Mile 627 to Mile 652, Walker Pass
7 weeks on trail! I can't believe this crazy journey has come so far. And we are finally in spitting distance to Kennedy Meadows - I can't remember the last time I was so excited to move on to a new chapter!
Once again, I didn't sleep a wink last night. Well, not until 3am - and alarms went off at 3:30. Awful. I snoozed for a while (it seems the only time I CAN sleep these days is when I definitely shouldn't be sleeping...sigh) Hit the trail by 5am, which isn't too bad, and managed to catch an absolutely magnificent sunrise - one of our last in the desert! It was nice to be reminded of the beauty here, especially towards the end. The cache at mile 631is the last water source for at least 33 miles, and is maintained by the same trail angel who stocks the previous cache. Without these two caches, there would be a stretch of well over 50 miles without water on trail. Everyone who provides trail magic is an angel in my book, but the woman who maintains these two caches is probably the most important and unsung hero of the trail. As we arrived, Trail Angel Mary pulled up in her blue pickup truck to do her daily restocking of the cache. This woman defines angel - she's probably in her 80s, lives in the middle of the desert, and singlehandedly maintains both caches during hiker season from the well on her property - shuttling over 100 gallons of water to the trail every day during hiker season. We helped her unload crates of gallons to the trail and tie them such that once drained, empty bottles won't blow away. The crates are heavy - I could hardly carry them - but this is Mary's daily routine for months of the year! She told me that she has sleepless nights worrying about hikers out in the desert without enough water. This section would have been incredibly challenging without Mary's help. I'm consistently amazed by the generosity of strangers on this trip.
We hustled to the top of the mountain after filling water bottles and the climb was refreshingly easy! I hustled my short legs up that mountain with the fear of heat in me, and I was on top before I knew it! We cruised through pines and forest the rest of the day. Took a lunch break under some shade and LunchBox caught up to us, on track for a 30 mile day to Walker Pass! We wanted to make it to Walker Pass before dark, because rumor had it there was the possibility of trail angels and root beer floats. Imagine my surprise when I rounded the last corner to see a cluster of tents in the campground filled with people providing more trail magic! The one and only Yogi of hiker fame - she is the author of our guidebooks - and a handful of others including Jackelope and others served us cold drinks and cooked dinner for the dozen or so hikers who arrived as well. I went to bed with a full stomach and the knowledge that I'm only 50 miles shy of the Sierra Nevada. Life is good!
Showing posts with label water cache. Show all posts
Showing posts with label water cache. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Day 48, June 3 - Refuge Under the Joshua Tree
Landers Camp, Mile 609 to Trailside Mile 627
Landers Camp was so lovely, and we were so comfortable under the pines, we forgot we were still technically in the desert and slacked on the waking up portion of the day. It felt so mountainous, it was hard to remind myself that would soon change. But change it did! We only made it 7 miles before hitting a water cache that marks the beginning of a very long, exceedingly dry section. We were in the middle of some of the most barren desert we've seen yet. It was only 10am, but we had to seek shade under the solitary Joshua Tree in sight with Viking. Soon, the Wolfpack arrived, and all of us spent the entire day curled up under the minimal shade of the spindly tree. Surprisingly, it was a really fun day - perhaps because our tired bodies and brains were heat addled - but whatever. We set up tarps for shade, and passed around the Jameson from my last care package - just enough for everyone to have a little nip!
During the hottest part of the day, two ladies and a dog drove up the dirt road in a van and were dropped off at the cache. It was clear off the bat that they weren't thru-hikers, as the first thing they did was fill every last one of their water bottles with water from the cache, and then washed down their dog - a serious no-no considering they'd clearly come from civilization (and water!) They packed up and then got ready to hike in the middle of the hottest part of the day, in an area with absolutely no shade. It was well over 100. We were all confused and a little annoyed by the selfishness of using SO much of the limited cache supply when they'd just arrived from town to trail. Hours later when we finally started hiking again, we ran into the mom no more than a mile down the trail and she seemed to be showing signs of heat exhaustion. She was already exhausted and I checked in with her to ensure she had enough water and recommended she get under some shade. I felt bad leaving her but thought it more important to catch up with her daughter and dog and send them back. When we caught up with her daughter, she didn't seem too concerned, but when I asked her if she had a water report (fairly essential guide on how/where to find water on the trail) she looked at me with a blank stare and just replied that she had the Halfmile map. Lighthouse was able to convince her to turn back, and I think was successful in convincing them this wasn't the best section to start your hike in. None of us are sure how or why they decided to attempt a section hike where they did, especially when we're so close to the Sierra, but we do know they were seriously underprepared and it was nerve wracking to see people try and set out in such conditions. This portion of the desert is incredibly remote, so they certainly didn't wind up here on accident. The whole experience was unsettling, as it reminded me of just how easily things could go wrong out here, and the sheer brutality of the place we're hiking through right now. Any of us are just one wrong turn away from serious trouble, so it was a good reminder of how important it is to remain vigilant in these kinds of conditions. It also reminded me of how much I've learned the last month and a half, and how far we've all come.
