Riding The Crest 2009

SECTION D   CAJON PASS TO AQUA DULCE

May 21 - May 29

On Friday, May 22, just before 7am I started down from the top of the Upper Lytle Creek Ridge. Jur and I camped with Shell and another hiker couple camped across the trail. I had slept great despite a slight angle. The view was incredible and the bird song woke me. The hikers started first and I did not pass them until late in the morning. It was not long after that I encountered a huge tree across the trail. I started to saw off protruding limbs in hopes Jur could get over it when I remembered there had been a clear-cut or burn line following the trail. This is where the Forest Service bulldozes a huge track up on a ridge to try to stop wildfires from spreading. So I tied Jur to one of the branches and hiked back down the trail to take a look. It was a ways back but it looked like a possibility. So I went back and got Jur. Without getting on I led him up a steep embankment to the burn line. We then started hiking the burn line, me first with Jur following laden with the packs. It amazed me that a bulldozer could do what it did on these inclines. They were nearly too steep to climb! Jur and I were huffing and puffing. The PCT averages a 15% incline and this burn line was no respecter of slope! After about 15 minutes I saw a possible reconnection to the PCT and started making my way towards it. It was about 20 feet of a sharp drop but it looked to be the best option so we went for it and Jur was fantastic. We were back on the PCT! Later Shell asked how I managed to get around that tree! A horse makes this trail much more challenging. Late in the day I passed a ski slope covered in Spring grass and stopped to let Jur graze for ½ hour and got a phone call in too! I got to Inspiration Point taking picture after picture. There I met up with the two day riders and they offered me water and I accepted for Jur. Then I rode the next five miles to Vincent Gulch Divide at the bottom of Mt Baden-Powell (where Ralph was waiting). The trail was wider here and quite a good surface but Jur was too tired to do more than walk. Ralph was grinning as I arrived and helped me unsaddle. He had dinner going. We spent the night in the trailhead parking lot.

I slept terrible; Ralph snoring, worrying about the horses, the dog moving, and the cars coming and going, I was wide awake at 5. It was cold in that divide but not as bad as the evening before as I was unsaddling when the wind was blowing. We fed the horses and Ralph made cheese omelets with raisin toast for us. We loaded the packs on Harmony and I crossed the road before mounting up at 7:07. I only got out of Ralph’s sight before the packs needed adjusting. So at 7:11 I was off again. The climb was so steep I decided to walk and lead Harmony so I would not tucker him out so early in the day. It was a 4 mile hike from 6565’ to 9400’ to the top of Mt. Baden-Powell. I walked the whole way and my legs would hardly do the last 200 yards. But it was worth it. I was at the top at 9:33. I passed five day hikers on the way up, most commenting on the horse and Zack and Aaron commenting on my pace (overtaking them). We got to the spring and a day hiker, Ken, said it was narrow. I started down it to get Harmony water and was disappointed with several rock outcroppings. These made it dangerous for Harmony with the packs so I turned him around and went back to the PCT to continue the climb to the top. At the top there was snow packs some of which Harmony ate as snow cones but several were long and deep. Zack and Aaron offered to help. So Aaron held Harmony while I scouted ahead. I thought it best to climb straight up the slope alongside the snow pack. I asked Zack to go ahead to be ready. It was very seep but we made it by using every little lip we could find for a rest. The snow packs are dangerous to the horse’s legs as we do not know what is under the surface when the horse breaks through. On top of Mt. Baden-Powell I hung out for an hour getting lots of pictures and having lots of pictures taken of us. Up on the ridge there are 1500 year old trees. Absolutely beautiful in their age. It was Memorial Day weekend and many day hikers were arriving as I was leaving, many exclaiming over seeing a horse. This is a very popular hike for Boy Scouts and I saw hundreds throughout the day. I started down the mountain at 10:33. I was told to ride the ridge as the PCT was still covered with snow at that elevation. I did get back on the PCT at one point only to run into more snow and returned to the ridge for a short distance. When I was once again on the PCT I encountered Forest Ranger, Dan J. on his way up. He was amazed I had come so far. He gave me a couple of waterproof maps of this entire area. So once again God provided and I was very well equipped. What was funnier was that at 12:35 I came to a trail junction and a dayhiker asked if I had a map as he was not sure which trail to take. So I got out the map and together we figured his route out. At 4:30 I came to a roadside camping area and a bunch of PCT hikers. The father of two, Dave T., had all sorts of fresh fruit and drinks for hikers. What a great rest. There was a detour for a breeding toad of more than 2 miles on Road N2 (paved and sharp curves popular with motorcycles) it would be dangerous with the horse. Dave offered to be a chase vehicle for me and I gladly accepted. So at 5:30 I set out at a trot down newly opened and paved N2. For just less than a mile I trotted but then stuff started falling off my packs so I had to do the rest at a walk. I was very grateful for the escort as many cars and motorcycles slowed down and went around Dave and me slowly. I finished the detour and rode down it to Cooper Creek and crossed it at 6:30. There was a level area just after crossing the creek so I set up camp there. I fed Harmony and put on his blanket and set up my camp. I was in the sleeping bag just after dark as I was too tired to do anything else.

