May 11th, 2022 by Jon
We purposefully didn’t set an alarm last night to let ourselves sleep in a little bit. I still woke up around 5:45 or 6:00, but we stayed in our tent until almost 7:00, dozing a little bit. We got up and packed slowly; it was nice to take our time and let everything warm up (including ourselves) before getting going in the morning. We ate our oatmeal and waited until 8:00 to get more fuel from the office before heading out. We had planned to pick some up at the hardware store in Agua Dulce, 10 miles away, but the comments said they were low, and we didn’t want to risk running out of fuel. Unfortunately, that meant buying a larger fuel canister than we usually do (250g instead of 100g).
Once we had the fuel, we headed out and got back on trail. We had 10 miles to get to Agua Dulce where we planned to get lunch and then decide how much further to go for the day. The trail crossed the Santa Clara River, which ran in 3 small channels that were easy to cross, before we crossed some train tracks and began hiking up into the hills. For a long time, we just rode switchbacks higher and higher, looking back at the canyon we had just come out of. Although you couldn’t see the river directly, you could see all the lush green plants that grew around it, which stood in stark contrast to the red and brown hills it ran through.
The wind was bitingly cold today; that weather system was still moving through the mountains, and there was a wind advisory for most of the day. As we worked our way up, we began wrapping around the side of the range, and when we turned that corner, it was like getting hit by a freight train. The wind was so strong and so cold that it made your face hurt. The sun was bright, thankfully, and in between the big gusts, we climbed hills, and that kept us warm. We ridge walked for a long time this morning as we walked along the spine of the mountains, moving north once again after traveling west for so many miles.
After 5 miles, we took a small break in a canyon that was sheltered from the wind, enjoyed a quick snack, and warmed up before pushing on. The next mile took us steeply downhill towards Highway 14 and eventually onto the valley floor. We walked along it for a while before we realized that the highway was 250 feet up on a huge mound of gravel that filled in between two cliffs. There was a large tunnel that appeared, it was completely straight, and probably about 100 yards long. After 10 feet, it got so dark that you could barely see anything. It was a bit eerie but thankfully it ended quickly.
When we got to the other side, we began the section of our hike through Vasquez Rocks. It’s famous for its rock formations and has been used as a film set for many famous productions, including Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Blazing Saddles, MacGyver, The Lone Ranger, and many others. They had all sorts of signs labeling the different plants in the area, and it was interesting to learn the names of some of the plants that we walk by every day.
We continued walking and began to see houses on the edge of Agua Dulce as we finished up our walk through the rocks. The PCT actually walks you through town and it’s the official PCT route. After a mile and a half, we came to our chosen lunch spot, Home Made Restaurant, which served big portions and had breakfast and lunch food all day. My kinda place. The wind had picked up even more and sitting outside we had to put extra layers on to stay warm. Thankfully, the food came, and I demolished a milkshake and breakfast burrito in no time. I also polished off the rest of Singsong’s onion rings that she couldn’t finish with her regular burrito. We sat there for a while feeling very full and feeling the wind rage around us. We really didn’t feel like hiking in it anymore, and it looked like it was supposed to die down this afternoon around 3 or 4.
It was around 2:00 when we decided to head to the bar to hang out for 2 hours before hiking another 5 miles to a camp spot. We enjoyed a beer or two and each other’s company for a long time. Just as our group (Seabiscuit, Rune, Wilco, Stealth, and us) left lunch, we saw some other hikers we have seen off and on who are from Belgium eating there too, and invited them to come to the bar afterwards to wait out the wind. Their names are Spigot (pronounced in a French accent) and Classic. They joined us at the bar after a little while and we enjoyed watching the flag outside nearly get pulled out of its holder.
After a while, it died down, and after settling the tab, we all set out in small groups over half an hour or so, starting around 4:00. We had another 2.5 miles of road walking through town to do before the trail finally took us up an old dirt road back into the mountains. We crossed under some high-voltage power lines, which hummed and crackled as we went by. The road was fairly flat, except for one medium-length, very steep climb right before it led us back to a real trail. We hiked along, plunging into a long valley with mountains on the other side of it. After 2 or 3 miles, we finally crossed halfway and found plenty of tent sites in the dried-out riverbed. Everyone else trickled in and we sat around enjoying dinner and wine from a bag that Wilco hiked out. It was a nice evening.
We didn’t hike tons of miles today, but we definitely had lots of smiles. And that feels good. We’re out here to hike, but also to enjoy ourselves. Tomorrow we’re going to try to hike about 20 miles to camp near a fire station because that’s the next real water source. There are reports of a possible water cache, but the supply seems to be dwindling quickly. If we have to, we can get water from a sulfur-tasting spring, though. As a side note, we left town with 7 days’ worth of food and 3 liters of water. It’s the heaviest my pack has ever felt and the hiking is very, very hard. Thankfully, it will get smaller as we go, but the next 2 days will be especially tough. I’m also very thankful that my new shoes work great! They are exactly the same as my old ones, but the cushioning had worn out completely, and I can tell the new ones feel way better. Hopefully, it doesn’t get too windy tonight.
