Day 43: The Sandbox
Date: Wed 5/30
PCT Start Mile: 608.9
PCT End Mile: 630.8
PCT Mileage for Day: 21.9
Total PCT Mileage: 630.8
The Highlights: sandy climbs
Before leaving camp this morning, I made another trip to the dead mouse privy. The door on this one is very hard to close and while I was able to wedge it shut yesterday, I couldn’t get it this morning. I gave up and took care of business with the door open, listening in case anyone approached, but otherwise completely unphased. You’re only afforded so much privacy out here. Apparently that stops at the privy door.
We hiked out at 5:50am, full up with water. Entering camp last night, there was a sign that warned that our camp had the last reliable water source for 42 miles. There were notes about water caches at 7 and 22 miles from the camp that were likely to have plenty of water, though you are never supposed to rely on caches. We all carried out about 5-6 liters, over 13 pounds of water on my back.
We hiked through the mountains, gorgeous views abound, slowly descending from our nice pine forest back into the desert landscape.
Seven miles in, we took a break at the water cache, which had plenty of water. Probably 50 or more large water jugs. We restocked and filtered what we needed before heading on.
The next six miles I think I mostly blanked from my memory. It started out fine, but soon enough there was a long climb through the sand, the sun beating down on us. I wilted. It was a very long six miles to our lunch break. Toward the end, we did see some lizards having a little fun.
#lizardstyle
We took our lunch break in the shade of Joshua trees at Dove Spring Canyon Road. One picnic table sat lonely in the sun, all the hikers crammed into any shade we could find.
Naturally, like yesterday, for a good portion of our break, the sun hid behind the clouds and the wind picked up. We actually put on our puffys. Why can’t the sun hide behind a cloud when we are hiking?
A little after 2pm, it was back to the trail. We had nine miles to the area we planned to camp for the night. A good chunk of this mileage was uphill through thick beach-like sand. It felt like we were swimming through the heavy sand. Despite this, Shawn and I trudged on without taking a break. I could have used one, but I was on a roll. The last two miles eventually descended and flattened for the remainder of the hike to camp.
Though the afternoon had been hot and walking uphill through the sand was a lot of work, the wind really saved us, keeping us cool. This same wind was a nuisance at the camp area as we tried to find a protected area to set up our tent. We did our best, but it’s shaping up to be a very windy night. Hopefully it will die down a bit and we can get some sleep after three long days!
