Day 24, Mile Marker 194-207, Snow Canyon Road

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Hiking Uphill: 130ft
Hiking Downhill: 4,807ft
Distance Hiked: 13 miles

Post By Melissa:
After a crummy night of sleep we drag ourselves out of our collapsed tent and struggle to get ourselves ready.  It’s going to be a very tough day especially when you didn’t sleep well the night before.  We are descending nearly 5,000ft from the San Jacinto Mountains to Snow Canyon. Our goal is to stop at the water spigot at Snow Canyon Road and then carry on to Ziggy & The Bear’s to sleep (trail angel).

We quickly pack up and as I’m picking up my backpack we find this little guy under my pack.  He is one ugly spider!! Ick!


We hit the trail and start the descent…it’s brutal to say the least.  My knees are killing me and my feet are hurting too.  We need lots of foot breaks this day…Nick just wants to power down the mountain fast but my legs won’t allow that.  Sorry Nick!!







At some point along the trail we stopped for a foot/snack break and we realized we had cellphone service.  Nick had texted his Mom where we were and let her know we would be passing the I-10 freeway later that day (she lives close by).  She offered to pick us up for the night and give us a hot meal, shower, and clean comfy bed to sleep in.  Nick turns to me to ask if I’m okay with that and it was a no brainer…of course I said yes. It sounded like heaven.  Then the pressure was on to get down the mountain as fast as my legs would move me.





Mile 200!!  Yay!! We pass mile marker 200 and are giddy with excitement.  200 miles out of 2,650 may not seem far…but hiking 200 miles is still 200 miles and it’s far!  It’s interesting to see the rock piles made in the shape of 200.  I think we must have seen 3 different 200’s spelled out within a quarter mile of each other and then an official sign.  We must all have different gps readings because we can’t agree on where the 200 mile marker is. LOL.  Nick and I use the Halfmile phone app to zero in on where we would celebrate.  We quickly took pictures and moved along.  It was super hot in this area and there was little to no shade.




By the way…the Halfmile phone app is free and is uh-mazing!! So is the PCTHYOH app.  Gotta love technology…just need to ensure your phone has juice and your gps works! Our Droid Razr Maxx HD phones have a 2 day battery life and we leave it on airplane most of the time because we don't have Verizon coverage so the phones last a long time.

I digress...back to the trail. We did find a nice patch of shade on the final descent and took a nice rest break here before the last push down the mountain.


More hiking pictures



Nick took some cool photos of some lizards and bugs as usual.  We see so many different species.  It’s truly fascinating. And it is even more entertaining watching Nick try to catch the creepy crawly things all the time. :-)



A fuzzy ant look creature.  I learned from my friend Glenn that these are actually wingless wasps. I'm making it a general rule to try not to touch anything that can bite or sting me :-)



We finally reach Snow Canyon Road and fill up our water.  It’s super hot there…I’m anxious to cool down and let my feet rest. There is only one spot of shade and a fellow hiker Mike was already sprawled out in the solo shady spot taking a nap.  He looked comfy while I sweated like crazy.  I pulled out my chrome dome solar umbrella and sat on a rock.

View from Snow Canyon Road looking out to the I-10 freeway...so close but so far away.


We were behind schedule getting to the I-10 freeway…we still had ~3 miles to go and Nick’s Mom was already waiting for us. We begged her to drive to us and rescue us (or should I say me).  Nick jumped on Google maps and navigated his Mom to our exact location.  We had to walk about a mile to a locked gate to meet her.  We were so happy to see her and Sofie.  We threw our packs in the trunk and happily piled into her car.  On the way home she stopped at Hadley’s and we all got banana and date milkshakes.  Super Yum and so refreshing after sweating all day.

When we arrived at Casa Rustad, Nick’s father had a delicious dinner waiting for us.  He made us an organic ham with fresh pineapple/mustard seed dressing, roasted yams & sweet potatoes, and zucchini with melted cheese…much better than freeze dried Mountain House meals!  Nick’s brother, wife, and kids were visiting also.  It was the perfect way to end a very physically demanding day.  Thanks Rustads!! <3