We rolled out of camp late today and the sun was already hot. We took some time to talk to a hiker who was having a bad couple of days and walked with her a bit to the road where she was planning on getting a hitch to Starbucks. Whatever helps get you through the days out here. All three of us watched a big rattler slowly cross the road into someone’s front garden. We wandered further down towards where the trail picks up and found some trail magic by the gate! Jake and I both grabbed fruit snacks and mini snickers and I ate a piece of italian bread. A very random assortment but it was delightful.
We needed to get to the underpass so we started through the rocky sand towards the highway. I was apparently still beat from yesterday because I was just stumbling through and could not walk fast. Jake was really far ahead of me.
Continuing on we went through the edge of the wind farm. They are very hiker friendly at the office but we didn’t stop. The climbing was kind of brutal because of the heat. I kept having to stop in any bit of shade I could find just to feel like I could make it.
More hills to climb and ridges to almost get blown off by huge wind gusts. Then it was down towards the Whitewater Preserve. It says it’s .5 miles off trail but it didn’t seem that far. I got some water and ate lunch at the pavilion with some other hikers. There was even a bathroom there with a sink, it was amazing! As I was leaving a couple of old guys stopped me to ask questions about what I was doing. They asked to take my picture and I agreed, a little strange but whatever.
It was a short hike to the river where we had planned to camp. When I got there I needed to rinse out some socks so I did but then the wind gusts got intense. Sand was getting in everything. We decided we needed to camp elsewhere for the night so we packed up and headed on, just a mile or two more. We found a nice protected spot near the group we have been hanging with and had a quiet night.
PCT Hike 