Hello Everyone,

As I started my blogs before, I am laying in my tent, just south of Bridgeport, writing this blog. I trekked about 12 miles today in about five hours. And as I mentioned before, the time really doesn’t matter.

I decided to continue my trek from where I had stopped my original trek in June Lake. I would have continued further but stopped to attend my daughter’s (Monica) graduation that same week I stopped. I had hoped to start back sooner but have been troubled with pain from the plantar fasciitis in my left foot. Interesting that I never had pain from it on the original trek, but injured it trying too hard to stay in shape in anticipation of starting back up. I stopped walking for exercise and conditioning to allow the plantar facia to heal. It is still somewhat painful, but I felt that if I didn’t start soon I would run into the cold and wet weather further north.

I got a late start because I was still packing and rearranging my Wheelie and extra pack at the last minute today. I planned to reduce the amount of stuff and weight on this trek and actually have more. I anticipated that I could hit cold weather and therefore brought warmer clothes. I will encounter long stretches without being resupplied, so I brought more food. Water will always be an issue since I will hit long stretches, possibly 3-4 days, with none in the north-eastern areas of California. So needless to say, I have more stuff and weight.

I also have a new tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, shoes, and backpack. I spent a lot of time researching them, and unfortunately haven’t had the opportunity to try them out for extended periods because of my foot, so I hope all work well.

I started at 11:30 today and left from the Conway/Mono Lake area, just north of June Lake. I figure that I’d try and make Bridgeport today and not push myself since I feel that I may not be in great shape and I was being cautious with my foot.

Traffic was really heavy being the last day of the Labor Day weekend. Surprisingly, as always actually, I found almost all the drivers were really very courteous and moved over as they approached me. One of the things I enjoy the most about trekking is the nice people I have met, and today started the same way. I had not gone more than one mile when a young man pulled over on the opposite lane and asked if I needed a ride? I make it a point to over empathize my appreciation, because I really do appreciate it!

I was about four miles from Bridgeport, just past the Bodie turnoff, walking past a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere, when I stopped in the shade to adjust my pack. I started back up and was several hundred yards from the restaurant when I heard a woman running after me. She said they just had lunch at the restaurant and had some pizza left. They saw me walk by and thought I might like it. I have learned from the past, that I will always take what people offer me, whether I like it or not, because I want the people to know that I appreciate their offers. Whether I eat it or not is something I decided later, and in this case it was a pizza without all the things I don’t eat. It was great and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. Wow, what a way to start my trek, two people that made my day!

It was getting fairly late as I approached Bridgeport and found myself in my usual situation, getting tired and wondering where I could find a place to camp. I was ready to stop as my foot was bothering me too. I figured I would have to go through Bridgeport and then possibly another 4-5 miles to get past the open meadows of the valley to find a secluded spot. I found from my previous trek that I will camp anywhere, so long as it’s sheltered from the wind. Just as I approached the outskirts of town I noticed a big open green gassy area. Wow, it was a church, and a Catholic one at that, especially nice since I am catholic. It was the Infant of Prague Catholic Church, with service on Sunday only, and it’s Monday. I decided, that’s it, that’s my camp spot for the night.

I Googled the church information and left a message on their answering machine stating what I was doing and left my number. I never heard back, so I assume it was fine. I figure that if the police came, I’d just tell them I am an immigrate, which I was, and that I was seeking amnesty at the church. I’d decide what type, if needed. I set up the tent under a nice pine tree and even found an outdoor plug, don’t tell, that I used to charge up my phone. I had dinner on the steps of the church and was thankful for my day and meal.

Tomorrow I will try and start early and hope to make it to the Sonora Pass (SR108), where there are some good camp spots and streams for water. I might hit a restaurant in Bridgeport in the morning, since it will be cereal and oatmeal for most of the trek.

My plan is to continue on US 395 to Reno, within 8-9 days, and buy supplies. Then continue north on US 395 to Susanville and to Oregon. I will play it by ear and hopefully my feet will hold up?

Hopefully too, I will have reception and I will write an update tomorrow.

As always, please, your positive thoughts and prayers are welcome.

Ted

Oh, as always too, please ignore the typos, grammar, spelling, etc.