17.0 PCT miles, plus 0.5 mile side trail
I was one of the first people to leave the preserve this morning. I walked the trail across the river back to the PCT. The PCT then followed the river for a couple miles. Along the trail I saw several other people breaking down their camp and heading on their way. So, this is where all the people were. Everyone was bunched up after Whitewater Preserve.
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| The PCT following Whitewater River in the early morning. |
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| Whitewater River. |
This area was going to be a bit of a log jam of people, considering we were approaching a fire closure (open to hiking but closed to camping) that was 16 miles long. Everyone had to camp just outside the closure, then walk the closure in one day. Today was the day we all hike to the closest campsite. It would be interesting to see how that went considering the campsite is listed as only having room for 3 tents.
I crossed the river and started climbing into the foothills. When I got to the top I had cell service for the first time in a while. I also saw Mari, the Italian woman I had met just past Mt. Laguna. It was nice to see someone I knew among the sea of new faces.
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| Climbing the foothills in the morning. |
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| Looking back at Whitewater River and San Jacinto. |
The trail walked the crests for a while before dipping down again to follow Mission Creek. The trail was going to be following the creek most of the day. At least I wouldn't have to worry about water this time.
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| Side view of San Gorgonio. |
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| Walking the crests. |
I took the switchbacks down to the creek and noticed there were still a couple of wildflower species still looking good. They weren't all dead yet. I got to the bottom where the creek was and immediately grabbed some creek water in my filter bag to drink. There was a nice log under a tree to sit on. The creek water was nice and cool and the shade was very pleasant. It was still fairly early in the morning and the temps were in the mid-70s. It was going to be a hot day.
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| Wildflowers seen while heading down to Mission Creek. |
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| Mission Creek. |
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| Mission Creek. |
I continued down the creek a bit and saw a large group of people under the shade of a large tree. Suddenly, I started to worry about if I would get a tentsite before the fire closure. Surely the campsite wouldn't fit all of us.
I skipped the shade party and attempted to get in front of the crowd. The trail crossed the creek more times than I could count. At one of the crossings I had had enough of walking and took a break in the shade. The temps were in the mid-90s by that point (wasn't I just in snow?) so I needed to cool down, rest my swollen feet, and eat some lunch. I also needed to refill my water supply.
As I was filtering water I stuck my feet in the creek. That was the best idea I'd had in a while. The cool creek was instant relief to my swollen feet. There was enough of a flow that it also provided a bit of a massage. I went back to my shaded spot to dry. It was very pleasant sitting in the shade next to the babbling creek, but eventually I convinced myself to pack up and move on.
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| Ahhhhhhhhhh. |
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| My view for lunch. |
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| Maybe I'll just take a short nap. |
Soon after, I bumped into another familiar face. He was a man named John who I had met briefly in Idyllwild when I was with Elinor and Daniel. Today I learned John was legally blind but still attempting to solo hike the PCT. Amazing! He also had an amazing update for me. Apparently the fire closure for camping was reduced to the final 4 miles before Onyx Summit, meaning I wouldn't have to bunch up with everyone else at that last campsite. I was really excited until I saw that the next campsite beyond that one was 5 miles further. With the heat I was experiencing, there was no way I could do that many miles today.
The trail continued to crisscross the creek for several more miles. I put my headphones on to distract me from the heat and ended up really enjoying the hike. It was nice to refill with water whenever I needed to and I saw lots of cool creek animals like butterflies, dragon flies (most of which were bright blue), and frogs. I even bumped into two sets of trail crews working on trail improvements. Those guys are all volunteers, and had to backpack in quite a few miles with equipment to do this work, so I made sure to thank them.
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| Mission Creek. |
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| Mission Creek. |
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| Blue dragonfly. |
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| White dragonfly. |
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| Butterfly. |
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| Frog. |
I filled up with water at my last creek crossing and headed up a valley to the campsite. This was definitely the hardest part of the day. It had become overcast but the temps were still in the 80s and everything was uphill. Between the preserve and the campsite I was going to gain about 4,000 ft in elevation. I had to make frequent stops, but eventually I shuffled into my destination.
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| Heading up the valley. |
Thankfully there was still plenty of space. Three of the new people I had been hiking with today were already there (named Cooper, Søren, and Crater). I was exhausted, but Søren warned me to set up my tent right away since there were probably more people arriving soon. I set up my tent, filled up more water from the tiny nearby stream (#unexpectedwatersource), and chatted with the others.
Eventually others started trickling in. For the most part they knew each other. They had all been hiking with each other for days. It was me and one other guy who were ”new.” I did not learn everyone's name but we managed to get everyone set up at the campsite. We somehow squeezed 11 tents into that “3 tent” space. We all huddled around the fire pit to chat and eat dinner, then went to bed when it got dark.
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| Setting up the tent city. Eventually there would be 11 tents in this spot. |
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