Day 6

Scissors Crossing (mile 77) to Barrel Springs (mile 101).

PCT miles today - 24.

Passed the 100 mile rock marker on trail! This morning we arranged transport with ‘Cowboy’ back from Julian to Scissors Crossing where we left off yesterday. Nice guy. Another hiker, Katie, joined us. The day is the warmest so far, with occasional breezes to cool us off. Another day of long distance views and horney toad lizards. Almost stepped on a couple - they have great camouflage. The landscape reminded us of movie sets from the westerns we watched when we were kids. Rick provided remarkable details of ‘The Rifleman’ show (characters, names), which was one of his favorite shows 50 + years ago. He recounted a couple episodes as we hiked. The last story was of Pa and Lucas cowboy camping under the stars with blankets. When young Lucas woke the next morning his Pa was next to him, but he wasn’t moving. During the night, a large rattlesnake had climbed under Pa’s blanket to get warm. Rick didn’t remember how it ended and left me hanging. About 30 minutes later he said, ‘you know, we should ‘cowboy camp’. No kidding. Fun times. We arrived at Barrel Spring road and saw Thaddeus at the spring. Only saw a couple other hikers all day! No other hikers here, but it’s still early. We are camping in a big sandy area near the ‘spring’. Headed to Warner Springs tomorrow. First resupply box!