Day 10 – Mile 149.9 to 168.6 Plus

MM: 168.6

Trail Miles: 18.7

Miles Walked: 23.5

Cowboy Camp – Hiker slang for sleeping outside without a tent

I woke up from my first night of cowboy camping around 0400. Zack, the young guy from OR was packing up. He’d said he was getting the trail at 0415.

I hadn’t gotten much sleep – my spot was on the side of the trail and sloped off to one side. All night long my thermarest, sleeping bag and body kept sliding sideways into the brambles and bushes. But it’d been a warm night (55 deg) and I enjoyed looking up at a sky full of stars. Packing up was pretty easy – I was ready to go at 0500. I think I’ll definitely camp this way more.

We passed the 150 mile point at 0520

It was still dark when we started hiking using our headlamps. The plan was to at least get to the start of the fire closure near Idyllwild. In 2013 there’d been a massive fire there and an 8 Mile section of the trail was still closed. There was an alternate route around the Closure but it was over twice as long and involved a road walk. I was thinking of hitching the road portion.

Today the trail started its climb up towards Mt San Jacinto, the 10,000 ft peak that towers over Palm Springs. If you’ve ever flown in to LAX and were on the left side of the aircraft, you’ve had a great view of it.

Mt San Jacinto in the distance

As we left the desert floor, the vegetation changed to more alpine-like. Lodgepole pines began to appear.

The sun was still harsh, but the elevation gain kept the temperatures reasonable. We ate lunch at 6600 ft with a great view overlooking Palm Springs.

Our climb continued – we’d reach 7300 ft only to lose it then climb back up as the trail undulated up and around the spine heading towards San Jancinto and it’s surrounding peaks.

Remains after 2013 Mountain Fire near Mt San Jacinto

Around mile 163 the trail became uncharacteristically steep. – The PCT is considered easier physically than the AT. Even though it’s 500 miles longer and reaches elevations above 13.000 ft, it does so more gradually, using switchbacks, vice its east coast sister.

That’s not so in the San Jacinto Wilderness, however. I think the designers of the AT were brought in to help here. We gained and lost, then gained again 1000 ft over 6 miles. If those are just numbers to you, let me assure you it’s steep. As in feet sliding out from underneath you steep.

Slim beginning the first steep descent

We eventually reached the closure but had too little water to camp there. There were several water sources a mile and more down the Splitler Peak Trail, which was the re-route around the closure. We got water but had to hike another 4miles just to find a suitable campsite. It made for a 14 hour day, with significant elevation changes. The four of us were so tired, we all decided to cowboy camp – saving the effort of setting up tents.

Start of the fire closure; directing us down Splitler Peak Trail

As I snuggled down into my sleeping bag around 2030, I remembered a slight pain I’d noticed a few hours earlier just above my backpack’s hip belt on the right side of my abdomen. I figured I pinched the skin with the belt or bruised it somehow. It was too chilly to open my sleeping bag so I curled up trying to see the wound with my headlamp. It looked like a small, dark scab – like something had cut a flap of skin. I tried pulling it off but there was a lot of resistance. I pulled harder. It wasn’t until I pulled it off that I realized what it was. A tick. Shit – that’s not good.

couldn’t tell if I’d gotten it all out. Fortunately I’d be in Idyllwild tomorrow. Guess I’d be stopping by whatever clinic they had. It occurred to me to save the little MF’er and bring it to the Doctor’s but I’d already lost his body in the abyss of my sleeping bag. I hoped to God he was dead and wouldn’t come back for a second bite. I was too exhausted and it was too cold to get up and shake my bag out. No, I just lay there thinking about Lyme disease and all the other tick-borne illnesses. I tried not to think of how this could ruin my hike. — Somehow it wound up being the best night of sleep I’d gotten so far. Apparently denial is not just a river in Egypt.

Sunset Day 10