After much debate, the Wolfpack decided to only hike 6-10 miles more instead of the full 15 to the next cache. I was just hoping to get as far as possible - the plan was to hike until I couldn't hike anymore. I was so tempted to stay with everyone at a nice flat spot we found about 5 miles past the Joshua Tree, but knew I'd regret it if not - a huge climb is looming tomorrow, and I wanted to get as close as possible in hopes of completing it before the heat sets in. Managed to make it about 6 miles farther, then had a quick dinner and set alarms for a mere 5 hours later to get up and do it over again!
Landers Camp was so lovely, and we were so comfortable under the pines, we forgot we were still technically in the desert and slacked on the waking up portion of the day. It felt so mountainous, it was hard to remind myself that would soon change. But change it did! We only made it 7 miles before hitting a water cache that marks the beginning of a very long, exceedingly dry section. We were in the middle of some of the most barren desert we've seen yet. It was only 10am, but we had to seek shade under the solitary Joshua Tree in sight with Viking. Soon, the Wolfpack arrived, and all of us spent the entire day curled up under the minimal shade of the spindly tree. Surprisingly, it was a really fun day - perhaps because our tired bodies and brains were heat addled - but whatever. We set up tarps for shade, and passed around the Jameson from my last care package - just enough for everyone to have a little nip!
During the hottest part of the day, two ladies and a dog drove up the dirt road in a van and were dropped off at the cache. It was clear off the bat that they weren't thru-hikers, as the first thing they did was fill every last one of their water bottles with water from the cache, and then washed down their dog - a serious no-no considering they'd clearly come from civilization (and water!) They packed up and then got ready to hike in the middle of the hottest part of the day, in an area with absolutely no shade. It was well over 100. We were all confused and a little annoyed by the selfishness of using SO much of the limited cache supply when they'd just arrived from town to trail. Hours later when we finally started hiking again, we ran into the mom no more than a mile down the trail and she seemed to be showing signs of heat exhaustion. She was already exhausted and I checked in with her to ensure she had enough water and recommended she get under some shade. I felt bad leaving her but thought it more important to catch up with her daughter and dog and send them back. When we caught up with her daughter, she didn't seem too concerned, but when I asked her if she had a water report (fairly essential guide on how/where to find water on the trail) she looked at me with a blank stare and just replied that she had the Halfmile map. Lighthouse was able to convince her to turn back, and I think was successful in convincing them this wasn't the best section to start your hike in. None of us are sure how or why they decided to attempt a section hike where they did, especially when we're so close to the Sierra, but we do know they were seriously underprepared and it was nerve wracking to see people try and set out in such conditions. This portion of the desert is incredibly remote, so they certainly didn't wind up here on accident. The whole experience was unsettling, as it reminded me of just how easily things could go wrong out here, and the sheer brutality of the place we're hiking through right now. Any of us are just one wrong turn away from serious trouble, so it was a good reminder of how important it is to remain vigilant in these kinds of conditions. It also reminded me of how much I've learned the last month and a half, and how far we've all come.
After much debate, the Wolfpack decided to only hike 6-10 miles more instead of the full 15 to the next cache. I was just hoping to get as far as possible - the plan was to hike until I couldn't hike anymore. I was so tempted to stay with everyone at a nice flat spot we found about 5 miles past the Joshua Tree, but knew I'd regret it if not - a huge climb is looming tomorrow, and I wanted to get as close as possible in hopes of completing it before the heat sets in. Managed to make it about 6 miles farther, then had a quick dinner and set alarms for a mere 5 hours later to get up and do it over again!
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