Yesterday's hike was the longest we've done to date. The girls never stop impressing me. For a just-turned nine year old to hike 20.3 miles, for her 15 year old sister to do the same while carrying half of our water is, to say the least, unusual. They're just good girls.
The twenty miles divided naturally into two halves. The first eleven miles were uphill, mostly on south facing hillsides, in increasing heat (it was 67 degrees when we started and it kept getting warmer). Vicki started hiking with us:
She turned around after about a mile, taking our older dog back with her. We felt it was going to be just too hot for Madeleine to go 20 miles (and it turned out to be a good decision).
Flowers were still abundant:
Oh, and we took this photo for the Muds:
After four miles we arrived at a small valley with a wash in the bottom. Because of the recent heavy snows it was actually flowing. We found our first shade for a rest:
Although the first four miles had been steady uphill, they had at least been due north. In contrast, the next four miles went roughly east, but not directly so. The trail went in and out of every gully, every promontory, winding and moving east, but with no efficiency. I think we traveled a little over one mile east in four miles of hiking. At least the views across Antelope Valley were spectacular:
And, we found not one, but two horned toads, which we've always felt were good luck on our PCT trips. The first one was the largest horned toad I ever recall seeing:
We then came to the second of two valleys that were running water/fresh snowmelt. There was no shade here and so our stay was brief; the girls got to dip their feet in the water and Charlotte went crazy, running up and down the water-course again and again:
We also had a cool view between the walls of this valley, looking at Mount Baldy some 70 or 80 miles away:
The one serious disappointment of this hike was most in evidence here: the absolute trashing of parts of these hills by irresponsible dirt-bike riders. I didn't take any photos of the effects (out of disgust), but tracks led up and down almost every hillside and gully. Some were deep and very badly eroded. Then we saw three riders across the canyon and the girls got to see them ride straight up the wall, spewing fresh dirt in huge plumes. And they too were appalled.
After the second canyon (Gamble Springs Canyon) there followed a 1500 foot, switchbacking uphill hump in the blazing sun. I can see why the guidebook emphasizes the heat in this area (most "through-hikers" hit this part of the PCT in June, not in early April). We were getting quite blasted by the uphill and the heat when we (finally) came around a corner and found Pinon pines, shade and a breeze. We cooled off for over 40 minutes (Katie actually napped). The point just before we found the shade was definitely the low-point of an otherwise very enjoyable hike.
After starting again, refreshed by our rest we found our first residual snow (note in the photo the dirt-bike track through the snow, also the multiple tracks from such bikes all over the limited portion of hillside shown):
Juice-less snow cones helped refresh:
The views from the top of this south-facing hillside were expansive, both of the San Gabriel range, and of the flower-filled Antelope Valley:
We topped out into burned forest but quickly made our way along the trail over to the north side of the range. Here we found more live trees, more snow, cooler temps, and generally downhill hiking all the way to the car. We had a nice lunch in the shade of more Pinons:
Next up, the easy half of our longest day of hiking yet.
