We started the day with great views of the pine covered section of the high desert.
The pines soon ran out and we quickly transitioned back to true desert terrain. The trail turned to loose sand as it dropped elevation.
The vegetation changed from shady pines to scrub brush, sage, and the occasional Joshua tree.
It was a hot day in a dry section, and we were grateful for a water cache left near a dirt road.
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones using the dirt road; we found bear tracks!
We came across the remnants of an old mining operation.
We continued pushing through the hot desert into the evening.
We got to our campsite for the night and found a camper van driven by AT and PCT Thru hiker “Sixes” doing trail magic! He had a cooler of cold drinks and made us tacos!
Whats better than tacos in the middle of the desert? Tacos and Pizza! Forever 50’s husband, trail name “Lizard,” showed up with pizza!
To top it off, we finished the day with a great sunset!
It would seem you are often wearing your puffy jackets, is it just that it happens to be when you take pics (coincidence) or is it that it’s often cold in the desert? I s. Planning my thru hike in 2022 so just curious ?
Love following your blog. Great posts!
Thanks! The temps swing pretty drastically between night and day. A few days ago it was 35 in the morning and in the 80s by the afternoon. It warms pretty quickly once the sun’s comes out.
Desert means dry, not necessarily hot. Antarctica is a desert. My coldest night on the PCT was on Fuller Ridge.