A very cold night up on Fuller Ridge! In Idyllwild, I sent away all my tent and bought a bag liner and bivy sack instead. I don’t know what the net change to my base weight was, but I’m really glad I did it.

I don’t know how cold it got, I don’t have a thermometer, but it was probably in the mid-twenties. I had a nice crop of ice on the outside of my bivy, and a layer of “snow” on top of my bag (between my sleeping bag and the bivy sack). I brushed the snow off my bag and it was otherwise pretty dry. All my water bottles were frozen solid. I left camp with four liters of ice.

Mt. San Jacinto

Nice morning!

All downhill today. I thought it would be Cruiser Trail but no. As the guide book says, this part of the trail is 4 miles as the crow flies, but 16 miles on the PCT. The trail drops 6000 feet. Plus all the ups. Why ups when you’re going down? Well, you couldn’t fit in as many switchbacks, silly!

Why is this backwards?

Feet felt good until about noon. Afternoon was a slow slog like always. Got to the water fountain at the bottom in the late afternoon. There were a few hikers there but I hiked a ways off trail to find a quiet spot away from everything, except the wind. My desert companion.

Back to the desert