Explore:NW Summer/Fall 2016 | Page 58

that sunrise up over a Joshua tree in Southern California because I should have already been walking by then if I wanted to get somewhere before the sun decided that it wanted to make a roast out of me. Carrying eight liters of water for a 38-mile dry section in 90-degree heat or simply freezing in a tent at 9,000 feet because I laughed at the fact a storm was going to bring rain in Southern California and ended up shivering while it snowed. And ultimately getting a trail name that is synonymous with my unfortunate lack of bowel movements in the beginning of the first section. Moments that summed up Southern California in a nutshell. Insanely gorgeous and super surprising. To say Southern California is gorgeous is perfect. But after walking through what many said was the worst section, I was now at the doorstep of the Sierra’s itching to open it. And the only way to describe what I saw when I opened that door is nothing short of breathtaking. When my muscles started to hurt more than usual, and I wished I could literally buy oxygen, I knew I made it to the Sierra. Sierra literally meant granite peaks, extreme altitude, and a view that HD doesn’t know how to handle. Man