Today was mostly a long, hot walk through the desert. We started off in a nice pine forest for a change as we hiked the three miles to Landers Camp and the spring there. The spring had the best flow we’ve seen in a while and we did our laundry and washed up a little after filtering our water.

Back on the trail we continued on for another mile or so in the forest before entering another burn area. Before long we were dropping down ridges to the desert floor and the crossing of Kelso Valley Road. On the way down I heard a rattlesnake buzzing, but he was far enough off trail to not be a threat. At the road crossing was a huge water cache and we actually took a few liters as insurance against the desert. This allowed us to hike right through to the next cache instead of having to go off trail and lose a lot of elevation to refill.

This is the last real desert section we’ll cross and it was one of the toughest. It was over 100 degrees and there was a lot of climbing on sandy trail, where half the effort of every step is lost. We got a brief respite when we rounded a tall mountain on some rocky trail in the pines. It reminded me of the hike out of Walker Pass, which we’ll do tomorrow or the day after. We had long views out over the Mojave. I met another rattlesnake but he was so small that it was hard to find him at first. We finished up the day in the dark, determined to make our miles and reach the next water cache.

I spent most of the day thinking about cold drinks. When we started this hike I thought I would be dreaming about town food – pizza and burgers and such. But I’ve mainly been craving cold beverages: a tall cup of soda, brimming with ice; or lemonade with condensation beading on the glass; or like I got in Tehachapi at the Greek restaurant, cold mint tea. That last one’s been a fixture over the last few days especially. Only a few more days to Kennedy Meadows. We should reach it on my birthday and if we get there early enough we can hit the store before it closes and celebrate with a cold drink. If that’s not an incentive, I don’t know what is.

– Posted from the PCT

Location:Pct mile 631