BEST DAY YET!
I woke up in a giant old growth pine forest and started out hiking well groomed trails of soft dirt and pine duff. There was a ridge early in the day that had concerned both John and I in our planning. We figured there could be snow and ice. As it turned out there were only a few patches, and none hard to traverse. The ridge led out to Coon Creek Jumpoff and a great view of my progress over the last few days (pictured). The foreground shows the rim of the canyon I spent yesterday climbing. In the middle ground is San Gorgonio Pass, with San Jacinto in the background. After that, there was some modest elevation gain, but the trails were mostly level and shaded, and the day cool with a gentle breeze. I felt like Goldilocks, never getting the right combination of conditions. Too hot or too cold, too windy or too still, too much uphill or too much downhill. Today was juuust right, and the miles flew by.
As I approached Onyx Peak I came across a cool little ranch. I was just admiring it as I hiked past when I noticed a corral area ahead. Not thinking much of it I put my head down and pressed on. When I looked back up I was much closer. I could see this was no corral; there were cages, and in one of them was a tiger staring back at me. I did a double-take and still thought I was seeing things. Then I saw other cages with a lion, and two with grizzly bears (pictured). I saw some people working at the ranch and asked them about the collection of deadly animals. Apparently this is where Hollywood keeps some of the trained animals that are too big to go anywhere else. These folks were preparing for a shoot with a cougar set for tomorrow. So not only are these animals impressive to watch, they are celebrities to boot.
Eventually I tore myself away from the animals and resumed hiking until my water ran out around mile 17. I was shocked how far my water lasted, but then I realized that was only because I was comparing it to yesterday's consumption. Given the heat and uphill climb I had gone through 7 liters of water and was still thirsty. Imagine that - 3.5 two liter soda bottles and still not enough! While I was stopped I ran into a young guy named Francis, here from Michigan. He has the same problems with his feet that I did in Idyllwild. He skipped the section north from Idyllwild over the mountain, which I guess is what all the sane people did.
Shortly after departing again the trail joined a dirt road. I nicknamed it snake road because in the five minutes I was on it I saw a mountain king snake and my second rattler of the trip (pictured). The funny thing is, the mountain king snake came after me a few feet, trying to chase me off, while the deadly snake couldn't even be bothered to rattle at me. I read that during a rattlesnake phobia, people went out and killed every rattler they could find. Unfortunately the most conspicuous species of rattler is the kind that rattles. There is a second kind that gives very little warning prior to striking that is, thanks to human intervention, now the most prevalent.
The trail led downhill, and with the decrease in elevation the entire ecosystem shifted. Old growth pine became pinyon pine, and dirt gave way to rock and gravel trails. Soon I was in a high desert chaparral. I began seeing cacti, indian paintbrush, Mormon Tea plants, and (most exciting for me) joshua trees. By the way, these aren't the stunted little joshua trees that I've seen in the Mojave or up by Death Valley. These get a bit more water and are huge!
You may think of Big Bear City and wonder what I'm talking about with all this high desert stuff. The lakes runs east-west, from mountains that cause a rain shadow to lower rolling hills that are on the receiving end of the rain shadow. Those hills also form the buffer between the snowy peaks of the mountains to the south and west, and the Mojave lying to the north and east (pictured). The result is strange, because as the trail arcs northwest I find myself transitioning from desert back into pine forest. In fact, my campsite tonight is somewhere between the two and has some unique features of each.
I stopped for an awesome trailside dinner (pictured). Instant rice, dehydrated garlic, onion, and asparagus. Topped with bacon bits and Knorr hollendais sauce. I didn't have milk or butter for the sauce, which made it taste somewhat like lemon chicken sauce over rice. A new favorite!
Speaking of camp, I made it 29 miles today, which puts me about 7 short of Big Bear. I should be in town tomorrow for a resupply and a night of relaxation. Meanwhile I am enjoying Doble Spring Camp, which has plenty of firewood (of which I am availing myself) and a pretty darn nice toilet. This is living!
