Hiking club – The walk

Last night we were thinking ahead and scheduled a Lyft to take us to the trailhead. We get up at 5:00 AM to say goodbye to Floki and Penguin who return to PVC to continue their trip before meeting us in Cabazon. Even though we’ll see them in just a couple of days, it feels like we’re parting ways forever. There is a storm system that could move through the area early this week. But they are smart, experienced hikers and will make good decisions.

Our vehicle wouldn’t leave until 8:00, so after saying goodbye, we slept some more. Cool Beans was a former fine dining chef in his past life. He made us coffee, eggs with cheddar cheese and bacon. I took another long, hot shower and packed my bag.

At the trailhead, we met a local 50+ hiking club. We weren’t too excited about having to walk 2.5 miles back to the PCT, so talking to them was a fun way to pass the time. Straight Up was leading the group and they asked a lot of questions about life on the trails and wanted to hear all our stories. We felt like trail celebrities. They even asked to take a photo with us and gave us a PB&J sandwich to snack on. It was a sweet and healthy morning stroll down Devil’s Slide.

We hiked to the San Jacinto Peak junction, where we had to make the decision whether to summit or not at game time. I was feeling great, but after a snack and some thought, I decided not to summit so as not to force the healing of my foot injury more than necessary. Cool Beans and Straight Up also decided to pass, but Bug was the determined and brave soul of the group to keep going. We made a plan to meet at Fuller Ridge Campground for the night and split up.

Cool Beans, Straight Up and I stayed together most of the day. Today was the first day I didn’t listen to audiobooks, music, or podcasts because we were talking the entire walk.

We arrived at camp around 5:00 pm and the weather began to change quickly. The wind picked up quite a bit and brought with it masses of clouds. I updated my Garmin forecast to see, thankfully, a 0% chance of precipitation overnight, but strong winds and freezing temperatures were expected into tomorrow morning.

I got into bed almost as soon as I got it ready. Tonight was definitely a solo dinner in the lobby to keep us warm and out of the wind. To prevent anything from freezing, I’ll have to sleep with some water, my electronics, my filter, and maybe even my clothes inside my sleeping bag. This will be the coldest night of the tour. I hope my layering system works as planned.

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