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 two was a long, continuous uphill, from the campsite (PCT Mile 226) at 3,128 feet elevation for nearly 14 miles, up to PCT Mile 239.9 at 7,921 feet. Things felt great the first half of the day, although constant stream crossings and bushwhacking the overgrown trail really slowed us.
As we entered the area of the Lake Fire, and even before-- call it after lunch-- let's just say the constant uphill results in a great all-day calf workout. *grins*
I think we had a brief respite of flat for maybe one-fifth of a mile somewhere around mile 10 today (PCT Mile 234) but that was it. Ended up hauling butt to try to make it to camp before it got dark. Saw some cool purple-ish brush things as we pushed through the Lake Fire area, but didn't have time to appreciate it, not with the amount of fallen trees we had to deal with... at least they'd cleared the biggest ones!
Mission Creek Trail Camp (PCT Mile 239.9) is well-developed, beautiful campsite complete with multiple tables, fire rings, and an absolutely frigid spring a few hundred yards away. It was something out of a fantasy movie-- forest everywhere, very dry, and then wall to wall ice!
Camping at 7,900 feet was decidedly unpleasant compared to the night before. Sub-freezing temps (we saw as low as 26 degrees F) and exhaustion took their toll, although we had a great time relaxing that night. Most trips have been fair-weather for us, not winter, and this was definitely a good experience for everyone.