October 14th Highway 10 to Strawberry Junction

Today was the biggest one day climb of the trail going from the desert floor near Palm Springs to the mountain slopes above Idyllwild, an elevation change of 8,000 feet. I was out on the sands of the arroyo before the sun came up. There's no true path here as flash floods would just wipe it away, so the only true way to navigate is to find the brown marker posts topped with a strip of yellow. Finding one, I scanned the distance for the next and, in such a manner, set my path through the sand and sage to the mouth of Snow Canyon. A watershed access road took me up to a very convenient water source; a faucet that marks the beginning of the true ascent of the San Jacintos. Swinging back and forth across the arid terrain, I climbed ever higher, fighting the brush that raked my shins and avoiding the branches that would do the same to my face. Racing the sun to reach the trees, I paused at times for breath in the shade of giant boulders that were a common sight along the trail. My body was responding well to the challenge and, like a well-oiled machine, cranked out the miles. Before the temperatures soared, I was already walking under the shade of evergreens. In the early afternoon I started on the infamous switchbacks and steep slopes of Fuller Ridge, which had caused no small trouble for Northbounders earlier in the year. The snow and ice were gone, but the ruggedness remained. I almost felt I was back in the Sierras and I loved that feeling. As the trail topped out at the 9,000 foot level, I could feel the growing tiredness in my legs. It had been a supreme effort to get up here so quickly and so efficiently , for which I was quite proud. My pace slowed as I breathed in the pine-scented air. These were mountains as I knew them, not the scrub covered variety of the desert hills. Within a mile of each other, I crossed two small streams, whose flowing waters were music to my ears. The faucet water nearly gone, I stopped to fill up. A few miles later, I was pitching my tent at the camp above Strawberry Junction. The sun was setting and the clouds in the sky showed me that there might be a chance of getting wet. I'm worn out, but completely at peace. A tough yet satisfying day.

27 Miles