Day 17
Start: Mission Creek
Finish: North Fork Mission Creek
Daily Mileage: 9.3
Trip Mileage: 235.5
Another great warm and dry night. Though we had planned a short day for today, we got up and out early to get some miles in before the sun warmed things up too much.
We started on a brief stretch of trail next to Mission Creek, but the trail quickly disappeared into the wide stony wash of the creek. Last year, Hurricane Hillary came through and dumped on this area causing an immense flood that quickly eroded a huge amount of the river banks where the trail previously ran. The trail is now largely gone, so the way is now to walk up the wash. It was hard to comprehend how so much land could be removed so quickly, but the day was a constant reminder of the vast power of nature.
Following the wash upstream, we quickly decided to get our feet wet in the creek since we would have to constantly cross it throughout the day. It would have been impossible to rock hop all day, but it is always challenging to take those first steps dunking your feet in the water and end up with pruned and squeaky feet for the day.
Walking up the wash reminded me heavily of the Hayduke Trail, where rocky and sandy washes were much of the trail. I excel at uneven terrain and finding my own way, so hiking up the wash was much more fun than normal trail. It was also so bizarre to imagine the ankle deep stream running down the center as the raging torrent above our heads and 100 feet wide that was recently here.
We made good progress early on, though we were quickly gaining elevation. We decided to continue to push on this short day rather than draw it out so we could be relaxing in camp at high elevation when the temperature soared. So, we only stopped briefly a couple of times.
Cookie Monster and I were hiking near each other for part of the day, but since the wash allowed much interpretation as to the best way up it, our paths drew apart and back together as we just picked the paths that felt most right to each of us.
It definitely warmed up as the day progressed, and I didn’t take any electrolytes today. Eventually that caught up with me and I started flagging. Some electrolyte chews had me going again in minutes. It’s amazing how impactful the right electrolyte balance is when you are sweating out here in the sun.
I got ahead of Justice and finished out the day, arriving at our planned campsite around noon. It was pretty early, and we did consider pushing on, but next is a steep exposed scramble followed by deep snow, and we decided it would be best to stick with our plan and tackle that in the cooler morning rather than the hottest part of the day. So we relaxed around camp for the whole afternoon. There was running water, so I got washed up and scrubbed my clothes best I could, probably contaminating the stream for all time even though I didn’t use soap.
Some hikers came and went, and some hikers we hadn’t seen for a bit joined us for the night.
Towards night, a ton of other hikers showed up as well and camped in the wash. I had wondered when the bubble we knew was behind us would catch up, and now we know. There were so many people that I didn’t even want to approach them to see who was there. I struggle with there being a crowd in the wilderness.
I really enjoyed the choose your own adventure of a hike today; it was more fun than challenging. I am also surprised how quickly I am settling into spending time relaxing at camp without even needing to entertain myself. I seem to be able to endlessly stare at the mountains and landscape this trip and relax which is fantastic.