Snow to Sand

Last night was sooo windy.  Not the best nights sleep. I actually love sleeping in the cold...but wind... It's a little unsettling. And it blew one of my flip flops out from under my vestibule of my tent and hid it somewhere. Yesterday, we hiked up San Jacinto Peak across some snow, but we knew Fuller Ridge was still ahead for today. 

Woke up this morning and started packing and there was a guy cowboy camping!! (Meaning no tent. Just a sleeping bag on the ground) it's great on a beautiful starry night, but on a windy cold night? Yikes!! It's amazing how much warmth a tent can provide even though it's just a thin sheet of nylon.  After sleeping up at about 9000 feet, the trek down Fuller Ridge was tough! 

Our first few miles were a little treacherous. Frozen snow and ice. I have microspikes but they are at home waiting for the Sierras. Sure would have come in handy for a few hours today! It was slow going but after a few falls and butt slides, we were down out of the snow.

After those first few miles, we started working our way down to the desert and it was a long,waterless haul. About a 20 mile stretch with no water. It took us 24 miles and 8000 feet to get down to the desert floor and we hiked in the shadow of San Jacinto Peak, literally the whole day. 

Up on that snowy peak is where we started the day. Our longest hiking day so far.

But today we also passed...

200 Miles!!

At about mile 18 we came to a water spigot and everyone sat in the shade of a big Boulder and guzzled water. 

The last five miles were in late afternoon across the desert floor. It was definitely one of those times that tests just how hardy you are. 

At about 6:30 we arrived at the home of Ziggy and the Bear. A wonderful couple who welcome hikers to cowboy camp in their carpeted back yard. Yep...I said cowboy camp. It's a beautiful, warm, starry night here in the desert and their house faces right out at San Jacinto peak. They take pics and info of everyone that stays here, and if we finish this whole journey and send them a postcard, we get a gold star by our picture :) Motivation. View of the yard tonight. 

Tomorrow we encounter fire closure #2 and this one has no option for a reroute, so we have to figure out a ride to Big Bear Lake from here.

But for now, it's 8:57 and Ziggy says its lights out at 9:00, so I gotta wrap it up!