Week 2: Hiking with New Friends: Day 6 -- 10

Day 6: April 9 - I meet some new friends

I got a late start. Again... sigh... I had hoped to be on trail by 10. Unfortunately, it took me longer than expected to get my first blog post uploaded, so it was a bit after 11 before I got back on trail. 

I made pretty good time for the first few hours. At 2 PM, I met Karina (pronounced Care ee nah) from Hamburg, Germany and Shalena, a former Army mechanic from Portland, Oregon. 

I had originally planned to hike 11.6 miles to the Pioneer Mail Picnic Area. Unfortunately, with my late start, there was no way I would make it there before dark. For the 11.6 miles between Mount Laguna and Pioneer Mail, you are only allowed to camp in designated campsites. Knowing we wouldn't make it to Pioneer Mail, we opted for the Laguna Campground, a bit over 7 miles from Mount Laguna.

We arrived around 4 PM, and hiked to our campsite. It costs $32 to camp in the campground, but Jeanette from Australia had already paid for a site that had room for 8 tents, so we joined her. We were later joined by a couple from The Netherlands, so Jeanette only asked for $5 to share the campsite.

Jeanette, Shalena, the Dutch Couple, Karina

Deal !! As we ate dinner at the campsite picnic table, everyone wondered what was making the loud racket in the trees. There is a large group of Acorn Woodpeckers that live in the area ( Acorn Woodpeckers are unique among the American Woodpeckers in that they are highly social )

Not my photo. I wish it was.

. They also have a habit of chiseling holes in trees, into which they jam acorns. The holes they create give the trees a rather unusual appearance. We also saw several Tree Swallows swooping by to catch some of the insects flying around. We obviously had no problem with mosquitos. We were all tucked into our sleeping bags by 7:30.

Day 7 - April 10: I climb Garnet Peak

I didn't sleep well last night. I just couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in. In spite of that I wasn't really tired during the day. We woke at 6 and started hiking a bit after 7. 

At 9 AM, I reached the side trail to Garnet Peak and decided to hike the half mile to the top.

Halfway to the top of Garnet Peak. The "top" you see is only a false summit.

We had discussed it earlier, and the ladies had decided to pass. Wise call. I was half a mile ahead of them when I reached the trail junction. They passed the junction before I was halfway up the trail. It is a steep trail and the last 100 feet or so required some scrambling and climbing. In all it took me about 45 minutes to get to the top. I was rather surprised to meet a pair of dayhikers at the top.

Mountaintop Selfie. Sorry for the lack of a smile. I was exhausted.

The views were great, and I took several photos before descending back to the PCT.

Looking East from Garnet Peak

Looking North from Garnet Peak. Mt San Jacinto is just right of center on the horizon.

In all, it took me 1:15 to hike up Garnet Peak and back. I caught up with Karina and Shalena, and we hiked to the Pioneer Mail Picnic Area, where we had lunch and refilled our water bottles.

Karina reading a sign showing how far we've come, ... and how far we have to go.

We saw a lot of hikers today, in contrast with the 3 or 4 we saw yesterday. There must have been at least a dozen hikers at Pioneer Mail.

After lunch, we started hiking on the original route of the Sunrise Highway between Julian and Mount Laguna that was built in the 1920s.

Part of the original Sunrise Highway.

Seeing all the boulders on the old roadbed made it easy to understand why the highway was rerouted in the 1970s. At various spots along the old roadway, there are memorials to people from the area who have passed away.

Karina or Shalena thought that the memorials might be for people whose ashes were scattered from the old roadway. I must admit, if I lived in the area, I wouldn't mind having my ashes scattered from the old roadbed. It's beautiful country.

We kept hiking until 3:30 when we reached a campsite that was near where the trail crossed a dirt road near a stream. We gathered water for tomorrow and pitched camp. All in all we hiked 10.5 miles (the longest distance so far for Karina and Shalena).

Day 8: April 11 - Long, Hard Hike

We woke up at 6, enjoyed a chilly sunrise, and started hiking by 7.

Sunrise from camp.

Our goal for today was to hike to two different water tanks along the trail. The first one was only 5 miles for our camp over gently rolling terrain with climbs and descents that weren't difficult or hard.

Karina and Shalena take a quick break.

We reached the first tank at the Mason Valley Truck Trail around 11. We rested in the shade, refilled our water bottles, and ate a little. 

Getting to the second tank was a lot harder. Within a half mile, the trail started a steep, one mile, 800 foot descent into a canyon. It was hot ! You wouldn't think 70 degrees was hot, but trust me, when you are toting a 25 pound pack, 2 liters of water, and you are fighting to maintain your balance on a steep, slope with some loose rock, it gets really warm, really quick.

We had an unexpected bonus at the bottom of the canyon. As we descended the trail, we could occasionally see hikers resting in the shade at the bottom. When we got there, not only was there shade, there was a stream to get water ! We rested for a bit, ate some lunch, and collected more water. 

We then started up the long hard, climb out of the canyon. The first half mile was on a dirt road that was more washout than road. We hiked slowly because of the heat and the steep climb, taking much needed "shade breaks" whenever we could. As we hiked up the road, we were passed by two men in pickup trucks. One of the men asked if we needed water. We were good because we had just filled up at the bottom of the hill. After a half mile, we left the road and continued on the trail, still climbing but, at a gentler slope. 

Shalena leads the climb out of the canyon.

