2024-03-08 & 09 - Picture is Sandy who is the first Desert Trail "Trail Angel" I have had. She gave me fresh straw berries & an orange slice plus good conversation. A real nice lady.

This section was far more difficult than I expected due to soft sand on the road & some confusing turns. I goofed three times today & had to retrace my steps all three times. Also, my legs have still not recovered from the gorge. In the soft sand, which slows you down, my thighs would just scream at me with cramps so I would have to stop more often. Any way, I made it & Melanie was waiting to pick me up.

Next morning now 2024-03-09, the one thing I can't do anything about (my health) took a turn for the worse. My congestive heart failure seems to have worsened. I woke up at 3:00am struggling to breathe, took another lasix but now 5:30am, still struggling to breathe so I'm going to have to take another lasix. But I'm so weak I won't be able to hike today. I would have been on the trail by now but no way today. We are re-assesing what to do. This could end the thru hike.

We are discussing maybe both of us just doing short hikes together in interesting areas & slowly making our way home. My dream seems to be shattered due to my health issues. That's life though & I have had a good run. I'm thankful for that.