October 11th
I cruised early on the easy-to-follow trail on the mesa. I enjoyed the hike.
When I reached the mesa edge, I had a two mile trail down the side. It was rocky trail and I stumbled a few times. My neck/shoulder hurt pretty bad. Part of the reason may be my clothing bag is my pillow and it is pretty thin now that I am out of the mountains. Also, my old/new Granite Gear Crown VC belt barely holds on the hips and therefore most of the pack’s weight is borne on my shoulders. Whatever, it got more painful as the morning progressed.
At the base of the downhill trail, there is a bulletin board. It has one sign that bugs the crap out of me. It is common to see signs that tell hikers to not cut switchbacks so we don’t damage the woods. Also, there will be signs telling hikers to stay on the trail. It galls me that I am told to not get off the trail because of the harm I can unleash, but the same organization leases out forest land to huge herds of cattle that destroy trails, meadows, and water sources. I can’t believe that my stepping off trail causes as much damage as a 600 pound steer that produces a turd every 15 minutes.
I road walked into town. My fantasy of easy-over eggs was fulfilled at a local restaurant. I walked along the old Route 66 to the motel strip which had a Walmart. I checked in and did my chores.
There is an Asian AYCE buffet right nearby. It was not as bad as I feared. Yes, the food was a little greasy, but there were some very good choices as well.
backpacking over the hill 