Today ended up being a short day as everyone still seemed to be feeling the hard work on Baden-Powell the day before. It was still cold outside and nobody wanted to get out of their tents. I woke up with a lot of pain in my knee just above the spot where I got hit by Blue Lizard’s trekking pole yesterday. Ibuprofen and movement seemed to take care of it.
We eventually got moving only to be greeted by the ever present wind. The trail descended to a parking lot before climbing again, then descending to another parking lot before climbing again, and then repeating the cycle one more time. Most of today’s hike would be within the Bobcat Fire area which was a bit depressing to see. We ran into Tony on the way down the first hill. We hadn’t seen him in almost a month.
Once at the first parking lot we hid behind the bathrooms as the wind howled over a saddle in the hills. While stopped, Rockhopper decided he was done with the trail and was ready to hitch out. We eventually got moving again, only to have him start walking back to the parking lot at one point with the plan to hitch out by himself. We knew the trail would help the kids grow their confidence, but this time it backfired a bit.
After a few other rough moments we made to a parking lot which marked the beginning of a trail closure for an endangered frog species. The next couple miles would be a road walk on a highway known for people crashing their sports cars. Not feeling the need to get run over we caught a hitch through the road walk, ending at Buckhorn Campground. This was a pristine campground, minus the unserviced bathrooms, which was either temporarily or permanently closed. We grabbed the largest spot in the campground and relaxed for the first time in two days. Moods improved and desires to quit the trail early dissolved over dinner.
Emge Adventures 
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