April 18, 2007

The wind was fierce last night...all night long.  I awoke with a headache and broke camp during a chilly morning.  Ed discovered a scorpion under a rock and we poked it with a stick to test its strength.  I climbed what is described in the guidebook as a short mile out of Cedar Spring.  It seemed extra long and hard to me.  I took a brief break at the top.  Ed and I began our hike at 11:00 a.m.  Did I mention that it was cold?  It's tough getting out of a snug sleeping bag when it's cold.

We hiked a very rugged and beautiful section of the trail climbing to an elevation of 7430 feet.  I am not used to the altitude yet, so I am sucking wind during the entire hike today.  Ed and I stopped on a gap on San Jacinto's crest.  We camped between two huge boulders barely fitting our tents in the small area.  The pickins were slim and the air was brisk.  I ended sleeping on top of a good-sized rock, but was happy anyway.  Ed wasn't too pleased by my campsite choice and jokingly harassed me about it.