No, it's not Deja vu...we are
shamelessly re-using a picture
because we took no pictures
today. Besides, the terain
looked like this for quite a
bit of the day, just on the
other side of the canyon.
We set out with heavy packs laden with food for 6 days and enough water to get us through a dry stretch of nearly 23 miles. And it was uphill all the way. In the early morning, the hiking went well, but by midmorning, the climb had steepened and we switchbacked endlessly up a shadeless mountain in increasing heat.
While stopped resting on the ridge, we looked down and saw that a fire had started in the area we had walked through only hours before. (No, I had not cooked in that area.) It was small at first, but as the wind picked up, it spread. Luckily, we were up far enough and out of danger, so we continued on.
I was growing increasingly upset with my hiking abilities. The climb and heat were wearing me out and my hiking pace seemed very slow. We stopped and ate a cold meal to conserve water and kept on. Finally, when we were just a few miles from our destination, we came to an overlook where we could see all the way back to our starting point that morning at Interstate 15. The only things distinguishable on the freeway were tiny big rigs. You could almost trace our route into the hills, up more than 5000 feet to where we sat now. It was impressive.
I remembered how earlier I had felt so sorry for myself as I hiked and now I'd done it. It was a great feeling.
Anyway, we finally finished the nearly 23 miles to Guffy Campground at dusk. It was too dark to look for the spring that was down the hill from the campground. We'd look for it in the morning. We lay in our bags and enjoyed a view of the lights from the L.A. basin before falling asleep.