Mile: 583.3 to 602.1 (Robin Bird Spring)
up/down: 3800/2900 feet
New trip bird: Northern Pygmy-Owl.
It felt again like two different days. We started from our camp by the spring in a heavy mountain-top fog, windmills and all. Before long we passed into the Piute Mountains and with them the remnant burn from a fire about 5 years ago as I recall. The fog burned off by late morning but it was lunchtime before we would clear the burn.
The rest of the day was excellent as we climbed through an oak forest and into low elevation pines. We spent the rest of the afternoon between 5 and 6 thousand feet elevation with lovely forest cover.
Our goal for today- Robin Bird Spring at 19 miles was a logical distance for the day and sets us up for our first water meet tomorrow in the early afternoon. We will connect with our friend Alison at the Kelso Valley Road crossing about 14 miles into our day. There is sometimes water cached at this road but you can't count on caches. This is a tough section with some very long water hauls. With our "home turf" advantage we are lots more comfortable.
For those who know the Piute Mountains, Robin Bird Spring is along the Geringer Grade road at 6300 feet elevation. It is pleasant here with a nice spring and lots of birds singing in the trees. I'm surprised again that I have enough cell signal to post tonight, but I certainly won't complain.
And yes, we passed mile 600 this afternoon. Woot!
600! Yippee!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you have the energy to hike 20 miles, pitch camp AND write a blog post that looks like you did it from your home office.
ReplyDeleteSrose... Agree! And those first two shots of the horizon are just gorgeous. I continue to find myself awestruck at all that lies right here in California.
ReplyDeleteLove the wildflower shots! Can't wait to see what's blooming in the sierras! Congratulations on 600!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations 600. I am following you all the way.
ReplyDeleteWarning: Bird nerd alert! I know you guys were covering the miles as fast as possible, BUT, did you happen to notice if the Bushtits on your list were minimus or plumbeous? Asking for a friend.
ReplyDeleteSteve, over 75% of our bird detections are calls or singing males. We don't even slow down for bushtits, wrentits, any other sculkers. That said, Susan says the bushtits in this section were coastal.
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