Photo: Yeti on the Big Wall
I am updating the blog to cover the time spent recovering in Twenty-nine Palms and heading down to the Anza Borrego State Park at Highway S2, where we would meet Jac for the first time. We had arranged to supply her with water at the road as she came out of Carrizo Gorge. Luckily for her the weather had turned much cooler and was going to be in the high 70s only for several days.
She started on a Tuesday and came out on Wednesday morning to the road. We spent the night before at Bow Willow Campground again. Yeti walked in a few miles and met her coming out. She is a really strong hiker. We filled her water bottles, gave her a Coke (her drink of choice), and talked for a bit. She had a good hike through the gorge and didn’t find as much vegetation as Yeti had a couple of years ago. Then, off she went. Our next meeting would be the next day at Highway 78.
That day, Yeti and I went to camp at the site he’d been at before at Quartz Vein Wash. The campsite is right at the beginning of a slot canyon. When we arrived two couples with some kids were packing up, so we’d get the site. We parked there and then hiked into the slot canyon. It was really beautiful with a series of small up-climbs and a varied terrain, but mostly sand and rocky. Lovely views. We continued up the canyon until we got stopped by a 30 foot wall. While there were probably enough hand-holds and foot holds, it was a steep climb and the down would be hard. Someone had fixed a rope there, so I guess you could rappel down…not something I’d want to do as I’d only once rappelled in my life! So, that was the turn around point. Great hike. Spent the rest of the day reading and relaxing. Quiet night.
Next morning, we went to the meeting spot and a state ranger came in. He asked if we were okay and we ended up speaking with him for quite some time. In fact, he was still there as Jac came down the dirt road. He was really nice, loved bluegrass, and he was a birder. Yeti and he talked music for a long time and Yeti gave him his card and offered to send him as much music as he’d like. Jac came along, had her Coke, filled water bottles and hung out with us for a short bit. Then off she went. We’d meet at the next road later that evening. She had about 17-18 miles more to go. We went into Borrego Springs for breakfast, shopping for groceries, and to go get Covid tests at the pharmacy.
Borrego Springs had a farmer’s market that day on the grassy park by the main traffic circle. After doing our chores, we went back and got fresh berries at the market. We hung out there for several hours, had lunch, read books, and later drove up to the meeting point about 20 miles outside of town. We drove in on the dirt road a bit and found a big turn-out. That would be tonight’s camp. Jac arrived about 7 or so and she camped with us.
Next day, she had about a 18-20 mile section, but it was supposed to be the most challenging according to Steve Tablor, the Desert Survivor who did all of the guidebooks. But, we assumed she could do it in one day, so she only took a gallon of water. Well, we all goofed. It turned out to be really hard with lots of steep up and down climbs on loose sand and rock. We could see how slow she was going and figured she would not make it out that day. So, she’d have to ration water. I was really worried as it was a hotter day. Later in the day, she did pick up speed a bit, but she did not make it out. She had about 7 miles to go the next day.
We got a reservation at a nice RV park, the Oasis Palms and took it for two nights. It was gated! Anyway, it had a fake lake, a pool, jacuzzi, nice shower room/bathroom, and a community room with sofas, pool table and all kinds of amenities. And it was air conditioned. The owner told us that a Mexican restaurant by the Indian casino, Red Earth, did an outdoor buffet dinner, so we went to it on Saturday night. It was delicious; we had chicken burritos. Everything fresh, including cucumber/lemonade.
Next day, after breakfast we drove over to meet Jac. We could see that she was making good time, so that part of the route was easier. She was out of water and really de-hydrated. She drank one liter of water and her coke before we headed back to the RV park. As it turned out, she stayed for the day and the night so she could recover from that difficult section. After hydrating and resting a bit and having lunch, we drove into Indio to resupply. Then, we took Jac back to the Mexican buffet again for dinner. Yum. I was able to swim both days, which was really nice.
Monday, April 6th, Yeti drove Jac back to the trail and I did laundry. Her day would be all road walk, so pretty easy. It was overcast, so that kept it cooler. We drove past her as we headed to Mecca for the first water re-supply and gave her a coke! She was making great time – over 3 miles/hour. She would meet us at the Starbucks in Mecca and fill up water until later that day. Our plan was to camp in Box Canyon to wait for Jac the next day.