Day 24 – 15 Apr 19. The Day of Snakes and Rivers

Today 32.3 km (20.1 mi), Total Distance 506.6 m (314.8 mi). 9 hours 20 minutes (0725-1645)

Once again it was a chilly morning with the temperature reading 4 degrees C. I was ready quickly and the first one away. Once walking it was much warmer than yesterday and I did not need gloves or a jacket.

I must have slept funny as my left glute was a little sore. There was a hill to start but it was not steep and was easy.

Then the trail was in an area of little hills so it went up, down and around. Each up or down was short ad it was nice to keep changing the terrain. It was back into more open terrain with only shrubs, thought they were overgrowing the track in some places.

The trail then dropped down to a bridge over a river. There were two hikers at the end of the bridge going through all their things as they thought they may have left their knife at their campsite. They were not interested in talking so. I continued on.

From now and for most of the rest of the day the trail was high above the river on the side of the hills. The river was called Mojave River on maps and also called Deep Creek.

It was nice being above the river, having the sound changing from a roar as it went down rapids to a quiet gurgle in-between.

My left shin now started making itself felt so I stopped and did some stretching, something I haven’t done for a while. It was better but I could still feel it was tight at random times during the day. Other than that I was feeling good. I was not pushing the pace but was making good time.

I startled a snake that was on the trail and it slithered into a bush but I could still see it. It was skinny and about 60 cm long, black with a yellow stripe each side of its back.

Snake 1

I stopped to put more sunscreen on and an older guy with a small pack said a quick hello and continued on at pace. Just as I was finishing a hiker I have met once before caught up. He was playing music out loud but turned it off when he saw me. I ended up walking behind him which I am not sure if it was entertaining or traumatising. He was a big guy and had obviously lost some weight as his trousers were hanging very low. As I was climbing the hill I looked up and had a view of his butt crack. It must have been uncomfortable walking with his trousers like that but he did not seem to notice. He also scuffed his feet which created big clouds of dust so I was literally chocking in his dust.
I could not take much of this so asked to pass and put on a burst of speed to get ahead.

It was only a few hundred meters and then a stream, not marked on Guthooks, appeared. It had lovely looking water so I stopped to filter and fill up my bottles. The older speedster was also there filling up his bottles, though one had a hole in it, likely from his microspikes. When I finished I went over to him and we chatted. He liked my crampon carrying case (plastic milk bottle) and was going to do something similar for his spikes. His trail name is FOG, short for F####n Old Guy. He seemed nice.

There was a marker post showing 300 miles.

I continued on, still above the river. Flowers had started appearing and I came to a great patch that I couldn’t stop taking photos of, it was so pretty.

Just around the corner I saw a Horny Toad Lizard which I love. They are so prehistoric looking. It scuttled up the track then sat there for a while before scuttling forward again. It pulled a little off the track then let me get quite close.

Buzzing from that encounter I dropped into a gully with a few trees and there was a big snake across the trail. This was a brown patterned snake and it did not seem interested in moving. I was just thinking about trying to get around when FOG arrived. He said it was a Gopher Snake and harmless. He picked it up by the tail and placed it off the trail.

Snake 2

I kept pace with him when we got going again and enjoyed the conversation. He had gone fast in the morning and had slowed down and was now going a good pace. Fast but not too fast. We chatted away and in less than 5 minutes saw another snake, like the one I saw this morning. He said it was called a Racer Snake as they are fast. This snake moved off the trail as he approached. I was now at 3 snakes.

Snake 3

FOG

We caught up to the hiker I had passed. He said he was going all the way to Cajon Pass, approx. 38 miles away, that night. He did not say what the rush was to get there and at his pace it would take a while. We passed him and continued on.

We came to the Deep Creek Hot Pools but neither of us wanted to stop. I have too many scratches on my legs to sit in a bacteria infested hot pool. Also it was hot and I did not really want to soak in hot pools and get even hotter.

Not long after this was a nice shady spot so I stopped and FOG carried on. I thought this would be the last I saw of him with his speed.

I enjoyed a leisurely lunch, liking all components of my snacks. I also did my usual lunchtime job of adding an electrolyte tab to one of my water bottles. The one I got this time is sweet which is unusual for electrolyte. I will not be getting it again if I have a choice.

After lunch I was on my own, except for seeing two day hikers looking for the hot pools. The track continued to be pretty with lots of flowers and the nice views of the river below. I saw another Racer Snake.

Snake 4 disappearing into the bush

The trail dropped by a single switchback to an arch bridge painted like a rainbow on the other side of the river.

From there it was the same as before, though the hill we were going around was consistently steep, instead of intermittently steep like before.

The valley also opened up and I could see the trail for nearly a mile ahead. The wind also started getting stronger.

I stopped to refill one of my front bottles when I glanced to the side and saw a rattlesnake. It seemed docile though it’s rattle moved slightly. I kept an eye on it as I went past and once on the other side saw that it seemed dead. It was just the wind moving the rattle. It was only a small snake. So 5 snakes in one day, though I am not sure if I should count the dead one.

Snake 5 but dead unfortunately

I finally got to the end of the hill and a large Dam came into view. The trail switch backed down to the dam and then went underneath. There was a large sandy part and the wind was gusting along it and I had visions of being sandblasted again. Thankfully I was able to get through before the next wind gust.

Just past this FOG appeared and stuck his thumb out. I told him to get on for a piggy back but thankfully he did not. He had started to feel tired and had just had a long break. He was not going much further.

We walked together to the river crossing and were confronted with what at first sight looked like a swim. After looking closer we could see the river was not actually that deep. Defiantly shoes off for this crossing. It was actually an easy crossing as there was almost no current.

We went one at a time filming the other. On the other side we dried our feet and put our shoes on.

At least I get to clean my feet crossing the river

FOG crossing

Just as we were about to leave a girl turned up on the other side of the river. We waved but got no response, she was probably having a minor freak out at having to swim like we did.

I was only going another mile and a half as that would be my 20 miles max for the day. FOG asked if he could join me and I agreed. We took off with him in front to set the pace. As we climbed out of the river valley the winds were really strong. I was worried as I did not want to camp in high winds. A storm was forecast for the high country and strong winds elsewhere. I am glad I have dropped in altitude as there is snow forecast higher.

We continued along and I had seen the trail headed into a gully which I hoped would be sheltered. It was not, the wind was plunging down the gully with force. I looked for a sheltered spot amongst the shrubs and rocks, with FOG helping to look. Just as we gave up and started up the hill I looked back and spied a good little spot. FOG decided to keep going so we said goodbye and I climbed down to the little spot I had seen.

I just fitted and it was a lot more sheltered than elsewhere. I could hear the wind roaring down the gully and through the trees and I would just get a light shake. The wind continued too get stronger throughout the evening.

I had dinner, and then snacked some more before doing a final check of the tent ready for more wind, and then bed.

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