Day 13 - Monday, May 10

Tenting near some wind turbines at a campsite that's not on my maps (mile 214.1).  Walked 23.6 miles today.

Slept well and left camp just after 6 am.  Started what must be one of the longest downhill sections on any triple crown trail (Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail).  It was 15 miles of straight downhill and I'm not complaining because I'd rather have that than 15 miles of straight uphill!

After several miles, I reached the burn area of last year's Snow Fire.  The trail just reopened through this section about a month ago.

It's weird how the fire moved.  Some areas completely got torched and others escaped unscathed and I don't know enough about fire dynamics to explain why that happens.

Continued walking downhill,

and downhill,

and even farther downhill.

Finally reached the bottom and a water spigot where some other hikers had set up to beat the heat of the day.  I filled up my water and continued north.

The trail was windier here, but I had expected that because I could see a bunch of wind turbines really spinning fast when I was up on the mountain.  Walked through 25+mph winds.  The trail here was soft sand so that made it even more difficult.  Finally reached the refuge of the Interstate 10 overpass where I could sit in the shade and rest.  Did that for about 30 minutes before pushing on.  Got to this spot and decided it was good enough - my longest day yet on the trail.

Feet are a little worse for wear - bottom of my big toes seem to be taking a beating and one has a small blister on the side of it, likely due to the long downhill section.  The sandy soil keeps getting into my shoes and I have to stop every so often to clear them out.

Lost and Found and the rest of last night's crew are planning on stopping 3 miles farther back.  She and Olaf had to go into Cabazon to get a resupply box today.  Might have been the smart move as yesterday she didn't have to lug 5 days of food up to the summit of San Jacinto.  A couple hikers showed up late, one of them was Greg, a middle aged guy from Wisconsin.  We chatted a bit about the trail and then turned in for the night.  Can hear the coyotes yipping and howling tonight.