Month: May 2016

Writing is taking too long on my phone, so I’m going to try switching to mostly pictures from here on. I didn’t take many pictures today, though, so this will just be a short post.

The terrain changed to from scrubby high desert to grassy plains.

We got to Eagle Rock.

We got to the small town of Warner Springs, which had set up a “Hiker Resource Center” this year. We were excited, because the guidebook said they had showers, laundry, a resupply store, and a restaurant.

The showers and laundry were a 5-gallon bucket, a pitcher, and an outdoor stall. It was breezy and brisk, but I felt better afterwards.

The resupply store was a few shelves, with few choices and really high prices, about 3-8x what you’d pay in a grocery store.

The restaurant was closed. And, I think, was a barbecue.

The whole operation was something that would be impressive and really nice if it were in somebody’s backyard, and was a surprise. But, when you’re expecting showers, laundry, resupply, and a hot meal, it’s a bit of a let-down. I’m probably going to run out of food before Idyllwyld, our next resupply.

So, we walked about three quarters of a mile to the other restaurant in town, the golf course’s clubhouse. We had a nice lunch with Gerrit and Breanna, the hikers we sheltered under a rock outcropping with on the descent towards Julian.

Service took hours, however, so we weren’t able to get started until late. We only made it a few more miles that afternoon, to some nice soft campsites near Agua Caliente Creek.

Once there, we had a campfire with a couple other hikers, Graham and Elysse, and then had a good night’s sleep.

So many things happened today…

We hitched a ride from Julian to Scissors Crossing with a man who had a 3-year-old son who happens to be psychic.

At Scissors Crossing I realized I’d forgotten my hat, so we hitchhiked back into Julian. The desert sun without the shade of a hat is a no-go.  This time the ride came from a couple of locals who seemed to know everybody, and told us all about the town.

Back in Julian, we took advantage of the free pie and ice cream for PCT hikers. And I got my hat.

We hitchhiked back to Scissors Crossing, and began our day after noon.

We started to see barrel cacti, alongside other new desert foliage.

Elizabeth started doing Zumba on the trail, to combat swelling fingers.

We collected water from a water cache. Somebody who lives out here trucks in water because it’s a long stretch between water sources here.

We saw clouds rolling in over the hills that had parched us just the day before.

We saw no viable campsites for two people on the step terrain.

So, we sped up, and continued past sundown to reach the next known campsite, Barrel Springs. On the way, we passed the 100 mile mark, but missed the monument on the darkness.

Finally, we reached Barrel Springs, and were struck by its otherworldly atmosphere. After days of dessication and scorching sun, we heard ribbiting frogs as we neared the camp. It was dark, but our way was lit by glowing tents – there were so few campsites, many had camped here. The beachlike sand bar that we pitched our tents on provided a comfortable end to a long day.

We got an early start today, for a long, slow descent into the valley. As we got lower, it got hotter and drier, and the vegetation changed. The higher elevation had green scrub brush, purple-flowered cacti, and grasses.

I wanted to get a good close-up of a cactus flower, but when I zoomed in, the pistils and stamens wiggled as if alive. Let’s see if WordPress video support works.

Edit: it doesn’t.

The view down to the valley was nice, but the valley itself looked intimidatingly hot and dry.

As we dropped towards the valley, the species changed, and the heat got uncomfortable. Not just for me, but for the plants, too.

The sun got hotter and hotter, and shade was in short supply. We saw a bend in the trail that cast a couple feet of shade, so we leaned against it and ate a quick lunch. A single, tiny cloud appeared in the sky to mock us, then disappeared in seconds.

After miles with no shade and climbing temperatures, we ducked under a broad, flat rock protruding from the mountain, the first good shade in miles. Soon enough, a couple hikers joined us, and we chatted until we’d cooled off enough to continue. This rock must’ve hosted many, many PCT hikers over the years.

Soon after, we reached the valley floor, and the vegetation change was complete.

We reached a highway cruising called Scissors Crossing, and got ready to hitchhike into Julian. We took some advice from other hikers huddled under an overpass, and tried to hitch at a nearby intersection, where we found a pre-made sign asking for a ride to Julian.

Soon enough, we were doing better.