Mojave - Day 3
Mojave - Day 2
Mojave - Day 1
San Jacinto - Day 2
San Jacinto - Day 1
San Jacinto - Day 0
Pacific Crest Trail
Day 2 of 3 days/40 miles on the PCT in Mojave. Turns out abbreviating the hike was a good idea-- had we done the originally planned 18 miles (instead of 10 miles) the first day, today would've been brutal!
We made great time the first day and did good the first few miles out of the planned 14 miles today, but going up and down a few little canyons meant a lot of up and down, plus a lot of washed out sections of trail due to the heavy winter rains... it all combined to slow us way down. The seasonal stream at Tyler Horse Canyon (mile 542) was still flowing though, and had a lovely flat spot and tree to rest under. Just two miles later (8 miles in, so about mile 540), we were hot and tired-- especially Cody, who was starting to overheat in his fur coat!
The remains of the Mojave super bloom this year were another beautiful change of scenery as we descended out of the mountains. The walk to our water cache at Cottonwood Creek Bridge (mile 535) lasted into the afternoon-- t'was hot but at least it finally began to cool off. Combined with the flat, the shade in nice lean-to built at the bridge, and our 10 gallons of water, we were good, and elected to load up on water and push on, 'cause the late afternoon is a lot cooler than 12 noon!
Not quite 4 miles later we setup camp on the desert scrub, enjoyed a nice little sunset, and ended up very pooped. At least it was a lot warmer at 4,000' elevation compared to 6,000' the previous night!