An early morning stroll. (Doesn't
this look a bit like a Maxfield
Parrish painting? "Daybreak II"
starring Scott the backpacking
nymph. Oh, well...it was worth
a try.)
Scott walks along a
trail dynomited into
the cliffs.
Wouldn't you know,
Amy gets to walk along
along a dynomited cliff
too!
There's Palm Springs
again!
With a face like that,
it's gotta be bad.
Looking west at Taquitz
Rock.
This was our favorite day of hiking so far. After about 10 miles, we came to a major trail junction of about 5 trails. A forestry employee was standing there keeping people from heading east down two of the trails. A fire had started several days ago and it was contained and still smoldering. We hadn't seen smoke, so it must have been almost out. He was glad to see us because he had to stay there all day directing traffic and it gets a little dull, so Amy to the rescue! I know you are thinking "poor guy!" but we had a good conversation. We learned all about fire fighting and he learned all about blister care products. I whipped out my impressive array of supplies (I could take my show on the road) I showed him how to use Spenco Second Skin (only the best for your feet). He was looking to buy enough for his entire division. (He even took notes during my presentation.) Spenco should give me free supplies--this is the second time in a week I've turned someone onto their products.
He shared some firefighting information with us which I will pass along. As is the case in many areas, inmates from minimum-security prisons are recruited to help fight fires. For every day spent fighting a fire, the inmate's sentence is reduced by one day. This is a popular program and inmates usually queue up for an opportunity to participate. This is not the case, however, when there is a fire in the San Jacintos. Oh, sure, the inmates are enthusiastic at first, but that changes quickly. The point of entry into the mountains is almost always the Devils Slide Trail from the Idlywild area. The inmates climb up the trail each morning and return again each evening. On day one, many can't make the climb refuse to go further. At this point, they have to be escorted immediately back to the bus below. This happens over and over again. By day 3, often over half have dropped out. The San Jacintos have one of the highest dropout rates for inmate firefighting recruits in the State. We aren't stopping in Idlywild. Trails with the words "devil" and "slide" in their names don't warm me to them. However, I am glad to know that it sounds like I am in better shape than many prison inmates.
Later, we stopped to eat lunch. We generally eat our hot meal during the day and something cold at night. Not only does this allow us to cook near a water source, but we can also hike later in the evening without having to worry about cooking.
Just what I was looking for: a longer hiking day.
I always cook at home, but on the trail, Scott cooks. Well, I decided that I would cook this time. I did a number of things wrong, but it is difficult when someone is watching your every move with narrowed eyes and making wincing faces and noises. Really builds the confidence. I did start a small pine needle fire, but this was doused well. I don't know how this happened--I had scraped all the duff back to mineral earth--I swear. [This was an especially impressive feat, since the ground under the stove had been soaked with water and the better part of that meal's seasoning packet when Amy had tipped over the pot earlier. I'd say that justified one set of WIDE eyes, one wince and several noises. -Scott]
Can you imagine me starting a fire while they are trying to put out another one? At least all the fire fighters would already be here.
We camped at 8,600 feet on windy Fuller Ridge and put the tarp tent up. Outside it was really cold but we were warm and snug in our little tent. (corny but true)