Mile 56 to 73 near Scissors Crossing

I cowboy camped again and woke up in the night with stars draped across the midnight sky. The only sound was the wind rustling the brush. This campsite among the boulders was my favorite so far.

I awoke to the sounds of Burnout and Boldazore getting ready and quickly packed up my camp. The sky was cotton candy pink and I climbed up a set of bolders to grab a shot of the mountains and desert floor below.

I was out of camp by 6:10 AM and passed Kim, who now has the name Mowgli, emerging from the bushes near the trail. She had the best poop spot that morning with an epic view of the Anza Borrego Desert.

The high was supposed to be 70, but by 8:00 it was already getting hot and the high would actually hit the high 80s.

Today was all about water and losing elevation. I got water at the Sunrise Trailhead at mile 59 and the next water wouldn’t be until mile 68. Today was a little more like what I thought desert hiking would be like. Blazing sun, little water, and even less shade.

I was making good time and was carrying about 3.5 liters of water for the 9 mile stretch.

From the campsite at just under 6,000 feet, we would drop down to the low 3,000s. Grandma get the trekking poles because them knees are going to be hurting.

I made it to the Rodriguez Fire Road at 11:15, which had a cistern and decided to siesta for the afternoon. Pretty much everyone had the same idea and it was a full house soon. I was lucky enough to land the penthouse of shaded spots!

Friends soon started to roll in and I shared my spot with Mowgli. It was nice to sit and talk with everyone as we waited out the heat.

Mowgli and I moves out at 3:30 and kept a good pace. We saw our first rattle snake on trail. It had a nice burnt red and dusty pink color. Luckily it was sliding off trail when I saw it. A little after 5:00 we rolled up to mile 73 and saw Rhino and two others chillin’ near some campsites. We decided to call it a day and head to Scissors Crossing and hitch to Julian in the morning for some free pie and ice cream!

Wildlife: Cotton-tailed rabbits, lizards, raven, bird with orange breast and back with black head, wings and tail with white markings on the wings and tail. It’s eye was orange or yellow, I think.