The next morning it was 7 before I went out and started packing up. I was on the trail at 8:15 and was glad I had not tried to go on to the Cooper Creek camp the night before. There was a large tree across the trail and it was a long maneuver around it. A tired horse can misstep and have an injury so I was glad Harmony was  rested. We enjoyed a trail full of the wonderful smell of grape Kool-Aid given off by this wild lupine. At 10:15 we arrived at Cloud Burst Summit and shortly after saw a wonderful sign made of pinecones announcing the 400^th mile of the trail!!! Woohoo! Got to Three Points Trailhead and there was Dave (of the chase vehicle)! Stopped and said hello and hung around about 15 minutes before riding down the Silver Moccasin Trail the 2.6 miles to Horse Flats Campground. Ralph was in the same location as we parked in 2007. He greeted me with “I am having so much fun! Wait until I tell you all the stories.” He was grinning. Ralph has been a trail angel. Trail Angels help the hikers all up and down the trail. Some bring water miles out to a trail that is waterless otherwise. Others leave cookies or fruit. Some open their homes and yards for camping and a rest. All of this strengthens the feeling of community along the trail. Ralph was picking up hikers and taking them to their hotels (a rest and shower) and back to the trailheads. Ech was helping by giving them doggie kisses and hugs (he loves a lap) and all of the hikers were loving that too. As it was getting dark, Dave came to ask if he could bring a truckload of hikers to our camp for the night. We welcomed 10 hikers that night around a big campfire. At about 5:30 Melody W. and her family arrived. (I met Jonathan and Melody along with some friends of theirs in Joshua Tree National Park on our 2007 trip. We had a wonderful weekend, literally crashing their party in ’07, and now I was in for another treat.) Melody was there with their horse, Kit, to ride two days of the PCT with me! We got her horse on the highline with mine and all her gear unpacked before saying goodbye to her family.

The next morning I made three pots of coffee before saddling up along with Melody. We rode out of camp at 8:09 and on the 2.6 mile Silver Moccasin Trail to Three Point Trailhead where we got on the PCT (where I had left off the day before). Melody and I were able to trot a good part of the way since I had no pack on. (I had some clothes and toiletries in a stuff sack stuffed into my cantle bag. I had the regular feed bags for Jur and I on the pommel.)  We were going to stay the night at North Fork Ranger Station. We soon dipped down into a hot desert like area and then came to a small stream. After the horses had a drink we started climbing a bare, hot hillside and slowed down for the rocks. At lunch we were on the top of Mt. Pacifico with great views. I fed Jur his lunch and ate mine. We then started a long descent and dismounted to walk a couple of miles. We got to the Mill Creek Ranger Station and found a faucet to get water for the horses. They also had bottled water and Gatorade we enjoyed. I don’t think I have ever drunk one so fast. At 3:30 we started across the road and another climb up to Mt. Gleason. It seemed to go on forever. We were told it was 9 miles but it seemed more, maybe because the horses were getting tired. It was pretty up there and down the other side was North Fork Station. I estimated nine o’clock arrival so we pushed as hard as we could as only Melody had a light. At 8:30 we saw the light of the ranger station and reached it at 8:45. Todd was there to greet us even in the dark. He had two buckets of water for our horses and corrals. A great camp for us, I slept great after a 30 mile ride and the company of a great horsewoman.

