The Joy’s of Spring

Leaving Warner Springs, we were excited to climb in elevation up into the mountains, enjoying some cooler temperatures as we hiked. After a good day of 15 miles, we found ourselves high in a boulder canyon, reminiscent of the Dragoon mountains of southern Arizona. We did not bother setting up the tarp, and as we fell asleep, we watched as clouds crashing into the mountain top were forced higher into the air, taking on new forms and merging with larger masses. Surely this was one of nature’s finer lullabies. Unfortunately, we did not consider the consequences of sleeping at 5000ft without a tarp. By the very early morning, we found ourselves in the heart of the clouds, and everything, including our sleeping bag, was quite wet. Quickly we wiped down our sleeping bag, and laid the tarp over it to reduce it’s exposure to moisture. This at least allowed us to stay warm until first light, at which point we quickly broke camp and made a couple of miles to our next water source, a storage tank at the residence of a local trail angel named Mike. Here we took relief from the freezing cloud, drank real coffee, and listened to the Eagles. After regaining our motivation, we hiked out of the cloud down into the Anza Borrego desert. Beautiful but very dry, this area has been taken over by pot farmers, primarily funded by cartels. While they were not friendly to thru-hikers, a local named Mary and her counterpart Carl, helped to establish an oasis at mile 145. Supplied with cold soda, shade, picnic tables, BBQ and a free library exchange, it seemed too good to be true.

Later that afternoon, we arrived at Paradise Valley Cafe on hwy 74. We enjoyed our first meal off the trail, especially once the hail began to fly and the thunder roared overhead. By late afternoon the temperature was dropping fast, though the storm was begginning to dissipate. The cafe kindly allowed us to camp their back patio for the night, and even left their bathroom unlocked for us. Despite the hospitality, sleeping on a cold concrete slab wasn’t terribly comfortable, and were woken up many times by a man rebuilding his engine with a sledge hammer in the parking lot during the wee hours of the morning.

While most hikers hitch-hicked from the cafe to Idyllwild around the first fire closure, we decided to hike another 16 miles through the San Bernadino forest before hitting the hwy again, and hitching the remainder of the alternate back to Idyllwild. The town was extremely kind to us, giving thru-hikers a discount at many of the loal shops. We enjoyed some fresh avocados and coconut water before making our home for the night at the local campground.

With more snow and wind in the forcast, we opted to take the low road up the San Jacinto mountains, known as the Black Mtn. Rd alternate; this route topped off at 7500ft in place of the 9000ft that the PCT climbed to. Starting at 5300ft, we climbed 7 miles before rejoining the PCT at mile 191, at which point we began our 6200ft descent down to the desert floor and the I-10 corridor. We spent the night just below the ridgeline on the north face, hidden in a wind shadow behind some large boulders, positioned to make our descent at  first light. With tbe storm at our backs, we raced down the mountain and across the wind tunnel that is El Cabazon. There is a reason they have installed a wind farm here. After 17 miles we arrived at Ziggy and the Bears’, a local couple of trail angels. We were recieved with cold Gatoraide, and a ceremonial mugshot. As Mandalynn was the 800th visitor this year, she was awarded a $10 gift card to the McDonalds at el Cajon pass. We slept on the back porch, sardined with 30 other hikers taking relief from the wind.

As next 55 miles of trail are closed due to a wildfire back in 2014, from here we caught a ride with Stump’s cousin Barry, who generously drove us all the way to Big Bear. As it turns out, it was his daughter’s birthday, who resides there, so upon our arrival, we enjoyed a celebratory dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Clean, fed, and resupplied with food, we will hike back to the trail this afternoon, positioning ourselves for a good day of hiking tommorrow.

Cheers from the trail!
Stump & Mandalynn

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