Day 35 - pct mile 529 to mile 549

After a short, warm, night at the spot we crashed in last night, we finally got up and got moving just around 7:00. We were still last to move from the campsite. And also had some hikers pass us, who, we assume, started before sunrise from Hiker Town.

Will trucking past me, in between the wind turbines

The first 5 miles towards the Cottonwood cache were like last night - a flat and boring road walk. The views are not all bad. There is something hypnotic in seeing all those wind turbines rotate together. And the heat wasn't THAT bad. And we had a nice wind to keep us chilled and relatively dry.

Will, Alpine Start, French Toast and two others which hall remain nameless (Sorry, I don't remember their trail names) at the Cottonwood cache

At the cache I drank a liter of Gatorade (from the powder) and had some snacks, before heading on towards our next stop, another 6 miles ahead.
We made a short nap stop on the way, and still managed to get to the Tylerhorse Canyon before it got to hot. We stopped under a nice, somewhat shady, tree on the left, and later discovered that "everyone" went down to a bigger tree, a bit off the trail to the right. Oh well. We still rested there for a couple hours, to let the heat pass.
We finally left to finish off our day at around 14:00, with about 7 more miles of climbing to reach the water cache at mile 549.
It was indeed a long climb, but we got there at the end. The cache had some gallon bottles with water, and a big stack of half liter bottles as a bonus. So we were all good.
A short while later Salt Shaker and Xtra Smile came along. They did what we did from last night. Only they started before dawn, this morning. So it's 30 miles with no full sleep. Very hard.
Early-b came in as well, as did Pedi, Quinoa, Soap Box and Half-n-half. Some of them camped here, and some went a bit further on.
Only a short day into town tomorrow.

Day 32 - Zero day at Hiker Heaven

This was the first zero day I took just to rest, and not just trying to get better from some injury or illness. It felt good.
I didn't sleep in, though. I guess I'm used to wake up with sunrise. Besides, I knew I'd be cooking inside my sleeping bag in 10 minutes, if I'd stay in it.

Having breakfast with Penguin, Cheese and Will at the Sweetwater Cafe

So, after a slow morning of doing nothing, I finally took a bike down to town for breakfast. I sat at the Sweet Water Cafe with Will, Cheese and Penguin, and we all filled our bellies with different variations of eggs. I had Florentine Benedict, and it was very nice indeed.

My breakfast

After breakfast I had to bike back up. I was worried about this bit, but I managed to make it back in one piece. I got just in time for the ride to REI.
In REI I only bought a pair of socks. I'm not sure the toe socks are really working for me, so I'll see how it goes on the coming days.
The trip to Wal-Mart was a pain. I had to buy supplies for the next section, as well as for three other sections throughout the Sierras, and also a bit for Yair, who will join us for that section of the trail.
I came back with a big box full of food I had to distribute to different boxes, and we shipped them from here. They really do run an excellent operation here at Hiker Heaven. I just hope we calculated all of our food rations right, and that we will manage to get some bagels and cheese along the way as well.
Right now we are getting ready to have our pita with humus and tomato dinner. I'm getting hungry just by thinking about it.

Day 24 - campsite at pct mile 305 to Cleghorn Picnic Area

That was our longest day yet.

The plan was to try and get a bit further today, so that tomorrow's hike into Cajon Pass will be a bit shorter. We were aiming at a water source 18.5 miles away from our start position, with an option to push a bit further once we get there.
The day started easy enough, once we climbed out of our campsite, and back into the trail. After a quick 2 miles we got to the hot springs. Many hikers were aiming here yesterday, with a dip at night as an incentive. We just passed through, and I took a short 10 minutes, dip in one of the hot pools. It was very nice indeed.

Deep Creek Hot Springs

Carrying on, the trail kept on going along the canyon walls, crossing it on a nice bridge. The trail then finally exited the Deep Creek right at the Mojave Dam, and went under for a final crossing of the stream.

View over Mojave Dam

Idan and I jumped over the stream, and sat down for breakfast. A group of section hikers just went through the water, and so did another thru-hiker that came behind us. Idan said that jumping over made us the real "heroes" of that ford, but I am not so sure about it.

Some kind of out-of-focus horny toad

A short while later we came upon a little water cache, with the remains of sodas in the garbage bag. The craving continues.
We pressed on and reached the next stream crossing, which wasn't too exciting. We hiked on to that water source we thought about camping near. It was just some pools under another dam, and it was still early in the day. We decided we'd pull on to the picnic area in 5 miles.
Shortly after we came upon another trail magic box. No sodas, again. But I got a delicious nectarine, and Idan also enjoyed some cream-filled chocolate eggs. Thanks to Team Turtle!
The hike took a sudden turn when it climbed a small hill, and we suddenly saw Silverwood Lake. The rest of the hike was an awesome walk with views of the lake, and it almost didn't feel like another 5 miles.

View over Silverwood Lake

We got down to the picnic area at about 17:20, which is not bad for a 23 mile day. The picnic area has water, and nice pavilions with picnic tables. The toilets are very nice as well. Will, Fern Toe & Thor joined us for dinner, before we all turned in for the night.