I was in the lead when we encountered our first rattlesnake. I was descending slightly on the trail when I planted the tip of my trekking pole near a rock. Coiled up in the shade, next to the rock, hidden in the shadows was the rattlesnake. It was very upset about being disturbed and slithered off into the bushes rattling all the while. Karina and Shalena both got to see it before it disappeared from view. Needless to say, my "Rattlesnake Paranoia" went up a notch. I poked and tapped every bush that was close to the trail after that.

About 5 PM we reached our destination, a campsite with a watertank. As we were relaxing and getting water, a young man went further along the trail, looking for a place to go "Number 1". He came running back, saying he had seen a large swarm of bees. We decided it was a good thing we were camping where we were. The only drawback to our campsite were the "neighbors". Mice. There were mouse holes everywhere.

Notice my neighbors accomodations....

There were two mouseholes just inches from my tent. I put all my food, soap, toothpaste, etc in my bearcan. I then put my hipsack outside the tent with all the pockets unzipped, so any inquisative mouse could investigate without chewing holes in my gear.

OK Mice, if you can get anything from here, it's yours. Go ahead, make my day.

I had a chat with Shalena and Karina, and it looks like I will be hiking alone after we reach Julian. I have to make it to Idyllwild by the 20th ( when my local permit expires ), which means I have to cover 80 miles in 7 days. Shalena has an ankle and knee that are giving her problems, so long ( 12 mile plus ) days are going to be hard for her. We made reservations for Stagecoach Trails RV Park for tomorrow and Saturday. We will do some shopping and sightseeing in Julian on Saturday. There is an 1870s Gold Mine we want to see.

Day 9: April 12 - Man it's hot out !

We woke up at 6 AM and checked our gear for mouse damage ( I had heard a few scurrying around in the night ). Nothing was damaged.

Brr ! It's cold this morning !

So we packed up and started hiking. You might have noticed that I am not reporting the total elevation changes for each day. I just learned that I can't totally trust the elevation numbers that I get from the FarOut ap. Once, I checked how far it was to our destination and it showed the distance ( 3 miles or so ). It also showed that there was a drop of 200 feet or so between where I was and our destination. It didn't say anything about the 40 to 50 foot climb that was just ahead of us.

Some of the Cacti along the trail.

The second snake of the hike. Totally harmless. Pacific Gopher Snake ?

We started hiking a bit after 7, while it was still cool. It quickly warmed up, and ended up taking several shade breaks so we didn't overheat. 

Who knows how far these hikers have gone?

About 2 miles from the road we were hiking towards, Shalena found the perfect place for a shade break, a low rock overhang that could easily shelter 5 people from the sun.

Karina and Shalena resting under the rock.

I will confess, I had underestimated how much water I needed, so by the time we got to the shade rock, I only had 3 or 4 sips of water left. I was so tired, I didn't want to eat. Karina, reminded me that I must eat, and so I did. As we rested in the shade, we were joined by several other hikers, including some young men who were doing 20 or more miles a day.

At 2 PM, we made the final push to the Great Southern Overland Stage Road. I could tell Shalena's ankle was bothering her, as she wasn't hiking as fast as she can.

The final push to the Great Southern Overland Stage Road.

When we reached the road, we tried for about 5 minutes to thumb a ride. About a dozen cars passed us before the Trail Angel "Fossil Lady" picked us up and gave us a ride to the RV campsite where we had reservations. We showered, did laundry, and had some food ( they had pizza that was hard from being inthe warmer to long, I had an Italian sandwich that was fairly decent.

Day 10: April 13 - There's Gold in Those Hills !

At 9:30 a Trail Angel picked us up and gave us a ride into Julian. Along the way, he picked up two more hikers and gave us good advise on how to spot and avoid rattlesnakes. When we arrived in Julian, he gave us the " 3 Block Tour " (bonus points if you caught the TV show reference) before dropping us off. 

We went to the Post Office so Shalena and Karina could mail stuff home. We then walked into town to do a little sightseeing and shopping. A lotvof businesses give free items or reduced prices to through hikers. We started at "Mom's Pies" where we were given a free slice of pie ( our choice of fruit and crust ), a free scope of ice cream, and a free drink.

Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

We then scouted the market and the grocery store before walking up to the local gear store, 2 Foot Adventures. 

I got really lucky. I had left my camera bag in a public restroom and Karina asked me where my camera bag was. I was able to rush back to the restroom and get it back. Whew !! Thanks Karina !! After doing some shopping, we decided to tour the Eagle mine which is a short 10 minute walk from Main Street. I was going to pay my tour fee with a credit card, when I realized that I had left it at 2 Foot Adventures. Geez ! If my head wasn't physically attached to my neck I definately would have lost it today !

The Eagle Mine started in 1870, and was the beginning of the Julian Gold Rush.

There's Gold in this rock. The hard part is getting it out.

Panning for gold isn't that easy.

At one point there were 200 Gold Mines operating in the Julian area. Before we toured the mine, we got to try our hand at panning for Gold. Shalena did fairly well, but I came up empty. 

Watch your head.

The "Bathroom"

The Assayers workbench. This is how they separated the Gold from the other metals.

The Eagle Mine was one of the most profitable mines in the area. To break even, a hard rock gold mine had to extract 1 ounce of gold from each ton of rock it crushed. The Eagle Mine usually got 2 ounces of Gold per ton of rock, and once they reached the Star Vein, the miners were extracting as much as 12 ounces of rock per ton of rock crushed. The Eagle Mine closed in 1937.

After the tour, I quickly walked back to 2 Foot Adventures. As I walked in the door, the owner was on the phone. When he saw me come in, he reached in a drawer, pulled out my credit card and handed it to me. He said that when I walked in, he was talking to a young woman who had left her credit card in the store. All's Well as Ends Well. Back to the trail tomorrow.