It's Not Home But I Can See It From Here

Day 37 - May 12

Mile: 620 to 638.5

up/down: 3500/2500 feet

We continued on from our camp in the Joshua Trees up to the crest of the ridge and turned north. The trail stayed fairly low, between 5 and 6 thousand feet elevation all the way to Bird Spring Pass. Right on cue there were Dan and Brenda with lots of goodies and water. There were three other hikers with us who all got to share the magic. Thank you Dan and Brenda, you have been more than kind and generous to us this last week. And a special thank you to Alison for all she has done this month. You are a special friend. 

 

 

 

 

Another warm day in the desert and we had a big climb up next. From the pass we switchbacked our way up to 7000 feet elevation in a few short miles. At the top we were cooked so stopped for a nice long break in a wonderful shady spot. From this high perch on the ridge we could see all the familiar sights of home including several of our local mountains like Owens Peak and Mount Jenkins. Far off in the distance the snow covered Mount Langley and Mount Whitney looked ominous. We will be there in a very short time. 

 

 

 

 

We continued along the ridge often seeing west toward the Kern River Valley and also to the east to the Indian Wells Valley and home. We stopped in a spectacular old growth Pinyon Pine forest with many beautiful and huge trees. The wind we had all day has died and the temperature has cooled to about perfect. With 13 miles to our exit point tomorrow, this camp is about as good as it gets. 

 

And, we passed 1000 kilometers today!