Started: Water Faucet (205.7)
Ended: Whitewater Preserve (218.5)
Total: 12.8 miles.
Do you want to see euphoria? I’ve never been so excited to find water. I used to be excited about beer or ice cream. Now I find joy in water. Pure joy is camping near a water source.
After the long hike yesterday, we knew we were going to have to take it easy. The Mesa Wind Farm is called the worst five miles on the PCT. With daily temperatures around 110° and a strong wind, any sweat evaporates immediately. The heat is complete and total, and it eats up any energy you have.
There isn’t much of a trail, just miles loose sand. Every step is soft and it feels like you need to take two steps just to move an inch. We eventually reached the I-10 underpass where there was a reward from some trail angels. There was ice cold soda and fresh fruit. Even though it was just 9:30, some experienced hikers advised us to just take shelter. We watched our fellow hikers flop down after hiking in the sun and heat. It felt pretty ridiculous to just be sitting there, but if we continued, we would consume a liter of water per mile or two. As the locals were waiting, we waited as well.
Candice, Jamie, Fishtank and I made a dancing video which you can find on Fishtank’s YouTube channel. It is pretty funny.
At about 4 p.m., we decided to make a go of it. It was no longer 110°, but merely 109°. Our ultimate goal was an oasis, the Whitewater Preserve, a hiker friendly place to camp. There was one water source along the way, the Mesa Wind Farm office, five miles away. The workers have built a shelter for us and leave water.
Although I was completely wrapped up like a Bedouin nomad, I hiked three miles, only to run completely out of gas. I had hit a wall. All I could do was eat to hopefully re-energize myself. The desert is beautiful, even as it tries to kill you.
Yesterday it seems that I spent my second wind just to get to water. You cannot just muscle yourself through this. I had no choice but to eat two days of food just to get to the Whitewater Preserve completely exhausted. That creates a new problem. I do not have enough food to reach our next stop in Big Bear. That is a problem for another day.
Once we reached the Whitewater Preserve at 10:30 p.m., I just laid down and fell asleep.