"Really hard day today. Lots of elevation, downed trees, and snow. Made it further than expected. Going into Idyllwild tomorrow to get some toe socks." 4/8/22 7:33 PM
Yes, this was a very hard day. Looking back the most challenging aspects came due to water access. The trail that I covered that day basically followed a ridge up towards Mt San Jacinto from the south, and all of the water sources were down in drainages off of the ridge crest. To get to my first water, I had to hike quite a ways down a steep ravine. Before descending, I had a to take a crap so badly, but had no water left to use in my bidet. Part way down, I conceded and used random debris to wipe my ass before finally making it to the water source. After climbing back out, I continued along the ridge. The sun continued to climb, and the steep trail was arduous. By mid-afternoon, I made it to my next water source, also more than a mile off of the main trail. Many people were slack packing down, but I brought all my gear to have a picnic in the shade and potentially set up camp for the night. Luckily, after refilling my water, washing my feet, and relaxing in the shade while having lunch, I felt rejuvenated and resolved to continue hiking until dark. As the trail gained elevation the snow patches began. Luckily the snow was very consolidated and did not require a ton of extra energy to traverse. Combined with many downed trees though, the progress was definitely much slower. I eventually made it to a great campsite overlooking Palm Springs right around dark. I set up camp with plans to hike into Idyllwild in the morning to get some toe socks, which seemed to be the most popular remedy for my increasingly agonizing between-the-toe blisters.
A lizard chillin', a great view into Coachella Valley, testing out my microspikes, my camp for the night:
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