It was a snowy start when we arrived late at night on Friday at Black Rock Campground. I say freezing but we were fine! My only regret was bringing Indian food, a mistake I will never make again. This hike wasmade to try out new gear before setting foot on the CDT in a little over a month. Joshua Tree was beautiful with the fresh snow. I had placed water caches earlier that day and waited for my friends to get off work and make the 2 and a half hour drive from San Diego. We hiked about a mile into the trail and set up in the dark so we could get early start on Saturday. I learned a lot about the kind of tent spikes required in the soft desert sand. I also very happy I spent the money on the thermarest neo air, it was perfect. We also had a first timer go with us! He had never been to a national park and never been camping over night and only ever day a couple of miles day hiking San Diego and he loved it, cold and all. I told him to get a quilt for the trip and he was apprehensive but after trying it in the snowy desert he loved it. The only wild life we got to see where sim frolicking deer crossing the valley floor first thing in the morning. The trail goes for 38 miles and we did it from Saturday to Monday. On the first day we did 11 miles the first day, then 18 the second day, and had a quick finish in the morning with 8 miles. We knew a high wind advisory was set for 10am on the last day and just after we finished the wind picked up bad. Awesome trip.
After a year out to sea I’m finally back home and the first thing I do is leave immediately for the Joshua Tree backcountry. It’s been over a year but I’m excited to see my friends Ryan, Bree, and Sean who will accompany me on our four day trek. This was initially set up as a my prep hike / quarantine but as they’ve all got their COVID vaccine shots, I guess we’ll be okay. It feels good to be back after a year out to sea
1 March 2021 - The CDT prep work begins! I’m currently up in Maine visiting my family and getting in some snowshoeing with my mum before I return home to San Diego. I’ve been stuck on a ship in the Arabian gulf for the past year, one of those trapped merchant mariners you may have heard about on NPR, so it’s good to see trees and be out in the woods again. Regardless, I had planned to do the AT this year but as I read more and more about it I began to realize this the AT wasn’t quite what I was looking for. So CDT it is. Due to being trapped in a ship I had plenty of time to go over the pros and cons and be scared by the internet fear mongers of doing the CDT as a first thru hike but I think think their fear mongering is what led me to choose it in the first place. I’ve been sailing big ships since I was 18. I’ve seen the whole world since then and now I’m 33 and ready to see America by foot.
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