Goodbye San Jacinto mountains! the desert beckoned us down and out of the shade of the towering trees, back into the searing sun. The descent was arduous and endless. My muscles ached and my feet were more sore than ever. In the distance we could see Palm Springs’ wind mill parks. Being back in the …
Even though saying goodbye is an inevitable part of any journey, it still stung leaving so many friends behind. Due to how the trail is structured, it was possible to get to Idyllwild in two ways. the first allowing you to get there 2 days early, but meaning you’d have to hitch back to the …
Back to town! Idyllwild was the place this time. Based on the name, Coyote and I had expected the place to be populated by elves living in houses in giant trees. Upon arriving, there were neither elves nor treehouses, but instead, a charming village with all the luxuries (shower, place to sleep, laundry, restaurants with …
So tired. What an eventful day. We left the sandy desert behind for now and headed up into the san jacinto mountains, the first real test of endurance on this journey. Records were broken today: our daily mileage record (22.8 miles), our elevation record (6463 feet), and my personal backpacking record (last time the 10th …
The first really hot day. We walked alone for most of it, trying to bear the heat. I feel my hiker legs are coming on slowly but surely. Pushing up and downhill today felt great, the smell of dry pine suffusing the air. One thing went off the bucket list: a rattlesnake sighting! I’d become …
Detachment, that is what i thought of today. one of the key characteristics of the trail so far. Detached from news from the outside world, breaking and trivial, from family and friends and from the concerns that plagued us on a daily basis. This in both parts due to our lack of reception here out …
The terrain has changed once again. Instead of cacti and low, thorny bushes, the ground here is more grassy, with higher tree growth and sand dunes always present on the horizon. We ran into the father and son duo again, after not seeing them for 2 days. Rick and Griffin are their names. What first …
A new record! 22 miles (35 km) in a day! I’ve come to realize the trail is a continuous procession of new and old faces, but rarely those you expect. Due to water source locations, we decided to hike all day, from the early morning until evening. This placed us far ahead of Katie and …
Our rhythm has changed to match that of the land. Wake up time is between 5h and 5h30, this to beat the desert heat and get a couple of hours hiking in the cool. Sleeping in now means getting up at 6h30, while bedtime is between 20h and 21h, since conversely, it gets too cold …
Another day in the desert, more views, more people. The water resupply at noon also had toilet cabins, a rare luxury here. Today we also made it to the first milestone: 100km on the trail! We ate Brian’s cookies in the afternoon, probably not the best idea, as right after our snack break, the path …
