Day 9 ::
The desert came to life with the rising sun and we all struggled to collect ourselves and get packed up. The four mile hike to the 78 took us out of the foothills and down onto the floor of the desert we’ve been looking down on for days now.
Once at the roadside we waited out of sight while a couple that were there already tried for a ride. A woman in a passenger van headed for Sacramento pulled over and the couple hitching ahead of us were thoughtful and asked if she would let us all pile in, which she did and took us into town. She took our numbers in case we still needed a ride back to the trail as she came back through in the evening.
First stop: Mom’s Pie House for a free slice! I sprang for a side of ice cream but it was included so I added a root beer. It’s the little things.
With the heat of the day coming on we have a few little errands to run while we wait that out. We’ve moved from Mom’s Pie House to Granny’s Kitchen where there’s a sweet little bird house on the patio.
I got a surprise bonus from plasma referrals so we got pizza and wings at Julien Brewing and charged battery banks and phones and checked in on social media. Ruth and Caiti went and got some extra water bottles and electrolytes while I uploaded photos to the blog.
We filled up all our bottles and reservoirs at the tap on the side of the brewery and then set out for the edge of town to hitch a ride back to the trail head. Before long a gentleman in a pickup pulled over and we tossed our bags in the back and piled in. He’d never picked up hitchhikers before though he was a local to Julien and had chatted with a few hikers. He told us some great stories about mountain biking the trails after hiking season and drove us where we needed to go despite living in town. “On bikes we call that the ridge that never ends” He says. “That’s funny, on foot we call that the ridge that never ends” I respond. All our rides have been great so far.
Back in the desert we hike a couple miles up to the foothills and at the foot of the ridge we tuck in for the night.
Day 10 ::
We aimed to set out a little earlier this morning to make the most of the cooler morning weather and reach the next water cache within the day.
Still cowboy camping, the warm night sweated me out of my silks early on but night crawlers kept me zipped up on my bag anyway. Half a dozen odd looking spiders with bright white kneecaps were exploring the terrain of my bag and peering out from the dead brush to my side in the morning.
As the sun rose and the heat picked up pretty much immediately – we knew it was going to be a hot day ahead and we started up into the hills at about 7am.
Making good time for our elevation gains we stopped to eat and nap around 11:30 and started off again a couple hours later. Temporarily re-energized we trotted on into the hottest part of the day.
…for a while.
The hiking hadn’t gotten any more difficult, I had plenty of water and I’d gulped down just shy of a thousand calories at lunch alone despite the sun killing my appetite but the heat was making my body act wacky. By 2:30 there was a sliver of shade on an unusually brushy east facing ridge and I called it quits for the afternoon.
Ruth and Caiti hiked on, I’m not sure how far, but I’ve got about six inches on their legs so I’ll catch up eventually. I’m not going anywhere until these shadows grow a bit longer and cooler.
Just before 4pm I got back to hiking. The day was cooling down and a breeze had picked up. Along the way I nearly stepped on a snake buddy – it was about an inch wide. Just flicked its tongue at me when I stopped to snap a photo. About an hour at a brisk pace got me to the water cache where Caiti and Ruth were laid out in the shade.
I filled up my water bottles from the cache and shoveled more prosciutto and olive oil//potato chip doused cous-cous down despite a lack of appetite. It’s seven now and Caiti and Ruth have gone to bed. There are a bunch of folks camped in the area chattering in at least three different languages so I dug out earplugs. My shirt is crusted with salt and my feet ache. It’s a beautiful evening though.
Day 11 :: Mile 100
We all set out together later than planned. Most of the day was a blur of scrubby madrone and oak, wildflowers, cacti, etc. The first sight of the day was a small cave which we had a quick breakfast at.
We found a campsite mid day and waited or some of the heat. Ruth was first to move on and Caiti followed suit. My big move of the afternoon was to a shadier spot on the other side of the campsite. I napped, made tea, wrote, tended to my feet and brushed out my tangles before I finally packed up around 3:30p. The plan was to meet at an upcoming stream/campground that evening. I caught myself wishing for a change of scenery as I just about walked passed the 100 mile marker. I hadn’t gotten back in my groove yet and rushed to take a picture and move on, breaking further down trail for a celebratory mushy candy bar.
Ah yes, change of scenery would be nice…then I worried I would eat my words. A few fingers of ridge delivered on my wishful thinking and eat my words I did not as I passed down under towering oaks, the smell of the creek below wafting upwards. I reached the creek and half a dozen hikers setting up camp in no time. No sight of Caiti or Ruth though “there are Trail Angel’s out by the road, you might be able to catch them before they leave!” someone shouted. I downed a cold Dr Pepper, a banana and a few candy bars while everyone there talked about Ohio. Though I knew I’d made good time on the descent it felt too early and too soon for Caiti and Ruth to have stopped and I decided to hike on, I found myself wishing I’d invested in that dang navigational app.
Across the road the trail wove through tall grass and oaks covering low hills and let out into a rolling Meadow. The deep purple and brassy grasses were punctuated with wildflowers in brighter tones of the same colors. The setting sun and the evening breeze rippled across the valley. Change of scenery indeed! Up ahead a big shiny crow trotted down the path. Probably a great place to catch small lizards and big beetles….but i wondered if it wasn’t trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. After following the crow for two hundred feet or so I went to take my phone out for a video and it flew off as I started recording. Fair enough.
Across the valley the Meadow trail turned toward more old oaks and began following the tiniest ribbon of stream. Soon I spotted caiti’s tent and my parrot noise was met with her bird song. I don’t have pictures of the campsite but they wouldn’t do it justice anyway. Old oaks towered over the glittering stream, soft beds of white sand bank and fallen leaves. In my typical fashion I promptly disrobed and laid my weary filthy bones in the creek. Before making camp I rinsed and rung out my salt encrusted day clothes. The night came slowly and I tried to recall the constellations I’d learned a few summers ago as the stars faded in but sleep swept in quickly.
Leave A Reply