Backpacking Training Trip: California Riding and Hiking Trail, Joshua Tree NP, Day 1

Warning: This post has "boo boo" pictures

Well, today was interesting.  Between getting up later than I intended and a freeway accident that caused a traffic standstill for 30 min, I ended up with another late start this morning. I came to Joshua Tree to do longer (>=20 miles) hikes with the full backpack, but after caching my water for further down the trail, I didn't get to the trailhead until 8:40 am. I had planned to start sometime in the 7:00 hour. I hope these late starts don't become a trend. I also have a homemade GPS data logger I have been using to map my hikes. Somewhere in between the house this morning and the trailhead it went missing.

My DIY GPS data logger. MIA.

The hike itself started out very pleasantly.  I started the CRHT from the backcountry registration board near the North Entrance Station. It led me up a wash where some plants where starting to bloom yellow flowers. The temperature was very nice too. It was overcast and cool, an absolutely perfect temperature to be hiking in the desert.

Blooms starting to show in the desert.

Between mile marker 4 and 5 is where things started to go wrong. I was coming over the top of a small hill and looking down at the rock formations to see if I could see Belle Campground. I wasn't watching where I was stepping and ended up sliding on some loose rocks.  I'm not sure exactly how it happened but my foot folded beneath me and I ended up sliding on both my shin and my backside. And it happened in the first 5 miles of a potential 20 mile day. Ugh. My pants seemed to be OK, but the skin underneath got scraped up a bit.

Well...that sucked.

After my little mishap, I continued passed a lot of cool boulder/rock formations. Then, after passing  over a park road at Twin Tanks, I started west across the park. This was for the most part uneventful, and the scenery didn't really change that much. The most exciting thing in this section was a downed Joshua tree in the middle of the path that you had to detour around.

J-tree down! J-tree down!

I did notice, however, that the wind had started to pick up. It picked up so much over the next couple of hours that I was actually worried about my hat flying off. I decided to try and hold my hat in place by bringing my neck gaiter over the top of my head and around my chin to hold it in place like a weird babushka. It was so embarrassing looking (probably) that I took it down immediately whenever I saw someone coming the other direction.  Eventually the wind started getting pretty cold as well.

I was excited when I got to Ryan Campground because I really wanted to use its “facilities." What a “luxury” it is to be able to drop your pants behind a closed door! Since I had that added privacy, I used the opportunity to slip my base layer top on under my hiking shirt since wind kept getting colder. It definitely helped with making things a bit warmer, at least for a while.

After Ryan campground I headed for my water cache near the backcountry registration board located near the Keyes View Road crossing. The light was starting to fade and the wind was really strong. I found the two one-gallon jugs I had hidden in a hollow tree just off the path. When I pulled one of them out I accidentally ripped a hole in the bottom of the jug. I filled up my hydration bladder using the hole I had just created in the bottom of the jug and then put it back in the tree stump upside down so the rest of the water wouldn't leak out. I will be coming by the cache on the way out tomorrow and would like to have as much available water as possible.

My water cache.

My goal for the day was to hit 20 miles. Despite it being cold and windy, I hit the 20 mile marker while it was still light out. Maybe I could hit 21? That would put me closer to Covington Flat, which I initially thought could be my turn around spot.

Unfortunately, I started to feel pain in my calves. More concerning though was that I felt tightness and a bit of a sharp pain in the arch of my foot. I have had reoccurring issues with plantar fasciitis for almost 10 years now, so that made me stop for the night. If I re-injure my foot I know that I will be in pain for about a year, meaning I would have to cancel my PCT hike this year.

It was also probably a good thing that I allowed myself some extra daylight to set up my tent. With all the wind, it took me a comically long time to get everything set up. Once I did the wind was still whipping the tent so hard that I felt like if I didn't sit in it, the stakes were going to rip out and the tent would sail away. I ended up using my jet boil to heat water inside my tent to make dinner.

So that is where I am now. Shivering inside my sleeping bag watching the tent whip around me. I am pretty worried about my feet. I may have to skip Covington Flat and just slowly ease my way back to my car tomorrow.  I guess we will see in the morning.