My watch said 4:30. The wind was ripping over our camp site. My sleeping bag was getting pushed to the side by the gusts. It must have been 40+ mph. And I was starting to get wet. Thankfully only one hour until I could get up. I pulled my sleeping bag over my head and…

I slept amazing last night. It felt right to be back on trail. LA is a big city and I spent half of the weekend traveling in trains and cars. I appreciated the solitude of a night surrounded by nature.

woke up on the couch. It was nice to be back in a house. With running water, a toilet, shower, laundry, and a comfy place to sit. But weird to be in a city.

I was checking FarOut for upcoming water sources and read a comment that LA wasn’t far away from Green Valley. My friend Nick lives in LA. So my 30 mile day turned into a journey to get my feet onto a sandy beach.

I woke up in the vacant dirt lot. Tired and just wanting to sleep longer. But the sun was rising and it’s hard to sleep past 6.

The cars became more and more annoying around 5:00 AM. It got busy. People must have been heading to work. I was half afraid one would run off the road and slide into the campground.

I laid in my sleeping bag, relaxed. Today had no deadlines. The race for tickets was in the past. This morning I could relax, let my mind wander, and walk.

My watch said 5:50. Perfect. I needed to wake up at 6, to have a shot at cell service by noon. I meant to set an alarm last night, but must have been too tired. At 6 I started packing up.

It didn’t rain last night. But I was glad to have my tent up because it was chilly. When I woke up I opened my tent door and the sun was rising right in front of me. Absolutely beautiful.

This is by far the comfiest bed I’ve woke up in on trail. But I was wide awake at 6:30. I only planned to hike 4-8 miles today, so I had all day to enjoy the town and do chores.