It’s comforting to know that the wind is going to find you no matter where you are. We thought we were in a good place completely surrounded by shrubbery (neek, neek). The wind didn’t bring the rain until we had been in bed a few hours—somewhere around 9p. When we got up this morning and looked at the parallel ridge, it had lots of snow about 1000’ higher than us. We made the right decision to leave Julian when we did.
I heard Warren and Diane scrambling around at about 6:15. I had no intention of getting up that early, but I did want to meet them before they left. Around 7, I couldn’t fall back asleep because I kept dreaming about water falls, my mind’s cue to me to get up before I wet the bag. Since I was up, I introduced myself in the daylight. While we were talking, Ivy and Dave caught up. I know they were 4.6 miles behind us where they camped. They had to be up before light! They told all of us that Cheesy Turtle was just behind them.
After they all left, Bunny and I started eating our breakfast and packing up. I went off to a quiet place with a trowel to contemplate the higher dimensions of life when I heard voices coming from our tent. I returned to find Bunny talking to Stich who tried hiking the PCT in ‘17, but didn’t complete it because of the heavy snow followed by all the forest fires in the Pacific Northwest. He’s determined to plow on through everything this year. His wife trailer camps near the trail and meets up with him periodically.
As soon as Stich took off, one more hiker arrived. This had to be Cheesy Turtle. We chatted a bit before he headed on to try to catch up with Ivy and Dave. As usual, we were the last ones on the trail at 9:30, but we didn’t care because we had found a group of hikers out here. For the first week, we only saw Bucky periodically but we couldn’t keep up with him. Since we have taken 3 zeros, we’re pretty sure he’s getting close to Idyllwild.
I often wonder who is reading this blog. I know of a few people that regularly comment on posts but I wonder if there might be a secret wider audience. I discovered one person is reading along because she decided to f#$& with me today. I’m talking, of course, about Mother Nature. She saw my comment about I can handle any two of the three: high winds, cold temps, and rain, but not all three. She tried pushing my limits today to find my breaking point.
We started hiking in cloud cover with temps never much than 40. First she started throwing high winds at us. Then she tried to throw a little sleet and rain at us, but she let the sun come out and backed the winds off a little. Next she tried massive winds well in excess of 50 mph. We hadn’t walked in winds like this since rounding the backside of Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine last year on the AT (everybody drink).
It never got warm today in spite of how bright some pictures may look. I wore gloves and a buff over my ears all day. I really thought Bunny would freak out in the high winds, but she maintained herself very well. I was extremely proud of her because I was about to lose my shit. The one thing that kept me going was that I knew there were 6 other hikers in front of us and if they made it, we would too.
Bunny and I took a couple of breaks when we could find spots out of the wind. I did have a casualty of my own when the bee-atch, Mother F’n Nature, decided to blow my cover off of my pack. Just to drive the point home, she started drizzling again with the high winds but backed off just as she saw I was near breaking.
We camped near a water cache last night so we wouldn’t have to carry a lot of water out of Julian. The next cache for us today was almost 10 miles. We had about 3 liters between the two of us to make the distance but when it’s this cold, we don’t drink as much. We got to the next source of water to find Ivy, Dave, and Cheesy Turtle already with their tents up. It was only 3p. We did stop and cook our supper and prepare our breakfast, but we wanted to get more miles in so we can nero into Warner Springs tomorrow.
It feels comforting to know there are some people behind us. We decided to push on another 4 miles to a creek that should be running. We had enough water to still have coffee in the morning if it wasn’t, but if it is running, we’ll have hot tea tonight as well.
We passed up Warren and Diane already in their tent at 4. Bunny and I kept going until almost 5 when we found a spot right next to a rare running water source. We set up camp and ate as quickly as we could because the temperature is dropping fast. We were both in our bags before 6 but are still hanging on to consciousness here nearly at 7. You can take city folk and put them on the trail, but you can’t take the night owl out of them.
EFG
I am enjoying all your pictures and posts. Hope the wind decides to calm down soon!!
We fully agree with you there. We’ve already lost two pack covers to the wind.
Cold, wind and rain….it is a good thing you have your LOVE to keep you warm. Enjoying staying up with you via your posts and pic’s. We just decided to head back to the Camino in July with my wife and daughter. A stroll compared to your hike! Stay safe…Carpe Diem.
Have fun on my the Camino. Ours should be a stroll by then if all goes well.
Sorry, you are freezing but it looks amazing! We all wish we had both of your gumption to do this in the 1st place!
I believe you quit before either of us did.
I’m here reading along. Way to go!
Glad you’re out there following us. I do like to know people are following. Thank you.
You guys are getting a very rare treat seeing the desert this green! I’ve lived out here for a few years now, and most long time locals are saying this has been a very rare winter, the kind that only comes around every 10 years or so. I’m one of the “secret readers” who found you through the Trek! Really enjoying your blog!
Jen, we are really enjoying the desert lushness. I just wish there wasn’t so much snow in the mountains, but we will make it. We have met several locals who tell us the same as what you said. I would still rather be hiking now in the cold and green than in the heat of April/May. Thanks for reading along. Hearing from new people makes it very rewarding for me. Thanks.