Week 15: Hiking through the desert

Morris Meadow > Gold Shot Creek Ridge

Days 99-105

Week 15 miles: 118.8

Total PCT miles: 158.1

Total miles: 1616.5

I’m only a short way through the desert section of the PCT and already amazed by the huge variety of landscapes and species. I especially love the flowering plants (though I could do with fewer thorny plants overgrowing the trail) and the many lizards, which often appear fairly dull at first but reveal all sorts of iridescent colors with a closer look. When I stop and talk to them, they also stop and turn their heads to make eye contact (and sometimes do pushups to show off).

There have been some longish water carries, but we’ve been lucky that there was plenty of rain and snow this winter and spring, so all the possible water sources are flowing. The temperatures have so far been mild during the day and chilly at night, a very pleasant combination.

Day 99: Morris Meadow > Pedro Fages Meadow

April 9

22.7 PCT miles (2283 ft up, 3412 ft down)

Waking up to a dry tent this morning was glorious. The wind picked up not long after I got in bed and surely helped prevent condensation. The first rays of sun also touched my tent at 7am, while I was procrastinating getting packed up.

I hit the first real patches of snow this morning on my way into Mount Laguna. Apparently hikers who had started a few days before me encountered pretty daunting storms in this area. I was lucky almost everything had melted by the time I arrived.

I crossed my personal 1500 mile mark on the way into town and had an expensive breakfast to celebrate. All the food along the trail so far has been about 50% more expensive than what I would expect to pay. I’ll have to watch how often I indulge in town food, but I’m definitely still planning to do the burrito pickup at Warner Springs.

I stopped for a long snack/lunch break at a lovely picnic area and was immediately surrounded by four different species of birds trying to convince me to share my snacks. The only ones I could definitively identify were my old friends from Austin, the grackles. Although they were all very persuasive, I held strong and stuck to Leave No Trace principles.

I passed quite a few occupied campsites toward the end of the day and was relieved to find a nice spot tucked among some shrubs just before sunset.

Day 100: Pedro Fages Meadow > San Felipe Valley Ridge

April 10

21.6 PCT miles (2402 ft up, 3871 ft down)

I was very slow getting going this morning. I’d meant to get an early start but then the sun touched the tent and I decided to cook breakfast. That way the tent could dry now rather than having to stop to dry it out later.

Today presented the longest water carries so far on the PCT: 6 then 9 then 14 miles. I split up the last one by dry camping partway to the next water source, so I’ll wait to cook breakfast there.

The last water source was a cache under an overpass maintained by local trail angels. It’s important never to rely 100% on a cache in case it’s unexpectedly empty. Fortunately, I had the back up option of hitching in either direction to get water in town if needed.

I had a nice rest under the overpass with a few other hikers. I even got to sit in a camping chair, which felt luxurious. Thanks to food stops in Lake Morena and Mount Laguna I had enough supplies left to skip the trip into Julian. So after loading up on water, I started the climb out of the valley.

The landscape became very deserty looking after that point, with many different types of cacti. I was doing well dodging them until I accidentally bumped one while taking a photo. I had to pull three small needles out of my shin, but they came out easily and didn’t seem to irritate my skin. I’ve since learned that if you get the tiny hair type of needles, it’s best to use a piece of tape to be sure to get them all out.

I found a beautiful, secluded campsite even though I was stopping late in day and some spots on my way up the hill were already occupied.

This evening, just as I was headed to dig a cathole near the campsite, three helicopters flew past one side of the ridge in formation. I was concerned they would circle around at an inopportune moment but fortunately I didn’t hear them again until I was tucked up in my tent.

Day 101: San Felipe Valley Ridge > Montezuma Valley Rd

April 11

18.7 PCT miles (2169 ft up, 1988 ft down)

I had a fun day walking with another hiker, Spicy. We were flying the first part of the day on the climb up to the water cache, where we took a nice brunch break. Next was a long, very rocky descent to the road leading to Ranchita Bodega. We only ended up hiking a 18.5-mile day but the rocks made my feet feel like it was a 30.

I’d been planning to continue to near the Warner Springs pickup spot for morning burritos, another 8 miles or so, but my feet were killing me and it sounded like Ranchita Bodega was the closest thing to a hiker hostel that I’ve encountered so far on the PCT.

The hitch who picked us up in his mobile home stopped so far down the road that we didn’t realize he was stopping for us. His adorable cat was briefly alarmed at this turn of events but then realized she could just repeatedly cycle through the three of us and get scritches from everyone.

Day 102: Montezuma Valley Rd > Lost Valley Rd

April 12

17.4 PCT miles (2316 ft up, 1644 ft down)

Well, it turns out the burrito place is currently closed for a short break, as I learned this morning from another hiker. I’m so glad I didn’t keep hiking yesterday on sore feet only to be devastated! (Food becomes even more important than usual when you spend most of your waking hours walking.)

