Day 18, Fuller Ridge to Interstate 10

We left camp at around 7:15 a.m. and continued our long descent down Fuller Ridge.

From the top of the ridge yesterday to the bottom today, we will go down more than 6,500 feet.

The drop never seemed steep, though, because there were many switchbacks and turns along the contours of the ridge.

The farther down the trail went, the more wildflowers appeared. The first to show were Mojave gold poppies.

In one segment of the trail, hairy yerba santa were plentiful.

This variety of wildflowers is part of the boraginaceae family, one of the largest plant families found in the United States. However, the pale purple hairy yerba santa are only found in a relatively small area of Southern California on the west side of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts.

When I wasn’t looking at flowers, I was looking at views of the Coachella Valley.

The valley’s name is a mis-spelling of “conchilla,” which is Spanish for “little seashell." Fossilized mollusk shells are said to be found there because the area was once a an inland sea.

More yellow flowers appeared farther down. They lined both sides of the trail and among the rocks.

Many of these were ragleaf bahia, also known as yellow ragweed.

Besides the many clumps of flowers, there were large boulders. Some were larger than a car.

I passed so many that at one point I thought I had passed the same boulder twice.

On the other side of the desert stood San Gorgonio Mountain, which was capped in snow. Fortunately, the trail doesn't go near the mountain enough to go through the snow.

I was glad to know that. I feel I’ve had enough snow for a while.

At one point I met a backpacking couple who were from the area. They told me that more snow fell in the Sierra just last week.

This was not good news because that area had already received more than 200 percent of normal snowfall. The trail was heading that way and I had hoped the snow there would begin to quickly melt, not add more.

In several spots on the lower end of the trail there were washed out sections. The trail had been damaged by heavy rain that fell in the area a couple months ago.

Some sections appeared to have been recently repaired, but in a couple locations I had to step carefully over the washout to reach stable trail.

Nearing the desert floor, cacti began to appear. Some were prickly pears, which were in bloom.

After four hours of walking I reached a water faucet and parking lot. A trail crew from American Conservation Experience was there. The team members were unloading tools and preparing to return to repair more of the washout damage.

Spamalot and Falls were also there, now recovered from the flu. They had hired a ride from Idyllwild yesterday and hiked up the trail to near this spot, where they waited to meet us.

It was good to be a reunited tramily.

Once hugs were exchanged we lifted our packs again and began walking down the trail toward Interstate 10. Starting out, the trail was paved, like a narrow road.

Along the way we encountered a large rattlesnake, which was luxuriating in the warmth of the pavement. It didn’t appreciate our presence and let us know that with a stern rattle. The path was wide enough that we were able to steer clear without trouble.

Now the trail was lined with even more yellow wildflowers. Most were yellow ragweed.

This continued beyond the end of the paved section, where the trail then followed a road before turning off on a sandy footpath across the desert plain.

As we neared Interstate 10, the trail disappeared. Instead of a recognizable footpath, we found a wide expanse of sand. It was miserable to walk on.

Things became worse when we neared a railroad bridge next to the highway. The trail crossed a dry riverbed, which was a jumble of sand, rocks and debris.

Actually, to say the trail crossed this riverbed is an overstatement. There still wasn’t a real trail. We had to guess at the best route.

It seems there may have been a marked trail here at one time, but this section was impacted by the same storm that caused damage on Fuller Ridge.

Once we were in the shade of the bridge we discovered a large cache of trail magic. Fruit and cold drinks were left there by kind volunteers.

At this point, we didn’t have much of a plan except for one: get a couple Uber drivers to take us to In-N-Out Burger.

Getting an Uber from here was easy. We made a short, steep climb up an embankment to a service road next to the interstate.

Many drivers roam this area because it’s between Palm Springs and Cabazon, where a large casino is located. The drivers also seemed to know how to get to the service road because it is common for hikers to want a ride from here.

Because of the size of our group, we needed two drivers. The first driver was soon followed by the second.