I did a podcast! Before I left, actually, but it's live now. Go listen to me chat with my aunt and cousin on http://sylvaniagals.podbean.com/. Some things I said there about the PCT were inaccurate, most notably: Bear spray is not allowed in Yosemite. So I'll just be making noise with trekking poles.
Pro tip: I haven't enabled email subscriptions to this blog, and can't from mobile, AFAICT. But you can add yourself to the Google Photos album above to get notified when I add a bunch more photos. Which I always do right after adding a blog post.
At least the next day was downhill. Way downhill. A 20 mile water carry while descending from 8900 feet to 1700 feet downhill. If we count from the summit of San Jacinto to the low point of the day, it was from 10834 feet to 1191 feet in about 28 hours. Not that anyone was keeping track too carefully.
And that put me firmly out of "mountains that are dry" and into "actually the desert". I was in the low-lying area around I-10 between LA and Palm Springs. More specifically, between Cabazon and Whitewater. One of the nights I actually camped under I-10 with a big group: Peter and Mike (who I just met that night), then a bunch of people who have been hiking about my speed for a while: Baloo (formerly Joe), Sunshine, Rudolf, Lieutenant Dan, Cowbell, Tidbits. Baloo's older brother stopped by with pizza and beer, and we really made a hobo night out of it. (There were some jokes passed around about hopping on one of the passing freight trains and really becoming a hobo instead of a thru-hiker. It's a blurry line.)
The desert was hot and dry. Water carries have been above 15 miles except for a 12 mile section where the trail followed a small creek uphill. It has definitely required some aggressive siestas (including a 1:30 to 4:30 siesta that included a 90 minute nap).
In Idyllwild I bought a used Gossamer Gear umbrella off of another thru-hiker who wasn't using it (thanks Papa!), and that may be the only reason I'm still alive today. Or at least, the only reason I haven't gone fully nocturnal. There are plenty of pictures of me with the sunbrella attached to my pack, and it's a pretty solid fixture from 10 am until I end the siesta.
It turns out that the sun is pretty hot in the desert.
Huh, I haven't really talked gear much yet. If you're interested, check out my out-of-date https://lighterpack.com/r/cfn34d. It's mostly accurate still. I think the only changes are me trading the poncho for an umbrella, losing the Swiss Army knife, and buying nail clippers to replace them. And making the long-sleeved hiking shirt my base layer, and sending the short-sleeved base layer home. (Well, I'm gonna send it home tomorrow morning. I'm wearing it now to eat dinner in town.)
After my 40 miles or so of low-lying desert training, I ascended back up into the mountains, where the sun is hot but the air is cool. I've been in pine forests the past few days, which makes the views less consistent, but it feels like home to be back in a forest again. Even if it is a sparse and dry forest.
Next the trail goes west for the next 200 miles. This is bad, because summer will catch me while I'm not moving north. I expect the hottest part of trail to be between miles 500 and 700. Wish me luck!
I'm in Big Bear Lake now after an easy 10 miles (hiked from 7:45 to 11 this morning). Tomorrow morning I get to see what surprises I have in the mail, and then get back on trail for a full day. I don't have my next resupply option yet, because my next stop is a weekend in LA with Chris, and it may get a little weird with trail closures just after that.
Happy Meal
No comments:
Post a Comment