I have been through a lot in the last 4 days.

I have been through a lot in the last 4 days or so. Some of those things include, summiting Mt. Jacinto at 10,834 feet. From up there you could see the whole entire world beneath you. It was really a spectacular thing to be able to look back at the distance we have covered as well as see the mountains we have yet to cross ahead. John Muir himself wrote “The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!” and I think he was pretty spot on.

If that climb wasn’t awesome enough, next up was Fuller Ridge, where we would weave in and out and up through thick forest areas to be put out at amazing views of the mountains we were crossing. At times you could even see the ridge itself and it would hit you at that point, that we were literally walking along the tops of these mountains. A powerful thing to experience.

After the spectacular views of Fuller Ridge, the next day we had to descend the north facing side of the mountain for about 15 miles, only to be lowered down into a desert valley filled with sand. The only water source for this hike was a random water fountain in the desert. Walking through a hot desert in the sand equals no fun. We arrived around 3pm at “Ziggy and the Bear’s” place, a loving elderly couple who opens their home to thru-hikers during the hiker season. We call these type of people “Trail Angels” and boy are they amazing human beings.

After a night of rest and relaxation to get ready for the next day, we headed off into the desert once again to climb up to around 8,000 feet to a valley that reminded me of Zion National Park. That night as we set up our tents we noticed some really awesome clouds forming in the desert we just left and thought not to much of it, other than the strong gust of winds that would rip through river bed we had been hiking through.

Little did we know we were in for one of the toughest nights on the trail yet. Those aforementioned clouds weren’t so innocent and they were about to show us what kind of power they really can possess. To be continued.