Captain's Log: Day 9

April 22

Our first morning in town began with 6-inch diameter sticky buns and realizing once again how much extra food weight we had given how close the next town was. After un-exploding out packs we got a ride back to the trail on the other side of the closure in the back of a pickup.

We had a steep climb back up to the PCT along which we began seeing patches of snow. By the time we had gone 2 miles we were falling/slipping/skiing along the trail. Very different from the desert dry stretch we had just crossed.

We opted to take an alternate route that went up and over the San Jacinto peak instead of around it. This added an extra mile of trail and a half mile of elevation gain. It was quite the physical test between the thinner air and first steep climb we've had.

The view from the top was pretty crazy. Out to one side was the Mojave, which we would soon be entering, and off to the other side you could see the snow covered evergreen slopes of the range we were on.

The way down was no where near as fun. It was a steep downhill with only the tracks in the snow left by those before us to follow. These sets of tracks didn't always agree about which way they thought the trail went and we spent a long time picking our way down and trying, not always successfully, to stay upright.

We returned to the PCT just after 5:00pm with more desert and another 20 mile dry stretch ahead of us. We filled up at a frozen over stream that kept creaking in unsettling ways for us standing on top.

With sunset on the way and 4.3 to camp we set out at a brisk pace. The trail wasn't done with ups and downs yet though and by the time we reached camp we were all aching at the knees and exhausted. Dinner was a short affair by headlamp then off to a windy nights sleep.