Day 7 - (5/02/12) - Long Day

Contents:  Rodriguez Spur Truck Trail to Third Gate (23.8 miles)

Today was a long day, and I'm so glad to be in camp.  I started my morning off with a hot mashed potato breakfast, anticipating that I wouldn't want to use my stove this evening.  (I don't usually cook in the morning.)  I made good time down to Scissors Crossing.  Many people who started hiking before the kick-off made it to Scissors Crossing and then hitched back to Lake Morena for the weekend.  At the kick-off, Scissors Crossing had seemed like this magical, far off land of Scissors that I would never reach.  It was funny to finally be there.  It's actually a place where a couple of highways converge (but there is a cache of scissors!)  The hiking to Scissors Crossing was mostly downhill.  Scissors Crossing is located in the middle of a wide valley-it must have been two miles across.  On the far side of the valley are some fairly rugged mountains, and I could see the trail switch backing up them as I descended toward the crossing. 

After taking a break near the water cache, I crossed the highways and headed up the switchbacks.  The switchbacks went quickly for me, but that's where any quickness ended.  After the switchbacks the trail started snaking its way along the mountains just below the ridge crest and it seemed never ending.  I kept expecting to round a corner and see the trail topping out, but all I would see was more trail rounding another corner.

I finally crested at long-awaited Mile 86 and took a break before continuing on.  I'd been tentatively planning to camp around mile 88 but it was quite desolate there.  I was also feeling a bit lonely for the first time and was in no mood to camp alone.  I knew Kayla and Bryce were quite a ways behind me, but I was pretty sure Extra Credit and Karl would be camped at the Third Gate City (mile 91.2).  Hoping to find them, I decided to push on.  Either way, I knew there would be people there.  I finally rolled into the cache around 7:30 and immediately found Extra Credit and Karl.  I think they were surprised to see me.

I'm so happy to be here.  I just ate a hodge podge dinner of a salmon packet, an orange, two English muffins with peanut butter (my 5th and 6th of the day), a couple pop tarts, and a Hershey Bar.  I plan to cook a hot meal when I get to the water tomorrow.

My water supply is in good shape.  I have roughly 2.5 liters left and only about 10 miles of hiking before the Spring.  Extra Credit, Karl, and I are planning a relaxed day tomorrow, and I'm already looking forward to being in Warner Springs on Friday.