Campo to Idyllwild and a Trail Name

So far, so good. My food is working, my gear is great, and my body is adapting with only minor aches and pains. I skipped the kickoff party because I was too antsy to get out and hike and after talking with folks that attended I stand by that decision. The desert landscape has continued to amaze me, I'm blown away by this land. Quite different from Vermont, where last week at this time I was hiking in snow. I already earned a trail name - Noah the Prophet. The story is illustrated in the video that will appear at my next stop, but I'll summarize: On day 5 I was walking with a girl known as Peter Pan and we were chatting about animals we'd seen. I commented that I hadn't seen a rattlesnake yet and considering that so many already had, I felt like I was overdue. I had hardly finished that sentence when a big, hissing rattler reared its head up and began doing its defensive act barely 5ft in front of us. I haven't had an adrenaline rush like that in a while and Peter Pan and I exchanged glances that said "did that just happen!?!?!".

The snake was sitting on a boulder right next to the trail and there was no way we were getting by it. To our left was a steep incline and to our right a relatively steep, shrubby descent. The only way we were getting by was if that snake moved. I lobbed a rock directly in front of it in hopes it might scare it off but it paid no attention. I lobbed another rock and inadvertantly hit it in the face. Then it was really mad. It slithered down into a bush on the right side of the trail and continued shucking and jiving. Now it was more pissed off and in an equally bad location for us. We decided to climb the ridge to our left and go around that way which worked just fine. I feel bad about hitting it with the rock, especially since I was a visitor in its home. However, it got us by and we continued on our merry way. That's my trail name story.

If that didn't happen my trail name probably would have involved condiments since I keep a steady supply of mayonaise, olive oil, and hot sauce. I like The Prophet better.

Photos and the snake video will come soon!

First few miles

Manzanita Tree

Horny toad lizard

Water cache near the livestock water source

My tarp providing excellent shade in the heat of the day

Dark mica

Trail angel water cache

First rattler

I hiked that 25 miles in a day to see a fellow thru hiker play a cello concert there.

Trail angel cabin

One of the more questionable water sources