From today the trail passes through an iconic place for a while: the Mojave desert. I instantly felt like a lone ranger, like in Fallout: New Vegas, ready to go on adventure in the wasteland. Or that is how I’d feel, if the night before hadn’t taken so much of my energy and sleep time.
Alan drove us back early in the morning. ‘Wasn’t this top early for you to get up?’ I inquire.
‘Oh no’, he replies ,’I woke up at 4h30 and my cats wouldn’t let me get back to sleep. They always do that.’
Interesting.
I had to drag myself through the daily 20 miles, luckily aided by the flat terrain. The cookie butter (speculoospasta) which at first I’d been so happy to find, gave me stomach cramps, further slowing my pace. I walked alone most of the day.
In the afternoon I saw Princess, making camp. He told me he’d been named because his tent was his castle, but upon seeing his tent, castle wasn’t the term I would use for it. At 19h I got to our campsite. Russel was there, together with Manon and Erik, a Dutch couple we’d met a day prior. I was dead tired.