Day 12
June 1, 2000

Steep Trail and Biting Flies: Trail junction to springs to dry camp at head of Apple Canyon

Day 12 of Musli and soy
milk in the old ziplock.

Looking westward from the crest
of the divide. Lake Hemet, is
that you?

Climbing down to Apache Spring.
Yikes! How thirsty are we?

180 degrees in the other
direction reveals lush forests.
What a contrast!

Day 12 was a day filled with spectacular vistas, but few trail miles. The trail was beautiful, but steep and the day was very hot. During one particularly difficult ascent, these strange gray flies began to land on us and bite us. If you were moving, they weren't as bad, but when you stopped to rest, (which was often for me) they landed on you and bit hard. We solved that problem with DEET, rubbing it on our dirty legs, making us two greasy DEETballs.

We also had to detour for off-trail water at springs involving steep descents. The detour to one spring in particular (Apache Spring) was blocked with thorny shrubs and was so steep, that it appeared one wrong step would send you plummeting down into the town of Palm Springs, 6000 feet below.

Then, around 6 pm, strong winds came up, making hiking difficult, so we turned in early. We found a nice little flat spot in a patch of forest that looked just like a scene out of the Blair Witch Project. The eerie winds began playing tricks on my mind. While we were setting up camp, I turned, and Scott was nowhere to be found. I called and called and got no answer. Finally, after more calling, I heard a loud and really grumpy "WHAT?" and I then realized where he was and that he didn't want to be disturbed. (You could tell a girl if you're just going to take off like that, don't you think?)

Well, THAT incident was nothing like the movie. I have to admit to feeling a little disappointed and on that note, headed off to bed.

Back Outta here Next