May 2, 2007

Deep Creek Spring is a popular hide-away and luckily I passed through mid-week.  A young group of teens partied until sunrise.  As I was leaving the spring, I stopped to chat with two stragglers from the group.  They were teenage hippies and gave me the peace sign.  I laughed to myself before responding with a peace sign of my own.  Groovy, I thought, as I began my morning hike.

Ed and I hiked 17.7 miles today.  We hiked past the Mojave River Forks Reservoir Dam and finally beyond Deep Creek.  I treated seven liters of water that I fished out of Deep Creek by lying on a bridge and hanging my arm and body over the edge while dipping my Nalgene.  I did this five times.  We took a break at the only unpaved highway in California, Highway 173.  I ate peanut butter and Sport Beans on a tortilla.  It wasn't very good but my little tubs of orange marmalade were deep in my pack and not worth the effort to dig.

As Ed and I were packing up, a car drove up.  Don Valentine introduced himself as a trail angel.  Damn!  My mind began reeling with food feasts. Don took us to a country store where I purchased a Neapolitan ice cream sandwich and a jumbo Sprite.  I was also able to use a pay phone to send out my Pocketmail journal entries.  Don, 75, is an ultra-marathoner, and he showed us the difficult navigational parts of the trail since he has run on every section we were about to hike.  Any additional tips are always appreciated on this wilderness trail.

Ed and I thanked Don for his kindness and sauntered onward into a high wind.  The afternoon winds kept me cool in the desert, but made my hike more challenging.  At day's end, Ed and I camped at Silverwood Lake on a small sandy white beach about 10 feet from the water.  As darkness grew, the waves became stronger and seemed to be lapping outside my tent. Then I fell asleep.