Day 18 (Castle Rocks to Cabazon)

Start Location: Castle Rocks (On Fuller Ridge)

Finish Location: 10 Freeway and PCT (About 1 mile east of Cabazon)

Daily Mileage: 21.5 miles (on trail)

Total Miles: 209.5 Miles

Miles To Finish: 2450.5 Miles

Waking up in the snow again . . . but the first priority was water. While some of the snow Dave put in his bladder had melted - there was much more snow than water. So Dave used some of the water to melt the snow - until his bladder was full with water.

The original plan was to hike about 26 miles to the wind farms. But the day started in snow again - slowing Dave and Ed's pace down considerably.

(Cool rock formation.)

Although Dave was set on water, at one point Ed needed more water - leading them to back track a bit to get some. But they both knew that they had trail angels meeting them at the 10 freeway crossing with water, gaterade, and food.

(Water along the trail - always happy to see it.)

Eventually, Dave came to about 4000 feet and a clearing in between the mountains.

(Looking back up as they had made it out of most of the mountains.)

By that time, Dave decided he would not hike the additional 5 miles from the freeway to the wind farm. In fact, he decided he wanted to go home - have a nice warm shower and sleep in his bed. The three plus days walking through the snow and climbing around San Jacinto had taken their toll and he was ready to sleep in his own bed for a night.

But along the way he saw some critters. 

Dave was kind of surpised by the color of the rattle snake, as it seemed to blend right into the brush.

He could see the little, itty, bitty cars on the freeway - and knew he was almost there. Meanwhile, the trail angels put on their best shoes (not) and decided to hike in the soft sand and wind to meet him.

(Jane trying to get the rocks and sand out of her sandels.)

About a mile from the freeway he came upon a few trail angels, keeping him company for the last part of the day's hike.

(Dave just a short walk away from the end of a tough three days.)

Looking back on the mountain range he conquered, Dave was tired but satisfied.  He had made it through, and unlike other "thru-hikers" was not simply skipping a section that may have seemed a little too hard.

The PCT trail hits the 10 freeway about a mile east of Cabazon. There is a tunnel that goes under the railroad tracks and the freeway, but the car was parked just above off a service road.

(Dave and Ed guzzling a gatorade before Dave hit the car and Ed hit more of the trail.)

By the time he reached the car, Dave decided that being he was going to be home - he would take a zero day on Thursday and rest and relax at home. So from there it was a date shake from Hadleys and then Chile's for some protein and a few margaritas. (It was Cinco de Mayo afterall.)

After a day of rest, Dave will head back out - again thinking it will take him about 4 days or so to reach Big Bear!

~Midget Trail Angel

Day 17 (Skunk Cabbage Meadow - Castle Rocks)

Start Location: Skunk Cabbage Meadow

Finish Location: Castle Rocks (On Fuller Ridge)

Daily Mileage: 8 miles (on trail)

Total Miles: 1880 Miles

Miles To Finish: 2472 Miles

Tuesday was another very tough day on the trail. Dave encountered a lot more snow, making each step of the climb more difficult.

(Ed in the snow.)

Ed and Dave decided to try to make it to the peak of Mt. San Jacinto. But to add to the difficulty of just walking in the snow, there were navigational issues. Not only is it impossible to see the trail when snow is covering it, but Dave lost his maps and his GPS died. So they were now navigating by the book with maps that Ed had and had to use various features to figure out where they thought they were.

So when they hit a fork between two trails - they opted for the wrong one. And although they ended up climbing another 700 feet, they could only look at the peak and did not make it there themselves. It was disappointing, but Dave had a bigger goal to worry about.  And San Jacinto is not going anywhere.

So they continued on making it to Castle Rocks and were treated to the beautiful views in the valley below.

But Ed and Dave were not the only ones struggling in the snow.  They had come upon a few hikers - retirees.  And witnesses as one was precariously perched upon the snow, as his ice ax slipped out and went slidding down the mountains for hundreds, if not thousands, of feet below.

When they set up camp at about 8000 feet, it was not too cold, but they were still surrounded by snow and short on water. And Dave was really tired - as the snow trudging and navigating was starting to take its toll.

Dave decided to pack his water bladder with snow so that he would have some water and opted against a hot meal and simply ate a couple of sandwiches for dinner. With that, he was ready to go to bed - hoping that tomorrow they would finally be out of the snow.

~Midget Trail Angel

Day 16 (171.6 Miles - Skunk Cabbage Meadow)

Start Location: 171.6 Miles

Finish Location: Skunk Cabbage Meadow

Daily Mileage: 8.5 miles (on trail)

Total Miles: 180 Miles

Miles To Finish: 2480 Miles

After the snow course, Monday morning was back to the trail to start the ascent on Mt. San Jacinto and hopefully over the next few days make it through the mountains and out to the 10 freeway near Cabazon.

It was tough hiking, as the snow really slowed everyone down. The thing about the snow is you never know where you are stepping, not sure how much traction you have, and really need to pay close attention to what is going on. Otherwise bad things can happen.

Dave started the day with Ed and Fire Marshall - as Girl Friday and Zero had started about 30 minutes before them. By the fifth mile, they had met up with them, but Zero was dealing with a horrible headache.

As zero needed to just lay down and rest, Dave and Ed said goodbye to Team Far Sight for a while and continued on to Skunk Cabbage Meadow. Although Dave had camped there a few nights ago, they stayed in a different part of the meadow, much closer to the trail. It was a tough day and they only had more snow to look forward to tomorrow.

Dave was just beat as he crawled inside his tent to get warm and some sleep.

Out Damn Spot Out:  For those of you missing the map links with Dave's location, Dave's Spot died last week.  There was some technical glitch with it. Unfortunately, the not so friendly customer "service" at Spot was a little slow in responding.  Ironic, since the device is a safety device and Dave was encountering some of the most difficult terrain so far.  Once the spot is up and running again, map links will be available so you can see exactly where Dave is.

~Midget Trail Angel