Day 21, Mission Creek to Coon Creek Cabin

I woke up this morning at 5:00, but I needed extra time to leave camp because I had to collect and filter water. A few others, like Simple Man, did the same thing.

Normally I filter water in the evening, but I chose to put it off until this morning. I was too tired to do it last night.

I didn’t leave camp until 7:30 a.m. Right away, the trail left Mission Creek and made a steep, steady ascent to the top of a ridge. We hadn’t seen the last of the creek, but the trail no longer followed its course.

I wasn’t carrying more water than normal, but my pack felt extra heavy as I climbed the ridge.

The top of the ridge provided a long look back down the canyon of Mission Creek. It was also the beginning of a large burn section.

This section was bleak, with a lot of dead trees. More than once I had to climb over or around a burnt tree that had fallen across the footpath.

The trail went in and out of burn sections for most of the morning.

Everyone stopped at the last crossing of Mission Creek. Except for one spot that would require walking off trail, this was the last reliable opportunity to get water for about 17 miles.

I collected and filtered 4.5 liters. If I thought my pack seemed heavy before, there was no doubt now.

The trail was now above 8,000 feet. At this elevation, there were a few patches of snow, but they weren’t lengthy enough to pose much difficulty. In some cases, it was easier to walk around them than over them.

I stopped for lunch at 1 p.m. with Tengo, Spamalot, and MJ. I'd had a tiring day so far, so it was nice to stretch out and take a break.

After our 30-minute lunch we continued hiking. For a long while there was no snow on the trail, but we got nice views of snow-covered San Gorgonio Mountain.

At 11,500 feet above sea level, San Gorgonio is the highest mountain between the Mexican border and the Sierra. It has also been known as Old Greyback because it looks more like a high hill than a craggy mountain like San Jacinto.

After cresting the high point of today’s segment the trail was smoother but covered in snow.

As the trail descended on this snowy section I became confused by the direction it was supposed to take. There didn’t seem to be a definable path.

I then noticed some footprints, so I decided to follow them. Before long, though, I began to feel I was no longer on the trail. I could tell I was heading in the wrong direction.

Just then, I realized the footprints belonged to Tengo Hambre. He was standing several yards ahead of me.

He said he was lost too.

After some scouting around I discovered the trail was actually located about 20 yards above us. With some difficulty, we climbed up the slippery slope to return to the trail.

Then we decided to put on our microspikes to give us more traction.

We didn’t have to walk on snow much longer because soon the trail went over the top of a ridge to the mountain’s southern exposure.

From here we were able to see a wide view of Coachella Valley.

We hit some more snow on our descent to Coon Creek Cabin, but the slope was not steep enough to warrant putting on microspikes again.

Tengo and I arrived at the cabin at 4:45 p.m. All of the tramily said they wanted to sleep inside, but that didn’t seem like a good idea to me. It was in bad shape, with holes in the roof and open windows.

If the wind picked up, sleeping in the cabin on a concrete floor would be cold and drafty. If that didn’t happen, it seemed to me this was a good haven for mice. I decided to set up my tent on flat ground nearby.

We relaxed outside on the cabin’s porch. This was a nice place to sit because the setting sun lingered here longer than some other areas and that made the spot warmer.

When it came time for dinner, we moved to a couple of picnic tables near the cabin. A hiker named Jigsaw joined us.