Day 7, 3/23; Mile 77
So today is the second day of the rush to the next town, Julian. Thanks to Chris, trail name Calzone now, we are in a hustle to make it to Julian for the Facebook famous picture of a calzone we saw two days ago. Because I am carrying more shit and walk slower uphill, I set my alarm early. It was going to be a tough day. By 8:30 pm the rain and wind started. The wind was strong enough to blow the tent over sideways on top of me, but the stakes held firm and I was mostly dry. The wind did help to keep condensation at a minimum.
I hit the trail by 6:30, about 30-40 minutes ahead of the guys. It was brutal. Huge wind gusts, sideways rain and it was cold (40-ish). Just don’t stop. Keeping my poncho system in order was a constant challenge, and the clock was ticking. We had over 12 miles to cover, and we still didn’t have a plan on transportation from the road crossing to Julian.
A false sense of hope hit once we crossed over a ridge, got out of the wind and the sun came out. A mile later, we finally made it to water, only for the rain to start again (out comes the rain gear again…).
After the water tank, I walked with Adam for a while and we some great talks. Gear, trail and snow expectation for San Jacinto, and motivations for doing the hike. His lightweight setup is well tested and proven, and a sight to behold. And he’s fast. Thank you Adam!
Once on the valley floor, I found the first signs of spring in the desert. Thousands upon thousands of tiny flowers blooming on the desert floor. It made for quite a contrast to the mottled barren mountains in the distance, and quite pleasing to walk through. And the sound of the sand under my feet added a pleasing rhythm to the march.
The last six miles or so was a bit of a race between Calzone, Disco and I. And the terrain was constantly changing. We were leaving the upper elevations with trees and big scrub, to the lower desert with shorter scrub and getting in to cactii. Soon after the wind appeared to abate, I heard a rushing noise again….afraid of the blast to come, I was suprised to see two F-5 Aggressor Squadron jets streak over the valley floor…below me. Wow!
The guys beat me to Scissors Crossing, but it didn’t matter. Steve was providing trail magic and everyone was just hanging out. The weather cleared, the sun was out and it was a perfect day all of a sudden. The trail provides!
Steve had PB&J, water, home-grown tangerines, bananas, beer and whiskey. A LOT of whiskey, donated to him from a friend to give out to the hikers. The icing on the cake was Steve giving us a ride to our stay at the Julian Inn. All of that hard hiking for the last two days had a magical end. What more could a hiker need?
Once in my room in the Inn, my pack exploded. And very shortly after, a march was had to obtain beer and Mexican food (to go, of course) for dinner. What a hard day, but worthwhile all the way around.
Thank you Trail Angel Steve!