I wake from a dream that Ravi is sleeping on the floor too. Later, Gert will suggest that perhaps it is a premonition. Caleb will cover me with the blanket and turn the air off, so I can sleep longer and wake more comfortably. There is supposed to be a continental breakfast delivery but it will never come (and no one asked why).

We have some coffee and conversation with Trailer Park, the only one who wakes as early as Caleb, before setting off for Urgent Care in San Jacinto. Caleb’s foot is swollen and has been hurting, and he wants to rule out broken bones before deciding what to do next. It’s a good thing we left later than planned, as we waited 13 minutes for them to open while I ate a donut from yesterday.

The doctor recommends ice and elevation and tells us that we have to get an X-ray at their clinic or an imaging center across the parking lot. An hour later, we’re leaving there with messed up paperwork, which will confuse the pharmacy later. While in line for an X-ray, a Karen loses her shit that she’s been there for 45 minutes (without checking in). I only have to wait 15 before we’re told that we need pre-authorization.

We drive to the pharmacy, and that’s a two-hour wait, so while Caleb is on the phone explaining the situation, again, I drive to the ER, and Caleb is seen 100 minutes later. I will go outside and finish my lunch from yesterday. Caleb is told it’s one to four hours to wait for results and I’m told it’s two days if we leave and have to go to their records department. I go back to the pharmacy.

In line there, a woman wants her meds transferred to another pharmacy and there’s confusion as to whether her anti-seizure meds are a controlled substance or not (if so, her doctor would have to call). Perhaps the bullet-proof glass could have a microphone on either side to make these transactions easier between staff and customers. They want a $30+ copay for Ibuprofen, which we already have, along with some cream that I’m not paying for.

I pick up Caleb and it turns out his foot has had a stress reaction to all the fun he is having. This means his bones are weakened in a few spots but not yet fractured and we want to keep it that way, so Caleb will take a break but can assist his fellow hikers while he rests. It can take 2-6 weeks to heal, depending on the severity and the location. Back in town, we check out the gear store, Nomad Ventures, and get more electrolytes.

Caleb and my dad think I don’t drink enough water. They would probably still agree on the trail, but I can see the salt lines in the sweat of others and I drink a minimum of two liters a day along with water added to meals and other drink mixes to prevent my natural state of dehydration from getting out of control. We see Gert on our way to the room and let him know we’ll be back soon.

We say hi to Trailer Park in the room and knock on Ravi’s door, who arrives while we are gone, but there is no answer. We emptied a few boxes of our resupply food into cheap trash bags because the few shops we stopped at, with durable ones in use, weren’t handing them out. This helps us go through what we have and donate some freeze-dried Skittles to our tramily (trail family) and a hiker box.

It’s too late in the afternoon for a non-hiking day coffee, but Gert has a beautiful blue-colored drink from Pure Bean Coffee Roasters that we want to try too. It’s a smoothie called Berry Blast and I finish mine first as we plan our route to Big Bear. We’ll move from the cool shade to a sunny corner, and once we’re warmed up again, we can return to the room.

Soon there are six: Caleb, Gert, Rachel, Trailer Park, Ravi, and myself. Caleb takes them to the store for microwave food options (junk not available otherwise) for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Upon their return, we celebrate the trail bringing us together and talk about the summit of Mount San Jacinto, 10,834 ft, over beers and ice cream until hiker midnight (9pm).