Day 16

(WARNING: Creepy insect pic in this post.)

Here we are packing up our stuff from our night sleeping under the highway. It was pretty dirty under there and we could feel the rumble of the cars going by in the night like little earthquakes. It was also very noisy. Anyway, we can definitely check "slept under a bridge" off the list.

It might have been gritty and loud under there but here's what our view looked like in the morning - mountains above the train bridge.

Waking up and watching the trains pass by. It was hypnotizing watching all the different graffiti on the cars flash by.

We packed up and had about a one mile walk to Ziggy and The Bear, a thru-hiker hostel run by a very nice older couple who actually bought a house near the trail in order to host hikers. We had packages there that we mailed to ourselves at Warner Springs and we had to go pick them up. 

Ziggy and The Bear's place. Hikers have full run of the carpeted backyard and back porch. Out front was a line of 6 or 7 port-a-johns and on the side was a wash sink with wash buckets and drying lines.

We spent much more time here than we had planned but it was very comfortable and we managed to get a lot of chores done.

I really liked the carpets.

While I was doing some laundry I noticed an insect trapped in one of the complimentary wash tubs. It was about 3 inches long and looked to me like a small camel spider.

CREEPY INSECT BELOW:

There he is. Looks like a nasty little bugger. I don't know if they bite or not but seeing this guy made me very happy that Mike and I are using a tent with bug net included instead of using a tarp or coyboying like so many PCT hikers do. 

We eventually got all our stuff together and headed out as the storm that has been on our heels the past few days pushed closer to us down the valley. There was a wind advisory in place for gusts up to 40 to 50 MPH. Many other hikers chose to try to wait it out at Ziggy's but we had only done a mile for the day and needed more to stay on track. Additionally, we were actually prepared for some rain, and hiking in cloudy weather for the past couple of days has been a very welcome change from the blistering sun. 

About to enter PCT section "C".

Shady dugout spot before a climb.

Wind turbines.

View back south.

The storm remained at bay as we did a big uphill push back into the mountains. It was mostly cloudy and we didn't get any rain, only a fine mist that was actually pretty pleasant while hiking.

We ended winding through these gorgeous grassy mountains with long arms that stretched down, and little to no vegetation of note. The wind here was very, very strong. It was a challenge to stay on trail as strong gusts would regularly push us from our path. The trail here was also very narrow at times with drop-offs on one side so we had to be careful and steady with our walking.

Saw another one of these pretty black and white snakes. This guy had a view.

We eventually rounded a corner and saw these amazing mountains that looked like badlands in front of us. There were visible layers of sediment of different colors creating striking bands of color in the rock. There was red, green, even bluish tones. Illuminated in the evening light it was very beautiful.

We then descended down into a large wash area that is home to a small flow of water called Whitewater Creek. 

With the day coming to an end, we called it here after a shorter day (9 mi) and decided to stay the night at a place a little off the trail called Whitewater Preserve in Whitewater Canyon. They're actually a day-use area but generously allow PCT hikers to camp on their grounds.

Palm trees against the sedimentary rock close to the campground.

Our spot.

While we set up the winds really picked up and we were getting REALLY strong gusts. We had to gather large rocks to place on the edges of our tents so that they didn't blow away.

At one point the ranger came over to chat and told us that this area was the convergence of many different ecosystems including the Sonoran desert to the south, the Colorado desert to the east, and the Mohave desert to the north. He also laughed when Sparrow asked if the winds would die down at night. 

Sparrow visiting in our tent when a big gust blew through. The wind was so strong that it would completely bow in the sides of our tent, as if someone were trying to sit on it.

It remained windy as we tried to make our dinners and we tried to keep thoughts of our tent poles snapping out of our minds as we fell asleep.