After profuse thank you’s to Todd, Melody and I were back on the PCT at 8 the next morning. The trail from the station north immediately starts descending, pretty much all the way to Aqua Dulce, 19 miles away. It is mostly sand with scattered rock and some rock steps. We dipped down to a trailhead and passed some day hikers. We got down into one canyon and met Miss Alaska at a small creek. She was resting and we watered our horses. We climbed out of that canyon and then went along a ridge, which had two ground bee nests. They were marked by a stone “B” on the trail; left by a considerate hiker. At 11 we were at Indian Canyon and the Equestrian Trailhead. We walked the horses across the road to continue the PCT. It dropped to a small stream and the horses drank and ate grass and we ate our lunch. It was after two o’clock when we rode through the Vaquez Rocks in the same named County Park in Aqua Dulce. The rocks are beautiful limestone with obvious layers. We took lots of pictures but my camera lens would no longer adjust for zoom. I knew I’d be looking for a camera repair shop the next day. We were in Aqua Dulce at 3 but had a two mile roadside ride. Not the best part of the Pacific Crest Trail! Jur was not enjoying the gravel and was miserable. We arrived at the Saufley’s Hiker Heaven and I could hear Ralph long before I saw him. He showed us the pens and we unsaddled Kit and Jur and gave them water and hay. I know Jur was happy to be “home.” Ralph gave us the grand tour of the Saufley’s PCT Heaven. It is really quite the pad. It had bunk tents set in the yard, three out houses, two mobile homes for couples, a shower and WiFi. There is a laundry service, a sewing machine available, and many other things for the asking. What a wonderful haven for the weary. We stayed over one day to do some shopping and catch up. These are called “zero days” by the hikers because you make no miles. These were very important for us to get the horses rested and all the supplies needed. Melody enjoyed meeting many hikers there and Jonathan, Morgan and Luke arrived about 5:30 to pick her up. After some pictures and hugs they departed gifting us with bales of hay. I will miss having such a good riding companion along. I spent the evening with the farrier tools and trimmed Harmony’s hoofs and doctored Jur’s heels (he had a heel cut from a rock not while riding). Ralph fed the horses and he made me a marvelous chicken dinner. At the Saufley’s I had an Internet connection  but no ATT phone service. I got all my e-mails and quest book notes; that’s always fun! A great end to a great two days! 

The next day was our “zero day.” With our horses sharing a paddock there was no worry about them. There was a shuttle going to REI driven by Kary L. Kary has a dream of riding the PCT so we hit it off. By 9 o’clock I was piling into Kary’s crew cab truck and tooling down the highway to outside Los Angeles to shop at REI and a Wal-Mart with 7 others. I sat beside $5 (hiker trail name) and we had a great time talking and joking. Everyone had questions about riding a horse on the trail. Kary found out  I needed a Western saddle and that evening came back to the Saufley’s with one for me to use. What a blessing. That afternoon Ralph and I went to the Acton Post Office to see if my collapsible buckets had arrived from Long Riders. The shipment had arrived ten minutes before! And they had only been shipped the day before! Then we went looking for a feed store. We pulled in to a tack shop only to find it was closed/out of business. But we met Lisa M. who asked what we needed and said she might have a lot of what I needed. She then led us to Fox Feeds where I stocked up on everything. When Ralph went to back the truck into the loading bay Lisa noticed our lights were not working on the truck. We told her that we knew but had not taken the time to find someone to work on them. She said she knew a mechanic and would call him right then and see if he could work on our truck tomorrow morning. When she got Malcomb P. on the phone she handed the phone to Ralph to talk and arrange things. Ralph and Malcomb set up an appt. for 9 am the next morning. We then thanked Lisa, exchanged phone numbers and drove back to the Saufley’s.

The next morning I rode from the Saufley’s north while Ralph went to Malcomb’s for truck repair. Malcomb not only repaired the truck lights, he invited us to use Malcomb’s Kushy Ranch as our base and we did for two days. Great people were all along our path.

NEXT: The Mojave Desert

 So many trails - So little time!

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