The second week saw a slight bump in miles per day, and I’m starting to feel stronger. I left town with 3 other hikers – Andrew, Alicia, and Britt – and have been hiking with them for most of the last week.
I’ve done a few 15-16 mile days, with shorter days around Warner Springs and coming out of Julian. The desert is slowly becoming more mountainous as we approach San Jacinto. Water remains scarce, with most of my water coming from “artificial” sources – water tanks caches, or taps. Only a few streams to fill up from.
I’m taking a somewhat unplanned zero in Idyllwild at mile 151 courtesy of a couple I hiked with who was section hiking the first 110 miles to Warner Springs. They have a cabin in Idyllwild, and were in town when we rolled in. With some weather coming on Friday, taking a zero will put us lower on San Jacinto when the rain and wind comes in.
My next stop is Cabazon in 60 miles, then Big Bear in another 60 miles. The next post will probably come from Big Bear in 1.5 weeks time.
