The Wonderland Journal

Miles hiked: 20? We blue blazed the trail.

Mile marker: 205.7

It got down to 33.7 degrees last night here at Strawberry Camp. Cowboy camping? Not good. 

My legs are damp with… sweat? Condensation? I don’t really know. I shiver as I deflate my pad and try to modestly put my day clothes on under my sleeping quilt — which is basically a sleeping bag that is open in the back. You can attach the quilt to your sleeping pad and to your body. 

We pack up as best as we can with icicles for fingers. Rafiki offers to grab water for everyone, and I accept knowing how cold it is. It takes me forever to get ready anyway. 

“My fingers are so cold they hurt!” Rafiki mumbles in his early morning voice. 

We begin a rocky descent, a technical hike that requires me tying my shoes multiple times — I’ve yet to find the perfect tightness for the new shoes — and almost roll my ankle twice. The first time I rolled on it, I felt nothing but am afraid of a potential injury. The second time I felt a slight twinge at the ankle. 

It’s so cold that I’m wearing my fleece, rain jacket, and beanie. We stop at a rock that overlooks the sky. All the clouds are pooled beneath us. It’s so fun being over the clouds!

Marin is a young woman we met yesterday morning, so we kept seeing her along the trail. She ended up camping by us last night, too. She’s from Montana and spends her time skiing and rock climbing. She also dehydrated her own food for the trip! Like our French friend, Thomas. 

Marin is vegan and made split pea soup, curries, and other meals just for this trip. Her mom actually is sending her boxes from home, since she has a combination of her homemade hiker meals, purchased hiker meals, and snacks that need to be purchased in case she has a change in appetite — which happens frequently for backpackers. 

We cross a beautiful little waterfall that has stone-crafted steps! Here, we refill water bottles, a task that freezes our fingers. I give Marin some oatmeal and Kind bars — but bars that I have NOT enjoyed in trail — since she accidentally under packed her food carry this section. 

I’m flying down the hill when my foot slides on the loose rock and slips underneath me. I begin to giggle and throw my arm over my face. It didn’t hurt, but I can’t believe I just fell flat on my back. 

Later Rafiki and I pass a beautiful red plant that Dad was hoping I’d see: a snow flower! It’s a pinkish-red with mushroom shaped tulip heads popping out like spores. 

Denis, Rafiki and I sit on a log. My legs are chafing, so Rafiki lends me his special ointment for this kind of stuff. 

I rub the thick wax all over my legs and close the lid on it. For some reason, it’s not shutting. Only after I press the lid on with all my might, do I realize I just smashed the wax on top!

Oh no!

I had to twist the little twisty knob to get it out more and now I ruined Rafiki’s salve!

I pull it off, but now the top of the wax has completely detached from the bottom. 

“I’m so sorry, Rafiki. Here, just take it,” I say, feeling stupid, regretful, and giggly at the situation. 

“It’s okay,” Rafiki says. 

He’s such a good sport. 

We have lunch at a little creek, where Denis tries to pawn his Riceroni off to me. 

“No!” I say. “I’d have to cook it for twenty minutes with my gas stove!”

We joke that Denis is trying to shift his mistake on to someone else. Apparently he didn’t look to see if rice can be cold soaked!

Now, I need to revisit my blister. While I had Rafiki help me by handing me things, he used the New Skin right before I did. Well, I put it way only to discover a moment later my back is covered in a yellow residue. 

I forgot to close the New Skin!

Gosh. Now I have to wipe everything in my bag down with my bandana. This whole area smells like acetone, which is especially bad since I crowded Rafiki’s space to get out of the sun. 

It’s not long after lunch that we descend down a very long and rocky traverse. My knees hurt, and while the first bit is sandy, we soon get into more technical terrain. 

We rest on the side of the ridge. It’s so dry and sandy here. 

People hear and see all sorts of rattle snakes on this ridge. Dad points out a fat diamond head, who had probably just eaten based on his slow movement across the trail. Usually they’re quite aggressive. 

Our trek downhill is endless. 

We carefully and quirky navigate the next part I’ve been wary of: the beehive. Apparently there is a beehive that many hikers have been stung by. 

Rafiki, Dad and I quietly walk along the ridge. The rocks are huge and red or tan. Many of them look like cartoon dinosaurs or shark faces. 

I pull my trekking poles up so they don’t make any sound. FarOut said to walk slowly and quietly. I guess walking quickly and loudly will disturb them? It’s a silent walk save for the gentle wind. 

We made it out, no stings!

We catch up with Denis, Marin, and another female hiker. Now it’s decision time. 

Sixty-five miles until  the next town, Big Bear, and three days to do it. Do we camp here or keep moving?

It’s all downhill, but it is three miles. 

I’m sitting on a rock on the little campsite looking up at Dad. 

“Let’s walk it,” I say. I’d rather spend the time today doing an easy downhill walk. 

Easy is relative, as my knees are smarting. At least after a little rest, my foot I rolled on earlier doesn’t hurt anymore. 

Denis and Rafiki crack stupid jokes and we all figure out what kind of group trail mix we might want. 

The giant rocks hold a lot of little gaps that look both scary and inviting — you never know what bugs are in there! 

At last we make it to the water tank! There are a lot of other hikers here, but we set up camp right next to the water fountain. 

The windmills dance in the distance, something we’ve been seeing all day. We can even see the summit of San Jacinto, where we just were yesterday!

Another day of cowboy camping, and a moth flies right in front of me! I panic internally, jumping, only to realize it was attracted to the light on my phone as I journal. 

The starts illuminate the sky above me, even though the city nearby is putting off a lot of light. 

I think I see a shooting star out of the corner of my eye. 

Another day down, another night of cowboy camping and star gazing!

What a day! I’m always so glad to be in bed by the end of it. 

Until next time, good night!