Let's start with a couple of minor corrections from yesterday. First, obviously I didn't figure out the wifi at the ranger station, so that wasn't the last post prior to Big Bear City. Second, after careful review of my map, I believe I hiked closer to 9 miles, not 10.7.
Also, I forgot to describe the nature preserve, which was one of the nicest I've ever seen. It used to be a trout hatchery before being taken over as a preserve. There are still two beatiful ponds loaded with the biggest trout you're likely to see. 18" easy (pictured). Nearby is a spring fed wading pool, a garden of local plants, a mounted low power telescope, and some cool inscribed boulders (pictured).
John was nice enough to get up early and see me off. He brought me a new nozzle for my water system, which saved me a lot of headache today. He also loaded me with leftover burritos, avocados, tomato, limes, an orange, and ground beef. I dumped a couple pounds of my old energy bars to accomodate the new goodies.
I hit the trail around 6:45, heading up river before turning east and up the rim of the canyon. The trail put me two canyons over, where the trail follows Mission Creek up into the mountains. 7 miles into my day I stopped for a breakfast of half a carne asada burrito, an orange, and a lime. I also ran into Frank from Idyllwild. He had tried to head back to Pines to Palms highway and hike through the mountains from where he left off. Apparently he had a rough go of it, so he came back down and hitched a ride into Palm Springs. He must have then gotten a ride to highway 10 the day before I got there.
I decided when my water ran out I would stop again for water and lunch. With the sun beating down I was sweating profusely and drinking constantly, so it didn't take long. I stopped and had half a bean burrito and an avocado while my water was filtering. Around my 23rd time crossing the stream (no exaggeration, the trail winds back and forth across the stream) I was coming up the embankment when I heard a rattling. Saw my first rattlesnake of the trip, and boy was he a big one!
About 17 miles in the sun was getting to me, not to mention the trail had been uphill literally all day. I stopped at a campsite to filter water, cook dinner, and wait for the sun to dip below the rim of the canyon. I made ground beef with avocado, tomato, and a spritz of lime. Thanks John, it was bitchin!
Frank caught up as I was lounging. The campsite was his destination for the day. We chatted about history, nature, and any other subject that came to mind. I learned that Frank is 60, from Seattle, going solo, and has a timeshare ready for him in Big Bear City. He offered to let me stay there with him and his wife, though I will probably have left town by the time he gets there. Still, it was a nice offer.
Seeing there was not much daylight left I packed up and said my goodbyes. I wanted to get to a camp 5 miles further. Unfortunately it is also 1800 feet higher, and my muscles were already exhausted from a full day of uphill. I stumbled into camp just after dark, glad to finally arrive. I am rather proud of myself because today was one of the more strenuous days. I ended up hiking 22 miles and gaining 5500 feet in elevation. I am currently at 7900 feet elevation and roughly 241 miles from the Mexican border. And now some much needed sleep.
