The decision to cowboy camp last night was the right one. The gusty wind blew all night. I could see it jerking Seven’s tent all night. Meanwhile, I slept cozy in my quilt under the stars. In the early morning Cygnus rose above me. Cygnus is the constellation I am fondest of on the trail because I learned it’s name on the first night of my hike two years ago. It straddles a darkish gap in the Milky Way. The holding power of a swan’s bite leads me to believe that tenacious Cygnus probably keeps the Milky Way from blowing away like that lawn ornament you forgot to bring inside before the last hurricane.
The effect of the heat on my body seems to have gone. I was not able to eat my ramen last night so I stash it in my pack for lunch.
The plan
We are two miles south of Back Canyon Road and Miller Spring which is one mile down the road. We have enough water to go by the spring and reach Robin Bird Spring ten miles away. There we will drink to our hearts content, have lunch and continue on the our final destination – Landers Camp, where there is more water.
The early hike
Dealer summarized yesterdays hike in two words: shrubs and wind farms. I won’t argue with her about that. If the trail gods are merciful, we would like to avoid that today.
We pass the road that leads down to Miller Spring. We don’t take it, but we notice a strange object nearby. As the assigned investigator of strange objects, I stroll up to it.
Remember those monoliths in 2001: A Space Oddessy? This seems to be a gray version of those. Either that or it’s the worlds largest toilet. It bears strange symbols – eggbeaters? I don’t touch it for fear that I might flush myself into a neighboring galaxy.
The temperature is really nice this morning – high 50’s I guess. This kind of trail is fun in cool weather; unfun in the heat.
We have three early climbs on our way to water. We always put Seven in front on climbs, because unlike Dealer and myself who think that climbs are a curse, Seven just sees them as more trail. We follow Seven up.
Eventually we see something we have been missing since before Agua Dulce – real trees! Not those bush-like things. We have entered Sequoia National Forest. Perhaps we will see more of real trees. We covet trees for their shade and for the slightly lower temperatures they create through transpiration.
The higher we go, the better the views, but also the lower our water.
Our 20-mile water carry is coming to an end. Can’t you tell how excited I am?
Water!
We reach Robin Bird Spring. The pipe in the ground produces about 1 liter a minute. We line up with everyone else to collect. More hikers show up and soon the spring area is filled with people all laying around eating their lunches and sharing stories of the trail. Food and clothing are big topics. But first on everyone’s mind is the plan for skipping the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The snow amounts in the Sierra Nevada are forcing everyone to find other places on the trail to hike. Everyone seems to have a different plan.
Down to camp
The trail turns rather beautiful in a foresty kind of way. Tall conifers line the trail.
Gray rounded boulders cluster together along the trail in little boulder families.
Carpets of tiny flowers no larger than sequins make it difficult to step off the trail for fear of stomping their little heads.
I would love for the trail to continue like this. It is looking more and more like the Sierras.
But nobody ever gets exactly what they want on this trail. Tomorrow it will be back to desert terrain with more long water carries.
But whatever it is, it’s gonna be good
- June 18, 2023
- Starting marker: 592.8
- Ending marker: 610.1
- Miles hiked today: 17
- Total PCT miles: 580
A word on Seven. Seven is relentlessly optimistic. His optimism can be expressed in a number of ways. Here is my favorite from today:
Seven stops hiking. He is staring at the ground. “What is it?” I ask. “A snake,” he says. “But don’t worry it’s not a rattlesnake.” Dealer walks up, “I dreamed about a snake last night”, she says. “Was it good?” Servín asks. “ It was a green. It was a Mojave Green,” she said. A Mojave green is the most poisonous rattlesnake in the US. “Was it good?” Seven repeats. Dealer is puzzled. How could it be good? “Was the dream good?” Seven clarifies. “Did you make friends with the snake?” Insistently Dealer replies, “It was a nightmare.” How could a dream about a snake be anything else, she seems to imply. We all move on.