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The desert is green, the desert is lush, and sometimes the desert is freezing cold and snowing. The desert has yet to be hot.
Day 6
Leaving Scissors Crossing, Sled Dog and I knocked out a 24 mile day to get to Barrel Spring. We crossed mile marker 100 and the trail name “Ephedra” was born on that walk. Many names have been thrust upon me but this one might be the winner. The strong winds convinced me just to cowboy camp and not even bother with a tent. It was the right move.
Day 7
After a few short and sweet miles we made it into Warner Springs for laundry in a bucket, showers, and a resupply. I left my shirt on the ground outside of the shower and when I stepped out to grab it I noticed a baby Gopher snake was sunning itself on it. He took off immediately but I consider this to be a good omen. I have been blessed by the snakes this day.
Day 8
A 20 mile day with a lot of uphill. What more is there to say. The scenery was beautiful and I smell so bad. I fell asleep at 5:30 and slept at least 12 hours. It’s a new record!
Day 9
More windy desert hiking. The weather is cloudy and threatens to rain (but mostly just mists) on and off all day. Sled Dog and I took a long break at Little Bear Hostel for hot dogs and Gatorade. The world’s friendliest cat lives here.
Day 10
Reached the famous Paradise Valley Cafe and wolfed down some delicious breakfast. The weather was continuing to get worse so many hikers were hitching up to Idyllwild to wait it out. Sled Dog and I decided to push on. Along the way we met Model and the three of us stuck together for some wild, icy, snowy, windy hiking.
Day 11
We woke up to snow, hiked in the snow, and ended the day getting snowed on. It was exhausting and truly amazing. The slog across Spitler and Apache was made out to be a lot more treacherous than it was but we still found ourselves on the edges of a few steep chutes wondering why we had come up here when we could be in warm beds. We made it through the most challenging hiking yet and reached our highest altitude so far (~8500 feet). The three of us turned off at Saddle Junction and walked all the way into Idyllwild to get some real food.
Day 12
First real 0 day! Ate tons of food, did laundry, resupplied, cleaned gear, etc.
Day 13
Second 0 day!
Day 14
Back on trail, Sled Dog and I pushed up Devil’s Slide out of Idyllwild to reconnect with the PCT. We took the alternate route up to San Jacinto peak, summited by lunchtime, and basically ran/slid down the mountain snow to get somewhere with solid ground. I was pretty tired of hiking in snow at this point and was overjoyed to find dirt again that afternoon. We camped on real dirt and it was amazing.
These 8 days on trail taught me that wind is my greatest enemy, food is my greatest friend, and that the desert is never what people make it out to be. It is cold and sometimes wet and often windy. It’s never what you expect it to be. And it’s one of the most incredible landscapes I’ve ever hiked in.
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