Made 88 miles this week and ready for my zero weekend...a hot bath...a good meal and a soft bed.
Have seen very little in the way of wildlife (...too hot...and the range cattle don't really count...) Did learn immediately that you don't leave your hiking boots outside the tent overnight...as scorpions tend to get inside. Always shake your shoes in the morning.
Not deadly, but they can give a nasty sting and seem to be in a perpetually bad mood.
Aside from a Roadrunner (...meep...meep...)
and a single shy Mule-deer...and the omnipresent range cattle (...mostly black Angus...).
The landscape has been pretty devoid of visible life.
I have heard coyotes at night...but have yet to see them.
With the exception of a few straggling SOBO hikers, who just seem eager to finish the journey, I have seen NO north-bounds since I started...and feel fairly alone out here.
Hoping I am not too late in the season.
The hotel is what you would expect for a small run-down trail-side town. Clean but not Holiday Inn. Nothing matches inside...not sure if this is a quirk or a feature. Think interior done by Goodwill. A small concrete pool outside with slightly stagnant water that is warm.
The restaurant inside says tonight's special is meatloaf.
But first a good bath.
Trail funk is real.
Catch ya'll on Monday!
Love,
"Beans"
https://youtu.be/wqySKDBXJuQ?si=qonqsgyYizMYdsA5