather was very gracious. There was a good wind blowing and the clouds ensured that it did not get so warm.
So at the end of the day, we still managed to cover 32 km. Of course, this was also due to the fact that the campsites were a long time coming.
Day 14: From my small campsite, I first headed towards the water source. On the way, I ran into a small wild boar, a kind of javelina or peccary that has migrated from Mexico.
When we arrived at the water tank, we filled up properly, as the next good water source was 15 miles away. Fortunately, it was cloudy and windy, so it shouldn’t be too hard.
Rattlesnakes on the trail
Shortly afterwards, the first shock: the first rattlesnake lay at the side of the trail with a rabbit in its mouth. But you have to give it credit for making a very loud noise.
Shortly afterwards, the next shock: another rattlesnake, this time without a rabbit or hare in its mouth, which wanted to be avoided over a large area. It is somehow fascinating that first you don’t see a single rattlesnake and then two in one day.
The next water source was a cow pond with super green water, which invited us to take a short break. After that we walked through the countryside for a while so that the way to Kearny the next day would not be so long.
Day 15: The day started quite cool, but warmed up quickly. It was up and down through beautiful flowering hills to the Florence Kelvin Trailhead to hitch a ride from there to Kearny.
Today there was the third rattlesnake to see. A hiker in front of me slipped in a fresh cow patty and startled the snake. Fortunately, it only rattled.
Otherwise, I passed a water source where I had to use my water filter to filter very unappetising water.
But it was very easy to hitchhike into town. Shortly after arriving at the trailhead, Frank showed up, invited all the hikers and drove into town. He also offered that if the hotel was occupied, we could stay at his place.
The hotel itself was nice, but a bit chaotic. The website didn’t work, no one answered the phone and on arrival I had to wait until 4pm for the room to be ready. At least the beer was only $3.25, which made the wait pleasantly shorter.
