100 down, 2550 to go

At first I thought whoever said Southern California was "desert" had never actually been to Southern California. Then I kept walking.

The first seven days on the trail have already taken us through an incredible range of different environments.  Our pictures could easily have been taken in the forests of the east coast or the mountains of New Zealand. We've seen trickling creeks, tall oak trees, dewy meadows, prickly cacti, and rocky mountains. We've climbed up to 6000 feet and back down to 2000 feet. We've experienced hot days under the desert sun, cold nights under the desert moon, and winds that almost blew our tent away. We've gotten close to snakes, lizards, beetles, and turkeys. This morning we even had a stand-off with a cow who was eating grass right by the trail...the cow won and we took a big detour around.

In the past week, we've walked an astonishing 109.5 miles. We've camped high and low, next to creeks and tucked in hidden mountain canyons. We have aching backs and blistered feet, but I wouldn't trade them for the world.

We've earned ourselves a few days of rest and are currently relaxing at the beautiful Warner Springs Ranch, complete with hot springs, a pool, three restaurants, and (most importantly) showers and laundry (check it out here ). Tomorrow we're getting a ride back down Lake Morena, where the ADZPCTKO is (see one of my first entries for details on the Kick Off). We'll then get a ride back up here to Warner Springs Sunday, and will resume hiking Sunday afternoon.

Stay tuned for pictures (hopefully) and future entries in a week or two!