Slept poorly and woke to cold day. One extreme to the other. Nice to be walking in the cloud cover but this was INSANE. Freezing winds and icey rain. It was a 13km walk to Mt Laguna, a tiny campground that had a cafe and a store. Last time I felt this frozen walking was over the Pyrenees, my hands were numb and aching my legs were pink but couldn’t feel them. I knew they were working as I walked as fast as I could.
The cafe/restaurant was packed with hikers eating drinking hot drinks (and a few beers). I ordered hot meat soup and a bowl of fries. I had about 3 hit coffees but mist American coffee tastes like hot water anyway. Many conversations were being had about if they stay and get a cabin or carry on. High winds and negative temperatures were being reported. It was too early for me to stop so I carried on. Denis (Bavarian) and Ariel (Israeli) decided as well. Better prepared with gloves and rain pants we headed for a spot 10km away, but this put us on top of the ridge with gail winds, we decided to head to next spot another 7km away. Walking sideways and using my pole to stop me blowing over.
Wet n cold, no conversation tonight, ramen noodles ( 2 min noodles in NZ) cooked under eve if my tent and straight to sleep.
Irene Ground's Travels 