May 29th
Total mileage: 638
Today’s mileage: 22
We had joked the night before that the lone Joshua Tree sticking up was the barkeep at a tiki bar. Honeybadger, Six-2 and I camped on top of a beautiful vista. We knew today was our last long full day together. Sunrise over HB’s tent:
My first rattlesnake sighting of the trail. I thought it ironic that this happens only days from completing the desert portion and entering the High Sierra. I assumed I wouldn’t see any more, but I was surprised to see 3 more in North California, including a small one without a rattle.
It was unusual to see Joshua Tree with their fruit.
But…but what about motorized skateboards?
We reached Bird Spring Cache, where we’d hidden gallons of water days before with the car. Honeybadger, Six-2 and I took the most serious siesta of the trail yet, catnapping for 2 hours in what slim shade we could find. More so than the water, I was thankful for the respite from the afternoon’s heat. When we left at 5 pm for the big climb out, it was much more manageable by then.
We briefly met these British hikers. It’s hard to see, but they are camped immediately on a cliff edge. No thank you!
We stopped just before dark. Honeybadger unfortunately had a piece of her brand new Copper Spur tent break. Everyone was exhausted and talked about a very early morning to reach the pass on schedule.
