BACKPACKING RETRO-DIARY - DAY #2
4:10-6:30am - I spend most of the time staring out the tent, not sleeping great, and listening to the wind. The wife apparently loves the sound of wind, cuz it knocked her right out.
6:45am - I roll over to face Julie, and with her eyes wide open (obviously having been awake for a few minutes already), she shrieks "HI!" I have never seen anyone so excited and so happy that early in the morning, after sleeping overnight in a tent. Only my wife.
6:46am - Julie's hungry.
6:55am - With the local streams not high enough to run water through our hiking route, we had to maintain enough water for the hike out, so unfortunately had to opt out of our morning oatmeal and hot chocolate, and just settle for more trail mix, dried fruit, and PB&J tortillas. I was a little bummed about this, as I had called the wilderness office two days prior and they told me two different creeks where we could stop for water on our two-day trek. Both proved to be bone-dry. I still blame myself.
7:10am - After temporarily quelling the storm that is Julie's stomach, it was time to start breaking down camp. And once again, since Julie had never camped before, this was another new experience. She enthusiastically jumped in and helped un-stake the tent, take out the poles, fold up the tent and tarp and stuff the bag. Sounds pretty uneventful, but she did it smiling and loving every minute of it. So glad she was enjoying it!
7:20am - After repacking our packs, making sure snacks were easily accessible for the wife, we did one more lap around the campsite to make sure we had everything. Julie said her goodbyes, and we set off for for the final five miles of our 11-mile loop.
7:21am - Julie's hungry...just kidding. I was just getting used to typing that.
7:40am - We finish the Pine Mountain portion of the trail, jump across Pioneer Mail picnic area and hook up with the Pacific Crest Trail for the final four miles of the hike. This was by far my favorite portion of the two-day trip, with some incredible ecosystem changes along the way. We saw all types of landscapes over the two days, including desert, tall oaks, tons of manzanita bushes, chaparral, huge rock piles and more...it was so diverse. Really interesting to have all of those unique ecosystems co-exist within miles of each other.
7:55am - "SCAT!"
8:15am - We reach the top of one of the first portions of our trail and are treated to a magnificent view across the mountain, deep valleys and tree-covered hillsides to the northeast. We had some amazing views of San Gorgonio Mountain and San Jacinto Peak. It was the first time we really had amazing views during the weekend, and Julie was awestricken with the sight. I was really happy we had this opportunity, because I spent most of my backpacking days in the Sierras, where every new lake and mountain had breathtaking views, and I didn't want Julie to think that we were never gonna see something like that!
8:18am - After snapping some photos from the peak, we continue on the trail, turn the corner to head back west, and...
8:19am - HOLY HELL! As soon as we turned that corner we got absolutely blasted with wind. I mean, it was gusting harder than I have ever hiked in before. My floppy bucket hat started slapping me in the face, the straps on our backpacks fluttered everywhere, and any time a particularly large gust came through, I swear I saw Julie physically get moved off her path as it took the collective weight of her and her backpack into a different zip code. At this point we were about halfway into the PCT, so we had two miles to go, and virtually all of it was uphill and into the wind.
8:30am - I hear giggling behind me. Julie thinks this wind is hilarious, and she starts talking about how fun this is. I love my wife.
8:50am - After having our heads looking straight down to cut the wind for about half an hour, I finally pull off the trail toward a peak for a quick view of some more valleys. We talked about how fun of an adventure this was, and even more so with the wind. We weren't letting anything put a damper on the experience, and were so happy to be backpacking.
9:10am - We turn a corner, the wind dies down, and we see the road up ahead! And soon enough, we see the car! Wow, this hike didn't take us nearly as long we planned. We're back at the start and it's barely 9:00am!
9:20am - The packs are off. The boots are off. The smelly clothes are off. We're in the car. We're happy.
It was a great first trip for Julie, and I'm excited to build on it from here. I'm excited for her to go on a multiple night adventure, camp near lakes and streams, do some fishing, and be able to lounge around in a picturesque area. This was a great starting point, and I think it's only going to get better from here!
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