Onward to Warner Springs – Day 6

18-19 miles, 7:30-15:00
Trail camp (91.2) near water cache to Warner springs (109.3)

Water Cache vs. Flower

I measured the distance down to the water cache this morning. It was just over 0.2 miles down there. Counting 2 round trips, that is almost a full bonus mile just getting my water. Near the cache was another gorgeous flower. Given the environment, I’m not sure if the flower or the cache was prettier. What do you think? 

Camped in the tent site next to me was Caroline and her dog Ranger.  Ranger is a very sweet medium size dog who loves people and loves getting petted. In camp, he had some freedom to wander and meet people. He came up to my campsite a couple times, got some attention and then wandered quietly back to his own site.

Mile 100

In the morning, I could see ahead that I was following Iris and slowly getting closer. I turned a corner and she was stopped. She pointed out the 100 mile marker made with rocks on the trail. We took pictures and felt like we had achieved a milestone (pun intended).

We soon entered some married where the plants were very different. It had very few cacti and was more like grassland I’m used to in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rattlesnake 1

Later, I had my first rattlesnake encounter of the trail. I could only see about 18 inches of it on the trail, but could see that it was large. It quickly backed off the trail into a bush when it saw me and started rattling loudly. And it kept rattling while I waited for a minute or two. I didn’t see any sign of it near the trail, so I quickly passed by on the far edge of the trail while watching carefully. I continued to head out rattling for the next couple hundred feet. And I heard from the next hiker that it was still rattling when he arrived a couple minutes later.

Mid-Day Break at San Ysidro Creek

I ran into John (from day 2) and about 8 to 10 others at San Isidro Creek. They were taking a nice break under an enormous tree right by the creek itself. John told them about my guitar, Cole said he played some, so I offered to let him play. 

Eagle Rock

Shortly after that, we all hiked on towards Eagle Rock.

From where we took the pictures, the rocks really do look like an eagle sitting there with its wings outstretched.

The Amazing Warner Springs Community Center

We found our way to the Warner Springs Community Center, which is truly just that a community center with tables set up and all sorts of space for community activities. But during hiking season, they have transformed  it into something amazing.

I spoke with “Sunrise,” one of the volunteers behind the transformation. She explained that since another nearby hiker resupply location no longer exists, they stepped things up at Warner Springs to cover the gap. They have stocked all the bookshelves with lots of hiker supplies and food. They have a refrigerator with cold sodas and Gatorades and milk and yogurts and cheese. And the freezer has ice cream and frozen burgers and countless other things a hiker could long for (and can heat up in the microwave). They have real bathrooms, a couple enclosed outdoor showers with hot water,  an outdoor sink and buckets for washing clothes and a big fence to hang the clothes to dry. They had innumerable outlets – inside and outside – for recharging electronic devices, Wi-Fi, computers, and even some musical instruments. They provided rides to the post office to pick up packages. And all the volunteers were friendly, helpful, and low key. It was a relaxing place to be. 

Even the clerk at the post office was very friendly and helpful, going beyond what was needed to help one hiker with options for a box that hadn’t arrived.  They also had a nice assortment of cards, making it easier for me to send a birthday card to my mom.