Long climb up to “Mike’s Place’, which was bustling with hikers last time because they offered drinks and pizza. The current guys were polite and welcoming and were busy playing something like ‘Boules’ but with horseshoes and practicing their shooting aim, responsibly. This put off loads of hikers so we enjoyed the shade and seats.
After our siesta, we hit a bubble and every camp spot was occupied for miles, so ended up with a 21 mile day – tired!
A really lovely day, a short bit of climbing and following contours until we hit the meadows South of Warner Springs. These were as good as I remember, with the added bonus of Eagle Rock.
Freddy, being Freddy, made us do silly things (see his YouTube channel, freddyenergizer).
In 2019 the Warner Springs Community Centre had great facilities for hikers but due to a problem with their lease can only operate outside school hours. No problem, a mile road hike to the gas station allowed us to take a long siesta with cheap soft drinks and some nice benches.
We saved the road walk and got a hitch back to trail, and hike up Caliente Creek to the most idyllic camp spot so far. So a leisurely dinner and to bed.
Early pre-dawn start tomorrow as it’s heating up and we are entering the San Gorginio range and have a long, hot, exposed climb and best to get that done early.
Bit of a down day and very tired, lovely views but wasn’t really with it. We did however hit the 100 mile mark and ended up at Barrel Springs and decided to stop, I wasn’t the only drained one.
Had the afternoon to spare and it turns out the Montezuma Valley Market was running shuttles for hikers so went for a resupply. Their premises had burnt down recently and they were running out of temporary structures but their range was excellent and prices very good, nothing like the price gouging we’d seen recently.
Last night I couldn’t manage half my giant pizza, bit woke up with a great hunger so had three more slices before 7am!
In true Hobbit style, we then went to Mom’s Pie House where they give us hikers free pie and a drink, so apple pie and ice cream for second breakfast!
After some shopping we then headed to the edge of town to get a hitch back to Scissors Crossing, took quite a while but ended up with a retired couple, Peter and Jane, who live in Palm Springs in the winter and up in Washington state in the summer.
We, along with about 10 other hikers, sat out the sun under the bridge at Scissors, until about 3pm, then headed for the 1800′ climb.
Got in about 9 miles before sunset, qualifying this as a Nero (near-zero), not a full zero day. It was a bit of a race against sunset to our intended camp spot, this is not Scotland, the sun sets in minutes down here.
Nice windless spot though, loads of stars.
Up early as the rain eased and Freddy and Dimitri had soaking kit. The night was very difficult to sleep in, and the driving rain gave me the odd fine misting of water, making it though the flysheet.
We packed up our gear, got back into our damp clothes and skittled off quite fast to warm up. Thankfully the storm was passing and we progressively got more sun and more heat.
It wasn’t an option for the others to use their tents without a chance to dry out, and would have been unpleasant for me, so we hiked the 17.9 miles through to scissors crossing and hitch to the lovely little town of Julian. Views are stunning in this section.
Took a while to get hitches, ended up in the back of a mini being driven around bendy mountain roads by two women who were probably stoned… Fun times!
Four of us are now in a very steamy, smelly room. The hiker high life.
Most hikers decided to stay put in Mount Laguna to avoid the coming storm. We had a late start after waiting for the General Store to open.
It was Lily’s 26th birthday, but sadly her knee was having problems and she left the trail to heal. We were sad to lose our Hobbit
We foolhardy Europeans kept going, beautiful scenery but the wind was building as the day went on and the rain arrived about 3pm. The rain was moderate but it was consistent and driven by string winds. Welcome to the desert…
I had a smug moment as I pulled out my goretex rain trousers, no-one else had any. We camped in the most sheltered spot we could find, in the rain, and it was a delicate operation trying to keep what needed to be dry, dry.
I succeeded, sleeping bag and nightclothes dry, but most other stuff a bit damp to wet. The others fared less well, with dry bag failures and tents giving way in the wind overnight. Living in Scotland clearly had benefits!
Up again before dawn and a little climb followed by
a short 4 mile walk to Kitchen Creek. Water filtered, feet bathed (or whole body in Freddy’s case, it was freezing mountain water…).
Not nearly as hot as day 1, but still a struggle in parts. When exposed, we’re looking at 1L of water for three miles!
Lots of lovely Manzanita trees, the odd snake and lizard, and a beautifully cool and shaded forest walk to finish the journey. It’s safe to say I’m pretty spent
Burger in Mount Laguna and a sly stealth camp in the currently close Burnt Ranchera campground.
Good little community forming in our bubble.
Up before dawn, and out hiking about 30m before sunrise. Hiking nice and easy in this temperature, the aim was to get the climb out of Hauser Canyon over and down with before the heat set in. Water very tight, but doable.
However some kind soul left a water cache just short of (now dry) Hauser Creek, and after a short water dance we gratefully glugged some and took some for the rest of the walk into Lake Morena.
With the water stress gone, the climb out the canyon was straightforward, and we happily went to the Malt Shop for breakfast burritos and plenty of liquid.
We met a local bus Driver, Kerry, a man with a colourful past who took us too his place so we could sit out the worst of the sun in comfort. Much interesting conversation!
We headed out again about 3.30pm for the 6 miles to Boulder Oaks campground to meet Amy and Austin who were doing some trail magic, so that was great.
A decent 16 miles today. We expect the weather to ease off a little soon
Austin drove us to the trailhead nice and early for a few photos at the monument. Unlike last time, there was no wind, and the spirit of Donald Trump was present thanks to the large new border wall!
The early morning walking was pleasant, five miles to the only water source in the first 20, such a contrast to 2019. I think most of us underestimated what was to come, and I certainly carried too little water.
The middle of the day was mid 30’s with intense sunshine, and a real struggle. Many stops were taken in the few shady spots to cool off a little.
Dimitri had a problem with his hip, so we stopped short to allow him to rest before it got any worse and resolved to walk before dawn next day to make the most of the cool. Water situation was such that I had a dry meal to conserve it.
Tough day.
How do I start? Well the flight to Amsterdam and the connection to Las Vegas went smoothly.
We had 1h40m to get to our LA flight. The immigration queue was HUGE. By the time we got to the desk, we were frazzled and had certainly missed our connection, but then…
The computer didn’t work for us. We were shunted off into a room of dodgy characters, shouted at for using our phones, were told to put them away and be quiet or our visas would be revoked.
Welcome to the USA!
Of course they didn’t explain what was happening at all. After over an hour they finally called us up, asked a few inane questions, stamped our passports and off we went.
The KLM reps we’re helpful in sorting out new flights, but first booked us to LA via San Francisco. I rather firmly declined their kind offer (4 flights instead of the original 2, and 24 hours travel time didn’t appeal).
So, in the end, we’re in a motel in Vegas and off to LA direct tomorrow. We were advised we could claim the hotel and compensation totally more than the original cost of the flights, so there’s a bonus!
So, I’m tired, night night, but does turn out I’m the best quizzer on the plane…
Michael's Ramblings 