5/1/20, mile: 426, elevation: 5,187 ft.
My campsite was at a saddle between two peaks, with quite a night view and a little bit of wind. Before passing out last night, I heard the distinctive voice of Prickly as he and Pac Man passed me by after sunset, but without seeing me. They were singing a song they had made up about the snow on Baden-Powell. Loudly. It was quite funny.
I was up early again and on the trail, only to find Safety, Prickly and Packman just 1/2 mile ahead of me at a campsite with AT&T cell reception. Whisky Tango Foxtrot! You can see L.A. and get no signal, but once you can see the dry lakes of the Mojave Desert, BAM you get signal. Arrrggghhh. Well, at least I was able to call Sarah and give her some birthday wishes. She was quite pleasantly surprised I remembered. I can’t believe how anxious I got about not having cell reception the last couple of days. I really wanted to stop and update this blog, but I also wanted to keep moving.
These boots are quite handy to have in the real rocky stuff and the snow (crampons like stiffer boots). But with the thick socks and throw in some road walking, they feel like iron maidens on my feet. Heavy, hot, firm and unrelenting. The ball of my right foot is getting close to a large blister, and the big toe on the left is, too. My only recourse is to change how I plant my feet and cool my feet and dry my socks as much as possible. Thankfully the water sources are still running so that I can do all of the above every 3-5 hours. A little bit of praying doesn’t hurt, either.
From here on out until Acton, the trail is “mostly” downhill. Which is to say it’s a net loss of altitude. But of course there is always that uphill section right when you’re the most tired, hot and sun-baked. The first half of the morning was gloriously on the shaded side of the ridge and the air was cool…until it wasn’t. This whole area was torched by the Mill Fire years ago and it will be a long time before large trees shade it again. One of the saving graces of this section is the Mill Creek Fire Station. There is an unlocked vault toilet (with t.p.!) that is the cleanest I’ve seen and even includes a water faucet. All surrounded by wide open burnt spaces. A nice spot to rest in the shade as you contemplate the next exposed trail section.
My preferred camp location is near water so I don’t have to carry too much to a dry camp. This particular one for today didn’t have a flat spot nearby, but a little exploration and hill climbing got me a decent spot with reception and a view. And it hasn’t been camped on since the fire. For the second night in a row, I cowboy camped and enjoyed the sunset from bed.
I had texted Dock to let him know I’d be in Acton Sunday morning to deliver my two boxes from Wrightwood. He responded by saying he’d see me Saturday. Ummmm, OK. Dude, I’m 20 miles out. OK, see you Saturday at 5pm. Ummmm, OK, I’ll keep you posted on my progress tomorrow.
No pressure….
Savior out.