Day 9
Start: Agua Caliente Creek
Finish: San Diego County Line
Daily Mileage: 20.5
Trip Mileage: 133
Another warm night with not condensation. I’m getting spoiled. Since I was camped next to a flowing stream and the trail followed it for a few miles, I didn’t even have to carry much water as I started uphill.
The trail danced back and forth across the stream and often went higher into the hills before returning. It is amazing how narrow the ribbon of oak trees and other water-loving vegetation is before the sagebrush and other desert plants take over in a clear line usually less than 100 feet from the water.
When I crossed the stream for the last time and grabbed enough water to get me the next 11 miles uphill to the next water source, I headed off into the desert once again. No shade and a bright sun with a cloudless sky. I set a slower pace for the day to make forward progress without sweating too much since I was expecting only one water source after the creek for the day.
I didn’t see any other hikers for the first part of the day before I started leapfrogging with the couples that I camped with last night. We exchanged plans on approaches to the trail ahead which I have been thinking a lot about. There is another snow storm coming around the time that I would be going over the shoulder of San Jacinto at 9,000 feet. Obviously those two events will not coincide, but they leave for much uncertainty in the days ahead. I will be going into town to resupply and stay the night during the storm, but will have to decide what to do after the storm passes. Hike over or around the mountain.
In any case, the heat got oppressive in late morning and early afternoon. I was doing good on miles and did most of the climbing I had to do, so I took several breaks in the shade to cool off. No point in killing myself getting to camp early just to sit around.
The trail climbed high on a ridge and followed it, occasionally switching sides of the ridge. The surrounding mountains changed throughout the day, becoming more and more dramatic. Then snow capped peaks appeared. One set of peaks was a pure white blanket. I initially feared that this might be San Jacinto, but my map confirmed it was a different, higher range. Rounding a corner though, San Jacinto did finally present itself. The snow didn’t look too bad, but it is impossible to tell from such a distance. It definitely looks like there has been a fair bit of melting in the last few warm days which is good.
I took a long break at a flowing stream to chug water and prepare for the next dry stretch of trail which would go into tomorrow. When I resumed hiking, I met Jake who had just gotten back onto the trail after a foot injury. We hiked together and talked for the rest of the day which was great and made the final climb fly by.
There was a little wind in the afternoon, and the day started to get cooler which greatly helped. It was only supposed to go into the 70s, but it can be so oppressive under the unblinking sun on a field of rock and sand.
I was starting to get worn down towards the end of the day. My goal was to get out of San Diego County and also get within striking distance of the road to Idyllwild to escape the storm tomorrow or the next day. I was not particularly sore, but just getting tired from all of the sun exposure and miles. That means it is definitely time to stop and rest for the night.
I reached my goal around 5 and set up camp in a nice sheltered spot. Jake kept going and I ended up here solo for the night. There were a few other hikers that said they were going further today, but they never passed., so I guess they had a change in plans.
It was a good day. I made good progress in conditions that I don’t excel in and managed my heat exposure with no issues and met another new hiker. I’m seeing a lot of familiar faces, but things always get jumbled up in town as I’m sure they will this time with the coming storm and mystery of how to get past San Jacinto.
