Today I was still exhausted from the efforts to cross the aquaduct. I covered just 8.2 miles, 13.2 km. I hiked through the heat of the day, with 2251 ft, 686 m of ascent. Luckily for me, at the end of the day I stumbled upon an oasis with fresh spring water, snacks, umbrellas and chairs.

I awoke suddenly. The sun was shining directly on my face. It was so hot, I was sweating and ants were crawling on me. I sat up and looked around, right next to me was a stream and right by my feet was the trail. I packed up quickly and moved to filter water in the shade.

Today consisted of just two very long climbs, punctuated by a sharp descent. There was virtually no shade all day, and I was drinking hot water at every stop.

By the time I got up the second climb, I was absolutely exhausted. I was moving at a snails pace, probably from heat exhaustion. I came around a bend and saw two red umbrellas poking out through the scrub, it looked like a miracle. Someone has created an oasis out here, there are two big water barrels, filled almost daily with fresh spring water. Next to the water, lockers with snacks, fresh oranges, a logbook, board games, and a hiker box with miscellaneous hiker junk inside.

I stayed at the oasis for about an hour, then decided to camp nearby. There was a campsite just under a mile up the trail, so I headed there, set up camp and settled in for an early night.