The wind blew pretty hard last night. Around 10:30 p.m. I awoke to some noise and saw a flashlight on. Phantom was up cinching down his tarp, which had been partially pulled up by the wind. The next sound I heard was early this morning around 5:30 a.m. It was a very LOUD, relentless barrage of bird songs coming from an overly joyous mockingbird. He was perched right next to the campsite atop a bush. I thought of my brother back in Hawaii getting up every morning early to cast stones at the tropical birds at the Japanese-style hut we were staying at during his honeymoon. Soon, I had had enough, and I got out and chucked a 10-pound rock his way. He got the message and flew off 50 feet or so and renewed his happy ogling.
Since I was already up, and the day promised to be warm to hot in the desert, I left camp at 6:55 a.m. I hiked alone for an hour and a half, passing a couple of solo hikers, the second of whom stopped to talk to me when I took a break. Bennie, from Vietnam originally, but of Orange County, CA, is hiking the California portion of the PCT. He appears to be in poor shape and was moving slow when I passed. Phantom and Good To Go caught up to me at the end of my break, and the three of us hiked together down to Scissors Crossing. By 10: 30 a.m. we had covered nine miles and were sitting down at a water cache in the middle of the desert. With increasing heat and a long, hot, dry climb ahead of us, we took our time at the cache, loaded up with seven liters of water, and split a warm Miller Draft beer left in a cooler as trail magic. From there we hiked another 1/2 mile to San Felipe Creek, found a shady Cottonwood tree to sit under, and here we are three hours later! A couple of guys came by to get in their parked truck and gave us a couple of oranges. It’s almost 3:00 p.m. and we’re going to pull the trigger and hike a few more miles in just awhile.
Saw a horny toad this morning and some lizards. I’ve been meaning to mention the abundant sage plants that are so fragrant. From time to time I pick off a few leaves and take it all in. We had cell phone communication with Doodlebug a while ago. She and Bad Moon and Swagman are all in Idyllwild for a couple of days and have been doing big miles. It is unlikely we will catch up to them before Big Bear City, especially since my foot continues to give me problems. Time to put up the pen and get ready for an afternoon hike.
So I left at 3:00 p.m. for an all-afternoon climb through the San Felipe Hills about 15 minutes ahead of Phantom and Good To Go. On the desert-like hills, I could see the guys below much of the afternoon climbing steadily. We pushed for an hour and a half, took a break, then another hour, took a break, and hiked until just after 7:00 p.m., reaching the crest of the San Felipe hills. Phantom and Good to Go had seen a large, 5-foot, very thick rattlesnake right on the trail when they resumed hiking this afternoon. How I missed it I’m not sure, but the snake must have been near the trail when I went by because he was lazily sunning himself when they got to him.
We found a choice campsite on the crest of the mountain, nestled amongst the teddy bear cholla, agave, and barrel cactus. We ate dinner in the waning light with awesome views of surrounding hills, mountains, and desert. Tonight, we are all three cowboy camping, and I can just take a break from journaling as I write this sentence and view millions of stars. Speaking of the night desert sky, I saw what at first appeared to be a falling star, but as it fell it became very bright, changed colors, and lit up the entire sky for a second. I’ve never seen anything like it. Phantom was able to see it fall, and we both wondered what the heck it was.
Another beautiful day on the PCT! I’m loving the desert so far! Today’s mileage: 17.7, Cumulative mileage: 86.1. Bring on the pizza, burgers, and beer! Weather: Sunny! Low: 45, High: 85-90.
