Ask more questions......

 7:45 am - Tuesday - March 8th - Anza Borrego Desert, CA - 49° F, 16% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the northeast.....crystal clear, blue, sunny skies today with a forecast high of 71° F.  On this date in 2017 we were overnighting in Amboy, CA on old US-66.....↴

The last time I did any sort of hike over 8 miles was during our stay in Yellowstone back in the summer of 2017.  TLE and I had joined the 100 mile hiking club there, and by the end of the summer we pounding out 10-12 miles on each hike.  Fast forward to Monday....Brandon approached me Sunday evening about joining him, Hans, and Tim on a hike up to Coyote Peak, a local summit here in the Santa Rosa Mountains.  He wasn't sure the total distance we would hike, but said it would take around 5+ hours.  Without really giving it much thought, or asking any questions about the difficulty of the hike I said I would be honored to join them.

We left camp around 8:30 am, and began our trek across the valley to Tim's Class Motorhome, which is parked right at the base of the mountains....about 1.25 miles away.  After picking up Tim we began our climb toward Coyote Peak.  The 'trail' we followed was very faint, and went pretty much straight up....no switchbacks, just straight up.  For the first mile, or so I was doing fine, but my energy began to wain at about the half way mark, which I calculate to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 miles into the hike. I had to admit to myself I was just not in good enough shape to climb straight up a mountain side.

I was beginning to lag behind the guys about 50 yards when they stopped to take a break. When I finally caught up they asked me how I was doing, and I replied that my tank was just about empty.  I had actually stopped to eat one of my protein bars, but it was having little effect upon my energy levels. Brandon offered me a product he used when he was doing long distance cycling called GU Chews......

.....they are kind of like big gummie bears.  He gave me three of them, and within a couple of minutes I went from feeling totally gassed, to ready to hike again....amazing!  We continued on still climbing pretty much straight up a ridge with occasional flatter spots where I could recover before the next climb.

Then the next issue presented itself....before we began the hike I had proactively applied some 'Moleskin' to both my heels, and that worked fine until we were about 1/2 mile from the summit at which point it appeared I was getting blisters.  I suspected the 'Moleskin' had slipped off my heels.  I knew it would take me about 20 minutes to remove my shoes and socks, and let the skin dry before I applied a new layer of Moleskin, plus I could see that the last 1/2 mile was pretty much straight up, and steeper than anything I had done so far, so I announced that I had gone as far as I could, and would wait there for them to make the summit, and return.  At this point we had hiked just under 5 miles....mostly a straight up climb.....

I'm standing about about 1,898' elevation, and Coyote Peak is just under 2,200'...we began our hike at 700' elevation (looking north)

.....while Brandon, Hans, and Tim continued the hike I found a nice rock to sit on to eat a snack, and address my burgeoning blister issue.  As it turned out I only had developed a blister on my right heel, but the left heel was close to sprouting one, so I'm glad I stopped.  I knew I needed to get some 'Moleskin' on those two hot spots, or it would be painful descent.

The view was spectacular in all directions......

Looking toward Borrego Springs (west)

Southwest

East.....our boondock is so far away I cannot see it

This rock appears to be petrified wood....I think....the picture doesn't really do it justice

Descending....looking southeast

Left to right: Hans, Brandon and Tim

....the guys were gone about 40 minutes before returning to me, and then we began the long descent, which if it is even possible, was more difficult that the ascent.  The composition of the trail was mostly small, round rocks....sort of like walking on ball bearings downhill for 3+ miles.....very treacherous.

By the time we reached the valley floor once again it was around 1:30 pm, and we had been hiking around 5 hours.  We dropped Tim off at his Class C around 2 pm, and were back home around 2:20 pm....almost 6 hours since we left on our hike.  The guys hiked just under 11 miles, and I just under 10 miles.  As I approached our campsite TLE exited the Newell to see how I was doing.....I was completely out of gas, and I don't think I could had walked another 1/4 mile.  I had about a cup of water left in my 100 oz. Camelbak Mule hydration system....that was close.

I sat down in one of the anti gravity chairs while TLE took off my socks, and Keen hiking shoes.  The 'Moleskin' had done its job, and there were no new blisters.  From there I went inside, stripped off my clothes, then hopped into the shower for a much deserved hot shower.  By the time I had dried off, and re-clothed myself it was after 3 pm.  I sat down in my recliner, and took a much deserved nap.  Lesson learned?  Yup, ask more questions about the trail, and difficulty.  I was not sad I did not make it to the summit....I was able to see them summit, and that was enough for me.  My main concern was fixing my heels, and preserving enough energy to make it home, which I barely did.  Do I regret making the hike....nope....it was worth it to see those high up views, and spend time with some really interesting guys.  I think I'll spend Tuesday enjoying the view from my anti gravity chair.

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