A Giant Alligator Juniper & the Superbloom

April 19, 2023 Day 19

Mile 323.3-349.6 (26.3 miles)

Didn’t sleep great last night. Had weird dreams that made me feel uneasy and checked my phone repeatedly while hiking all morning, hoping to get some service to chat with my friend Mini. I finally got a few bars and texted back and forth with her for a bit and it really helped. It was just hard for me to feel the magic of the trail this morning. Then, as if the trail knew I needed a little pick me up we hiked by an enormous Alligator juniper. It looked like the tree of life and lifted my spirits immensely. Right after we hiked through Reavis Ranch which is a beautiful, unexpected oasis full of apple trees and orchards. It was the home of Elisha Reavis in the 1870s. His body was also found and buried in this area in 1894.

Next was the long descent into the marina. I put headphones in and sang every song on my playlist. I switched to my audiobook eventually and got my hopes up when another hiker told us the restaurant at the marina was open. I had been telling myself it wasn’t all morning because the Guthook comments were unclear but now I had something to look forward to!

The wildflowers on the descent were insanel beautiful, we are officially in the middle of the superbloom! I have never walked through anything so breathtaking in my life.

Reached the restaurant and stood around waiting for someone to notice us. When a waitress finally came up to us she told us we’d just missed the cut off for ordering food. We asked if it was possible to order cold food like a salad and she went back to check with the cooks and returned apologetically saying no. We walked back outside and went to set the tent up by a shed that serves as a large hiker box. The marina is nice enough to let hikers camp on the property and there were several other tents set up nearby. I was feeling disappointed and down and nothing in my food bag was appetizing so I snacked a little and went to sleep. We are planning on hitching into town tomorrow to resupply so I can grab some food then.