Pacific Crest Trail: Southern Sierra: Day 2: Golden Oak Spring to Robin Bird Spring

Pacific Crest Trail

Day 2: Mile 583.2 to 602

Sunrise through the tent.

Sunrise over the mountains.

Windmills in the distance.

Tons of Vestas Wind Systems windmills.

First 6 miles were lot of windmills.

Enjoying the mountains and desert.

Big weather station.

Desert flowers in the summer heat.

And into the forest.

Shade is wonderful.

There's a handful of homes in the distance.

Casa de Oso. I think there's a private cabin buried deeper in the woods...

Make a wish.

The day's end point, Robin Bird Spring.

Campsite above Robin Bird Spring.

Cooking dinner.

Travis' favorite, Sapporo ramen.

Freeze-dried pasta. Ummm edible?

Day 2 is the long day, 18.8 miles planned from Golden Oak Spring to Robin Bird Spring.

We get an earlier start at least, and get to enjoy sunrise over the ridge. Manage to shatter 10 miles before 10am and end up doing 13 miles by noon. Two steep climbs definitely suck, and by noon even Travis is wiped out. A shorter break than yesterday because there's still plenty of miles and plenty of elevation to go... fortunately none of the afternoon's climbs are all that bad in the end-- even with the heat.

We see a lot more trees today, although there's still plenty of scrub, especially the first couple of miles, as the trail descends out of Golden Oak Spring. Some evidence of private structures shows as the boundary into Sequoia National Forest is crossed, although it's not at all obvious from the trail; a "Casa de Oro" is nearly completely hidden. Not too much further beyond, Robin Bird Spring is slightly further than the 18.8 miles on the map. Call it just over 19 miles, plus another 100 yards off the trail to the spring. It's another superb campsite, no squirrels, but still plenty of mosquitoes. *sigh*

Further wandering shows we're right near a disused cattle pen, not far from Jawbone Canyon Road, and again some nice views, although camp itself is pretty wooded with not much of a view as a result. The weather in the evenings is perfect, and makes the the usual freeze dried backpacking dinner quite enjoyable. Travis even brings out his packaged ramen for extra calories. (yum?!)