Tough as Sh*t - Tuesday, April 15

Day seven has just come to a close. On day six we hiked 14 miles. On day seven we hiked 13 miles. Our bodies know this and they are making sure we know it. Tired. Lethargic. Hungry. Fatigued.
Although our bodies suffer, the company we share with Tino, Back Up, Kit, and Far Out shows our minds are ignoring our bodies. We talk. We laugh. We joke. We make fun of our fatigue. 
Sally and I got up at our customary3:50 - remember we are asleep by 8 - and snuck out of camp while the rest of the group slept. A strong wind blew as we negotiated the trail by headlamp. We greeted a beautiful sunrise about 6:45 and stopped at the Sunrise Trailhead to eat breakfast, use the bathroom (as a bathroom and a wind block for breakfast) and scoop water from the gigantic horse tank marked "non-potable water" (which we treat before drinking"). 
Sally's only physical limitation is her feet. Although we worked for months to find adequate footwear she is still developing blisters and sore spots. She has a pair of Keen hiking boots and a pair of Teva sandals, each inflicting its unique damage to her feet. So we trade off between the two, letting one part of her feet heal while trying to minimize the damage the current footwear is creating. 
Today we were stopping often to adjust socks, straps, lacing, and blister patches looking for the magic combination that brings comfort. 
All our stopping and adjusting allowed our "community" of last night to catch and pass us.  By first lunch Far Out, Kit and Back Up, Tino, Mike and Amanda were with us at the bottom of the steep grade we had just descended. We asked Far Out, a witty, kind and gregarious kid of 25 whose blisters were causing him considerable pain what prompted him to quit his job at REI in Boston and fly out to do the PCT. He said a fellow employee had asked him what he was going to do for a trip. It sounded like a bit of a challenge, so after a few hours he saw something about the PCT and picked it as his response. We asked him what he thought of it so far. His emphatic reply was "It's tough as sh*t!!".  
Far Out gave himself his own trail name to avoid being named something he did not like by someone on the trail. It is a fitting name. He is such a happy person with a quick wit - he is Far Out. 
People have been trying to attach trail names to Sally and I. When we knew we would be first in camp for our group we said we would have the appetizers and wine and cheese ready for them when they arrived, so Wine and Cheese hung on for a few hours. But Sally had to be Wine, which most would interpret as "Whine", something she never does, and introducing myself as "Cheese" just seemed wrong, so we discouraged those two monikers. 
I have been very attentive to Sally's needs, trying to lessen her burden to make the trip feasible for her. I cook, tend her feet, tighten her boots, help her with her pack, roll the sleeping pads, etc. Others in our group started remarking that they wished they had someone to help them as much. Sally began describing my actions  as those of her "trail coach" and suggested "Coach" as a name. Kit immediately responded that Sally could be "First Class" to my "Coach" and so far the names seem palatable. I have always thought the idea of trail names a bit silly, but perhaps fatigue, friends and place are swaying my resolve. 
Sally and I were last into camp today, about 3:30. "Camp" is the turn around on a dirt jeep road next to a concrete water tank. This is only the second time we have camped next to water (a one foot garden hose attached to a valve sticking out of a concrete box-again non-potable so we treat it) so we spit bathed, feeling like royalty.  An afternoon nap to recover some strength, dinner of chicken and rice and then to work on Far Out's blisters. I donned a head lamp like a surgeon, sterilized a needle with an alcohol swab and began digging the dirt out of the blister between the ball of his foot and toes. It took a bit, but I got it cleaned out, then baby wiped and alcohol swiped the area. Hopefully, it will start to heal. Far Out got sand in his shoes while trudging out of Lake Morena and it balled up in the space between his toes and the ball of his foot, creating this massive blister. It has been dirty for three days. Hopefully our clean up will help it heal now that the irritation is gone. 
We broke up our surgical giggle group about 7:45 and each retired to our respective tents. 

Tomorrow we hike nine miles to Hwy 78 where we will hitch hike to the Town of Julian 10ish miles west to see the sights and score some food (I am HUNGRY!-always!), then hitch back to the trail for the night. Wednesday we have a 2000' climb up a south exposure and we want to be up it before the sun bakes us. It is 14 miles to the next water. We don't want to sweat up the hill in the sun consuming the days supply we will be carrying. 
It is fun, but "Tough as Sh*t!!".