I’d planned a short day today to recover and be in position for a burrito tomorrow morning but now will probably go a bit farther. I’ll still need to slow down somewhat because snow is forecast for San Jacinto on Saturday and Sunday, with high winds in Monday. So basically, I don’t want to start through until Tuesday, which means stretching the next 55 miles out over four days.

The landscape was completely different today, walking across fields and following creek beds lined with large trees. The way the grass ripples in the wind is mesmerizing. The tops of the grasses are purple and green and gold.

I was surprised that the famous Eagle Rock is in the middle of a field. The area immediately in front is rock and sand, so that’s what always shows up in photos. We had it to ourselves for a few minutes before small groups of dayhikers began to arrive.

Warner Springs Community Resource Center was a welcome afternoon stop, with cold drinks, restrooms, and a place to charge devices. It was also cool to read about all the other ways they support the community.

I left a bit before and went farther than the rest of the hikers hanging out, so didn’t see anyone the rest of the day. I had a nice ridge top camp spot that was overall very slanted but had a level area big enough for my sleeping pad and I was able to orient my tent accordingly.

Day 103: Lost Valley Rd > Coyote Canyon Rd

April 13

22.1 PCT miles (2936 ft up, 3537 ft down)

My plan for today was to get within about 15 miles of the highway to Idyllwild so I can take an on-trail zero during the wind and potential rain on this evening and tomorrow.

I had hauled enough water up from the creek at the end of the day yesterday that I could skip the side trail to a questionable spring and wait for a small stream that crossed the trail.

From there, I hiked to a reliable spring 13.5 miles away, nearly tying my longest carry so far. There were a couple of spots in there where I could have hiked off trail for water if necessary but I’d had a lot to drink already today, was moving fast, and didn’t need to carry very much.

I met an entertaining trail family of four at the spring who were debating their campsite for the night and whether to spend a night in Idyllwild or camp outside of town. They made being in a trail family seem both fun and way more complicated than hiking solo.

I loaded up on water because there weren’t any good sources between there and the road to Idyllwild 15 miles away, and because I was planning to spend two nights camping before I got there. After cameling up (drinking a bunch while still at the water source), I hiked away with 7 liters of water, weighing nearly 15.5 pounds. Balancing it all was as challenge, as was picking up my pack. Once on my back however, the extra weight felt surprisingly fine. My Granite Gear Crown 2 pack handled the nearly 50 pound load like a champ.

I nonetheless walked carefully and more slowly than usual for the day’s last few miles, not wanting to risk injury. I managed to get set up just before a light rain started.

Day 104: Coyote Canyon Rd > Sagebrush Flat

April 14

8.4 PCT miles (1896 ft up, 584 ft down)

The wind grew steadily in intensity overnight and was blustery by the time I finally woke up for a lazy morning. With it forecast to get even stronger over the course of the day, I decided not to stay a second night at my windy campsite. My tent was doing fine but I didn’t want to push it.

Since I had to pack up anyway, I decided to hike most of the remaining distance to the Idyllwild hitch so I could get into town nice and early. It was tempting to just go into town today and move up my San Jacinto itinerary by a day, but seeing the mountain covered in clouds confirmed the original plan to delay.

Today I encountered my first full size snake. I’d seen quite a few already, but all of those had been the diameter of a pencil or smaller. This one was large enough to be stretched all the way across the trail and maybe as big around as my wrist, but it didn’t appear to be poisonous. Even so, I was glad it responded to my usual first strategy of asking it nicely to move off the trail.

Today was mostly ascent, which was a good workout considering I still had 5 liters of water on my back. I had my eye on a site only 2 miles from the road, but though it was described as sheltered, the cliff-top location gave me pause. Fortunately I came across a site tucked snuggly among some shrubs about a mile before. Light rain started shortly after I got my tent up and continued off and on most of the afternoon and night. I could hear the wind howling but it only occasionally snuck through into my den to ruffle the tent.

Day 105: Sagebrush Flat > Gold Shot Creek Ridge

April 15

7.9 PCT miles (1030 ft up, 669 ft down)

The morning was cool and misty, so I packed up my tent without trying to wait for it to dry. The short walk to the road to Idyllwild went quickly and I got a ride to town in time for breakfast.

After buying groceries for the hike up and over San Jacinto, I went to the campground to organize my resupply, check the hiker box for partial fuel canisters to refill mine, dry out my tent in the sun, and wash socks and undies in the sink.

Chatting with the other hikers, it sounded like a lot of people were planning to hike part of San Jacinto and then use one of the side trails to come back to Idyllwild for a resupply. This was baffling to me because you’d then have to climb back up the mountain to continue from where you left off. I’m planning to just climb the mountain once and hike all the way up and over to I-10.

I got a hitch back to trail with a guy who was caretaker at his son’s ranch, which I’ll be able to see below as I ascend the ridge tomorrow. I hiked just four miles in from the road and camped with several other hikers in a cozy grove of oak trees.

The hike over San Jacinto, the first real challenge of the PCT, starts tomorrow.