Day 55: 7th 0 day in Lone Pine

Day: 01.06.2018 Miles hiked today: 0 miles Total Mileage: Mile 750.2

I struggled since Kennedy Meadows with my hike. Is this really what I wanna do? Am I enjoying it really as much as I possibly can? Is all the pain worth it? And I also missed my family and friends, got a little homesick. I got new shoes in Kennedy Meadows but they don't treat me well too. My toes feel like they are on fire so I have to get out of my shoes every now and then. And i got two new blisters so I can hardly walk and had to take 600 ibuprofen to kill the pain and keep walking on. My lower back is scratched and was bleeding a little and all the normal little daily pains you have. Normally you notice the pain but the day and the nature's beauty easily make up with it. But not so at the moment. My motivation is low and so is my mental will power.

Waking up in a bed is nice. Jason has gone out already and Hauser is about to get breakfast and do town stuff. I don't feel like I wanna leave my bed today. But I have to do my laundry, get some food, buy new shoes and so on. So I force myself out of bed, but I can't even put my feet into my crocs because of the blisters. So I walk bare feet. First into the laundromat and while the clothes are being washed I get breakfast in the restaurant behind it. It feels strange doing it all on my own. Normally we (Joanne, kermit or both) would do these things together. But there are other hikers around I know and we update each other, check snow conditions etc. Before lunch I want to pick up my ice axe and my new arcteryx pants from the post office. Feeling already not very good the girl in the post office informs me that there is no parcel for me here. Really that's not possible??! I look in my emails for the tracking numbers and the arcteryx pants are in Lake june! What are they doing there?? Boah the post in America is a mess and very unreliable. The ice axe however should be here as I have received the email confirmation for it. And see there, there parcel is right next to her. I pointed to this box already twice. Having my passport in her hands and asking for my name already several times she goes that this box is for nicole stadler and not for me. Are you kidding me? Ive already spend more than half an hour in here. Give me the box now and out of here! But stopp I have to pay 5 USD to be handed out the parcel. I don't know what kind of rule that is but I just want to get my ice axe and leave so I just give her the 5 USD and go.

I heard that there is a Chinese lunch buffet which shall be very good. So that's were I go. Hauser is joining me a little later. The owners are very sweet and try their best. It's a rather small buffet and the food is ok, but not the best or what I've expected after everyone saying how good it is. But with my belly full again my energy is coming back and I visit the sports gear shop in the hope to buy new shoes. When I explain what I am looking for the owner is looking down at my feet telling me we are not trying on shoes today. No, are we not? Why? Im confused. Well, have I looked at my feet recently? Are my ankels always like this or are they swollen? Oh mamma I have not even noticed that my ankle bone is not visible anymore because it's that swollen! But I wanna go back to the trail tomorrow! I want to try on some shoes. The shop is very busy. It takes some time to find the first aid kid to band-aid and tape by blisters in order to try in some shoes. But he was right - it is still very painful, I can hardly step on my feet and hence have no clue how the shoes are fitting. I cannot buy shoes right now. And that after spending like 2 hours in there. I will have to come back later today and hope my feet are better then!

Joanne and her siblings have arrived in Lone Pine in the meantime. They are staying in the hostel and i go and visit them. After telling them how my day was so far they ask me if I wanna go back to the trail tomorrow. I honestly say that I would like to take another 0 day to recover and feel so relieved that they also would prefer to stay one more day, also as they have only arrived a couple of hours before. I feel so much better after having made that decision. However, Jason and Hauser will go back to the trail tomorrow which is kind of said. We then will not be on Mt. Whitney together.

We all together go out for dinner to a Taco truck and share some beers. Joanne, Irene and Peter are leaving to get there washings done. Zane joins and we keep on talking along about weird trail Angel experiences on the trail. Hauser is going to resupply food and Zane, Jason and me hit the saloon bar. Only for one

Yeah, yeah we have a second and a third one. Choosing songs on the juke box and playing pool. The more beer i have the better I seem to play! The last black bullet however is a hard one. We decided that we have to put on Jason's horse head. I'm blind in this thing. The game takes forever as no one is hitting the pool ball! But it us so much fun! Shortly before midnight we return to our room. Hause is still awake getting his backpack sorted. So happy I don't have to do this and that I can sleep in tomorrow! Having a wonderful evening I fall into my bed. Tomorrow is gonna be new, a better, day for me!

Beautiful Sierras in the back. Lone Pine is very nicely located. On one side you see the snow covered peaks of the Sierras on the other side the desert mountains. It's so contradictory!