We woke up at 3AM sharp, packed our things and made a dash to the summit of San Jacinto. Spoons, Fully Charged, Mike, Lost and Found, Tiber, and I got on the trail around 3:30 and had about a 4 mile hike to the summit and needed to be at the peak around 5:45 AM.

We hiked through the dark for about 1 hour and 45 minutes until the colors and light started to show all around us. Spoons sprinted ahead as Tiber and I followed suit. We made it just in time and about 45 seconds after we summited, the sun peaked up from the horizon. At 10,800 feet up, we could see the ocean behind us and Palm Springs, a small looking town below us. We met up with Samson, Rudy, and a couple others in the summit and then started our 6,000 foot descent. A couple miles in, we took a siesta by a magnificent water fall of melted snow.

This was the roughest section for my body. Constant pounding on my knees, shins, and ankles as we walked down the mountain. I managed to get a couple blisters in the process.

We stopped for water at this wonderfully cold stream on our descent. Soaked our feet, cleaned socks, ate a couple snacks, healed some blisters, and hydrated up. At this particular stream, there were millions of lady bugs. At first it was amusing but it quickly became annoying and we parted ways with the fresh water. We walked another 7 miles after to a campsite near a stream. Cowboy camping under the stars with the hun of the interstate below us. We’ll hit the desert floor and walk through a wind farm tomorrow. And, we officially hit mile 200. There was a wild contrast in biomes today as we’re back in desert climate after being in coniferous trees the past 4 days.

Time to rest some feet and get some great sleep.

Happy dreams…