Hiking with packs containing 5 days of food and 4.5 liters of water is not recommended. At least we didn’t have to hike the first 12 miles with that much weight because I don’t know if I would have made it. My pack can really only hold a maximum of 30 lbs and I know I was way over that limit this afternoon.
Besides the few hours I hiked with a heavy pack, I enjoyed the trail today. Many hikers complain about the basin, but so far I don’t mind it. It’s not as hot as I thought it would be (we’ve been fortunate with the weather) and the terrain has a beauty all its own.
We started the day with a solid breakfast thanks to the Hampton Inn. I piled a little of everything they offered on my two plates - eggs, sausage, a cinnamon waffle, and oatmeal with all the trimmings (walnuts, chocolate chips, almond slices, and a bit of brown sugar). Oh, and coffee - let’s not forget the coffee. Its safe to say I was sufficiently fueled for today’s hike.
We left the hotel just before 10 am and hiked through the hottest part of the day, which, as I said, wasn’t as hot as I thought it was going to be. It was still hot, don’t get me wrong, but since I was mentally prepared for much worse it felt fine. There was no shade to be found for quite a while, but around 2pm we saw some beautiful trees and took a break in the shade they so lovingly provided. Never pass up shade in the desert.
Next up was the first and only water source for the day, a solar well 12 miles in. Surprise surprise, we saw Cheetah, Captain, Mouse, and Spice there. There was also half of a rattlesnake next to the trail register, which upset me greatly - it was obvious someone had killed it for no good reason. Poor snake. (Captain threw the body into the grass because Cheetah and I hated looking at it).
Since we needed to go further than 12 miles and since the next water source was a little too far to go today (it was another 16 miles away), we loaded up on water so we could dry camp somewhere. I groaned internally when I put my pack back on, now significantly heavier with 4.5 liters of water.
As we were leaving the water source, we heard and then saw another rattlesnake. Let’s hope that one doesn’t get murdered.
The rest of the day was more road walking, but this time the roads we walked were paved - not ideal when you have a heavy pack. We made it almost 8 miles with our insanely heavy packs before calling it quits.
back on the highway for a bit
The road walk wasn’t terrible, though. Physically it was very difficult because of the heavy packs (especially on my legs and feet) but mentally it was fine. The scenery was pleasant, the cloud cover that rolled in saved us from the sun, the wind kept us cool, AND we got to see some horses hanging out by the road.
We didn’t walk very fast during those last 8 miles and we took several breaks, all of which I really needed even though I didn’t want to admit it. There were several times when we both wanted to stop for the day, but it didn’t make sense to do so - at first it was still too hot to be inside a tent and then the wind really picked up, so setting up a tent wouldn’t have been a good idea, anyway. We figured we’d just keep hiking until the conditions improved for setting up camp.
As we were slowly making our way down the road, hoping the wind would let up so we could set up camp, a nice man drove up in his truck and asked if we needed water. I was carrying so much of it that I had to say no, but I made sure he knew how much his offer meant.
When we stopped walking to talk to the nice man, the mosquitos, which hadn’t bothered us all day, descended upon us in force. I looked down at my leg and it was COVERED with at least 30 of the tiny monsters. Unlike the mosquitos in Colorado, the ones here don’t waste any time flying around, looking for a good spot to land - these mosquitos just go for it. It was alarming how quickly they found us.
Walking kept the monsters away, so we continued on. A few miles later, we saw a little hill on the side of the road that looked like it would give us some protection from the wind, so we decided to stop for the day. Surprise surprise, Cheetah, Captain, Mouse, and Spice thought the same thing and were already sitting on the side of the hill, waiting for the wind to die down. Nick and I joined them, making and eating dinner before finally setting up the tent around 8pm, which is when the wind finally stopped.
Along the trail:
Camp:
