We slept in this morning way past our usual alarm. After last night’s hike and the last few days of close quarters with lots of people, we were craving a normal night of uninterrupted sleep. It felt strange to be lying in bed when the sun was so high in the sky already. The day was breezy and cool for this area so we didn’t have to worry about getting a jump on the heat. As it turns out we had camped just short of the road to Lake Hughes and the water cache there. All the time we spent at the Saufley’s and the Anderson’s means that we have moved back in the pack and a lot of the people we saw today we don’t know very well…at least not yet. It never seems to take very long out here.
We crossed the road and started up a climb over another small ridge of mountains. We were buzzed by an LA fire helicopter, but they seemed to just be keeping an eye on the nearby trail crew doing brush and tread maintenance. The guy clearing the brush had a super heavy duty weed whacker and a face shield and everything. We thanked them for all the work they do so we can hike on a nice, solid clear trail. As we reached the top of the climb we found a little unexpected trail magic in the form of cold Cokes. We took a break and looked out over the Mojave as we drank them. Not much separating us from the desert now…
We continued on easy trail until we reached an underground fire tank, our first water source. It seemed to be everyone else’s stop of choice too and as we ate lunch more and more hikers showed up. We’re definitely in the herd now.
We set out to make more miles in the remaining afternoon. The day seems so short when we don’t get going early! We had another moderate climb up Liebre Mountain on the way to our next water source where we would do our laundry. Out here they have guzzlers, which are underground tanks that self-fill from rainwater. They are apparently put there for the benefit of wildlife. With water being so plentiful in MN this is a new concept for us. This one was just a large sheet metal roof that channeled the rain to a gutter on one side, which then collected it in the tank. It was a pain in the butt to crawl under and retrieve the water but we were glad to have it. We were also glad that we didn’t have to filter it for drinking, because it was pretty scummy.
After the guzzler we intended to go another 6 miles before settling in for the night, but as it got dark the temperature dropped quickly. My feet were bothering me – another reminder that I need new shoes, which are 3 days away in town. There were so many nice campsites around for a change that we decided to stop early. Tomorrow we’ll go all the way down to the floor of the Mojave for a decidedly un-crest-like hike along the LA aqueduct.
We made our permits official today! The PCTA issues long-distance permits for trips over 500 miles so hikers don’t have to get permission from all the different jurisdictions individually. We’re finally legit!
– Posted from the PCT
Location:Pct mile 505