This is part 20 of the “Why We Hike” Series
Thursday, May 7th / 16.5 miles / Elevation gain: 4,500’
Penrod Canyon to Apache Peak
We were on the trail at 4am again, and before long pass up where Carolina and Pilgrim were camping. They had passed our camp just after dark the night before but seemed to be traveling at the same pace as us so we expected to see them throughout the next few days.
When we got to our next water source we were disappointed to hear from Lindsey and Jordan (who were honeymooning on the PCT) that the spring close to the trail was foul.
Apparently Lint had gone down to it early this morning and I figured if Lint wouldn’t drink it then it wasn’t fit for consumption by normal humans either. The alternative was a 1 mile off trail to a source with a 700’ drop. So I emptied my pack, took all the water bottles including the filter and headed out. All in all it took me a little over an hour to make the round trip, putting a serious dent in our morning mileage.
True to the forecast, it got hot, really hot. We switched Zach to the cooling vest and started going through water fast. By the time we got to Forbes Saddle we needed to load up on water again, not only for today but for overnight and half of tomorrow.
This time Kelly volunteered to go down to the ½ mile off trail source. Carolina and Pilgrim also happened to be here so they went as a group. Apparently the stream they filtered from was really scummy and the process took quite a while. About 2 ½ hours had passed by the time they returned to Zach and I.
From Forbes Saddle, it was a very steep 3 mile climb up to Apache Peak. With the daylight fading we pumped through it, stopping only long enough to water Zach a couple of times.
The sun was already down when we found a small campsite overlooking the lights of Palm Springs. Both Kelly and I were drenched in our own sweat so we decided to use a couple of liters of water for laundry and sponge baths. It felt wonderful.
Series continue here: Strawberry Junction