This morning I awoke to the sound of a discussion between Intruder and Mountain Goat about how many miles they were planning to hike. It was barely 6:00am and the fellas were already packed and ready to go. Nitro and Doodlebug were sleeping so I rolled over and caught a few more winks. A little after 7:00 I sat up and saw Nitro heading into the woods with her toilet paper and a trowel. She came back after a long time and crawled back into her bag. I decided to get up, pack, and let the gals catch a few more winks. As I was leaving camp around 7:45, Doodlebug sat up and appeared to be making strides to begin her day.
The trail ascended to a ridge, then crossed a high gap to Jenkins Mountain. From there it side slabbed around Jenkins with additional ascent. I struggled with some fatigue and dizziness as I trudged those first four miles of the morning. At a little over 7000 feet, the air was crisp and with the wind, it was actually cold. I reached a saddle between Mt. Jenkins and Mt. Owens and was able to connect with the cell phone with a weak analog signal for just a few minutes for the first time since leaving Tehachapi. I was successful retrieving messages and leaving a voice mail for Mom and Dad and sister-in-law Ashley before the phone quickly gave me a low battery signal. Pressing on, the next 3 ½ miles descended to Joshua Tree spring, first water in 13 miles. Since the spring was a quarter mile off trail and a seasonal creek, just a couple tenths short of the spring, was running nicely, I stopped to eat an early lunch and to wait for Doodlebug and Nitro to catch up.
An hour and a half passed. Soon two hikers appeared coming around the corner. It was NOT Nitro and Doodlebug, but was Alyssa and Sage. Alyssa announced to me that she had bad news. Startled and concerned, I listened intently as she explained that Nitro and Doodlebug would not be meeting me. She went on to tell me that Nitro had been sick all morning, throwing up, and they were still at our campsite from last night when Alyssa and Sage passed them. Their plan was to hike back south to Walkers Pass to the highway and hitch to a town with a hospital as Nitro apparently suspected food poisoning. Shocked that the “A team”, as Nitro calls the group which includes Bono and Nightingale, has dissolved to just me.
I made a quick decision to try and catch Mountain Goat and Intruder by nightfall. My mind quickly turned to the possibility of getting to Kennedy Meadows tomorrow rather than on Saturday since I was low on food, hungry enough to eat Saturday’s food, and alone to hike my pace and do big miles. It was 1pm and I had done 10 miles. Picking up a quick pace, I hit a fairly tough climb just after Joshua Tree spring, where I passed Alyssa and Sage and kept on pushing up the climb. At the top of the saddle of a ridge, the trail descended 700 feet to Spanish Needle creek. After obtaining water and a very short snack break, I tackled the next climb, another butt buster of over 2000 feet, which was really tiring me and I was really struggling to get up it.
About ¾ of the way up, I found a note to me from Intruder and Mountain Goat, inviting me to join them and giving me notice that they were planning to hike 10 more miles. I left a message on Mountain Goat’s cell that I would try to catch up, upon learning that the A team had fallen apart. It was 5pm. I was whipped from two significant climbs, and was facing big miles, on exposed ridges with heavy winds and cold temps. At least the landscape was now the Sierras, and looked the part.
I kept trucking and stopped around 6pm for another snack. Quickly I resumed hiking, finally reaching the crest of a ridge, then a long descent began. Around 7pm the trail bottomed out and I had to stop to cook dinner. Quickly I determined I had another 4.8 miles, including another 1000 foot climb. Decision time. Could I make it? Would I make it before dark? What about the painful shin splint which developed in the last four miles? Should I camp alone despite having seen lots of bear scat in the last few miles? As I quickly cooked, ate and packed up, I decided to go for it.
Somehow I covered the next 2.5 miles in 30 minutes, reaching dirt Canebreak Road at 8pm, sun setting, darkness creeping in to the valley surrounded by peaks. Ah, another note to Rabbit. The fellas, instead of hiking the 1000 foot end of day climb, were camping at a campground only .2 mile off the PCT. I was relieved! And happy! I rolled into their camp, 10 minutes later and was happily greeted. Quickly I set up the tarptent just in case the mosquitoes came to visit. Chowing on snacks, I caught the guys up on the day’s events. Mountain Goat made a fire and we talked until 10:15. No journaling tonight. I was tired and the shin splint was painful, so I hit the sleeping bag, checked the radio (absolutely zero FM stations came in). What a day! I’m worried about Nitro, but I know her Dad is coming Saturday with Bono and Nightingale and we’ll all reunite in Kennedy Meadows.
Weather: sunny, low 48, high 72. Today’s mileage: 27.2 (We crossed the ¼ mile mark today at Joshua Tree Spring). Cumulative mileage: 681.3.
