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Stopped at: mile 180.2 Miles today: 19.9
I headed towards the San Bernadino National Forest at 6:10 am with a power bar supplying the morning energy. Generally, rolling up the sleeping pad was the most tedious task in the morning because sometimes it just wouldn't roll into a nice tight bundle for the stuff sack.
Up in the mountains poking out of the vast surrounding desert, I could see houses and lakes- how beautiful they were. This was definitely not the desert I became accustomed to. Down below, there was a water tank which I thought the trail heads through.
By 10:00 am, I rested and ate the last of the food save some slices of bread. The town of Idyllwild was still 15 miles away, but would seem even further on an empty stomach. Was I the most irresponsible PCT thru-hiker (to myself) ever when it came to food and water on the trail?
Three miles before Apache Spring Trail (PCT sometimes consisted of other trails) became the most monstrous climb on the trail yet! Over 2000 feet of climb, and they don't fool around with switchbacks here- just continual upward torture. This must have been the answer to my irriations about too many switchbacks on the trail. Worst, it wasn't just one mountain, it was 2 mountains- climb up one only to descend and climb the next.
Whoever decided to blaze the Apache Spring Trail must have had a rough day and wanted to take vengeance on others. The first 1000 feet was managable, but after every false apex, my volition dwindled with each unseen peak. Even the moderate climbs became agony with dread of a steeper climb ahead.
I ran out of water before approaching the Apache Spring Trail and finally reached the .5 mile detour to the spring after peaking the trail. Ahead and moving slowing around the ridge was a hiker with hiking poles. This person must own the footprints I've been trailing for the past 2 days. I'll probably meet up with him later today in Idyllwild.
The path down to the spring .5 miles away was extremely steep. I wondered if there was really any water ahead because the trail didn't seem to bottom out within the half mile. I began to get agitated and worried, "Where would water gather here?" I attempted desperately to hear any running streams.
After 15-20 minutes, I came to a huge dead tree covering the trail and really lost hope thinking this was the end of the trail at the half mile point. Climbing over the tree, there it was! I had expected something grand, something scenic, something amazing like a strong flowing creek, but the water source was just a pipe dripping water into a small square block of woods. Regardless of it's lack of magnificence, I filtered .75 litres immediately and gulped it down like a fish which had been out of water.
After sastifying my thirst and filtering 3 litres to carry, I rested under the umbrella not wanting to climb out of the watering hole on an empty stomach- I would have to reach deep into the mental reserves (if anything was left) to return to the trailhead. It was just so much simpler to sit under the smelting sun wondering if I could ever leave. I was now a prisoner of the weather and hunger.
Two voices were discussing the tree blocking the path as though it was the end of the trail. "The water is over here!" I notified them. I had not expected anyone to come down the arduous water trail.
Wayne and Pat were a married couple day hiking and checking on the water source. Wayne and his buddies were planning a 4-day hike through this area in June and wanted to verify the water source. (The spring was supposedly a reliable water source.) Pat was a registered nurse and Wayne was a trader.
While we chatted, they reached for some energy bars and offered me one, and I gracefully accepted without pretense. We discussed a little more about backpacking and living in California. When they got married, they bought their first home for $14,000, but now the house was worth about $300,000. I was sure the California property boom made many, many individuals wealthy.
When Pat got up to leave, she saw a rattlesnake twisting along right behind me in the bushes! The venomous creature was heading towards the small spring, and I was very fortunate not to be bitten becase it was only a feet away. We snuck a peak to see the beautiful black rattler winding through the thick shrubs. It was the biggest rattlesnake any of us had seen.
As they were preparing to leave, I thanked them again for the energy bar, "This will come in handy because I only had some slices of bread left." I realized the moment I said that, I must have been trying to indirectly panhandle; however, that wasn't my intention, but rather a genuine appreciation of our encounter. Maybe it was my subconscious saying, "You buffoon, give them a hint you are out of food!"
Wayne reopened his zip-lock food bag and generously offered another energy bar. They left 20 minutes before me and should make the climb without trouble since they had no gear.
Just when I had nothing, someone unexpectedly came along and offered something. I was truly lucky today because Wayne and Pat could have returned to their parked car 5 miles from the detour to the spring and not have descended the steep hill to examine the water source.
I gobbled one of the 2 energy bars to reenergize for the power climb out of the bottom dwelling. I picked up a stick to help with the tedious climb. If someone decides to ever build a hiker museum, that stick should be enshrined and left at the entrance for visitors to awe: "This is the stick which assisted a hiker ascend from a bottomless pit through excruciating circumstances beyond the realm of human comprehension." Maybe that would be a slight overstatement.
Many miles of the PCT afterwards were fairly moderate and scenic. With barely an hour of daylight left, I reached the base of Tahquitz Peak with a 500 feet climb to the top. I had eaten the last energy bar to make it this far and only had the 3 slices of bread left, which I ate quickly before attacking the climb. After the climax, it was all downhill towards the town of Idyllwild!
At Saddle Junction, there was a sign pointing to the town off the trail, but no roads nearby- it appeared to be a long walk to town (and then a long walk back to the trailhead). At 9:00 pm, I gave up on reaching the town although the lights from the small community down below beaconed like a lighthouse.
The soil in this area is fragile and hikers are informed by signs to stay on the trail; however, I found a slightly sloping patch of hard soil to set up camp just off the trail. Tonight, I would go to bed hungry, but I positioned myself for downhill walking tomorrow morning.
