October 13

Distance: 24.8 miles | Ascent: 5560′ | Descent: 4520′

Mile marker: 1998.6

Lunch: J – spaghetti mac (A), A – dahl (C+)

Dinner: J – mac n cheese (A), A – beef stroganof (A)

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Our calendar reminded us that today was our 13th anniversary. We didn’t get each other gifts. We did share a king-size candy bar at lunch, however.

The climb out from Chimney Creek was the easiest part of the day. The trail was pretty nice, barring a few blowdowns. It was cold in the morning, like most mornings now, which brings a new ritual of stopping after the first mile or two to strip off coats and other outer layers. We can do this ritual several times throughout the morning.

It’s interesting how the wind can vary from valley to valley or on different sides of a ridge or, seemingling, from tree to tree. One minute, it’s at your back and gentle, then you turn a corner or pop up over a 10′ bump, and it’s in your face trying to blow you over. We experienced a lot of wind from a lot of directions today. It added rituals of redonning clothes to keep warm despite climbing up the hills.

We saw another little snake!

The trail took us down and up the same valley. With the lower shrubbery, the trail can be seen for nearly miles across the ravine.

We got to a ridge that was flush with Joshua trees. It was Jason’s first time seeing them and they look so alien.

Then the trail got hard. It got steep, rocky, and not what we expected from the supposedly easy desert section. Our shoes have carried us from Lake Tahoe, and they’re on their last legs. We felt every jagged rock and talus as we walked. The clouds formed interesting shapes, which in combination with the windy day, likely has something to do with the big storm arriving tonight…

When the sun set, we were still many miles from our destination. Night hiking is fun, but we are surely missing some great scenery. We did see the lights of some towns below, though! That’s uncommon for us. They looked cozy.

We found our way to a campsite near the ridge, but slightly sheltered from the wind. Anticipating the arrival of a storm overnight, we hid behind a bush and built a wind break from rocks in the area to lessen the wind from shaking the tent around.

Today was a lot of elevation, and not very easy. Hopefully, tomorrow, despite the chance of rain, is a bit easier on our feet.