Day 2 [Pine Valley, CA]

Good lord my legs were burning today on the continous 16 mile climb from Alpine to Pine Valley.  As soon as I got into town I knew I wasn't going to make it another 20 miles to my original goal of Live Oak Springs.  There's a motel in town, but I've been spending too much money on those already.  No camp grounds are available in town, so I stopped by a county park and found the park ranger who I puppy dogged into letting me camp there tonight.  The only catch is that I have to wait until the park closes at 6pm before setting up my tent.  Pretty freaking awesome.  Touring around town I chatted with a few locals about the trip, and they all told me that I just took care of the biggest climb I'd see for awhile.  In addition, a man in the diner I ate breakfast at this morning happens to own a bed & breakfast in Lousiana, 90 miles west of New Orleans.  We exchanged e-mails and he offered to let me stay there for as long as I need for free once I get there!  Tomorrow should be a big day as long as these twin turbines I call legs can recover tonight.  And note to self: start wearing sunscreen.