Twig Adventures

DWTH SDTCT Day 3 & 4: Stagecoach & Unexpected Zero with Friends

June 5, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, 0700-1400Culp Valley campground to Stagecoach RV park, mm62.5. Elevation 2350′20 miles.Wednesday, March 19th, 2025. Zero I slept so soundly in the privy, which may seem kind of surprising, given the weather and the nature of my accommodations. But the more the wind howled, the more I felt a smug satisfaction, knowing I just managed to dodge the claws of mother nature this night. The outdoors can really make one appreciate even a humble privy. Of course, I made sure to vacate my impromptu Airbnb first thing in the morning, but not before at least leaving a deposit! The morning was chilly and still very breezy, but at least it was dry. Instead of reconnecting to the[…]

DWTH SDTCT Day 2: Borrego Springs

June 3, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Monday, March 17th, 2025, 0630-1900Outskirts of Borrego Springs to Culp Valley campground, mm42.5, elevation 3300′12 miles. The night was so calm and the sunrise so vibrant, I was entranced by the combination of stillness and brilliance. I loved the desert for these gifts, but soon I’d be climbing high into the first set of mountains forming the Pacific Crest. I wasn’t in a hurry for that just yet. I was only looking forward as far as a town stop for breakfast. The route took me straight through Borrego Springs and I had no idea what to expect. Would it be another rough and trashy desert town, like so many I’d already passed through? I cruised west along the 5 mile[…]

DWTH SDTCT Day 1: The Salton Sea

May 25, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Sunday, March 16th, 2025, 0620-1800Salton Sea, eastern terminus of the San Diego Trans County Trail, elevation -226′, to outskirts of Borrego Springs, mm30.5, elevation 500′30.5 miles. It felt great to be at the start of the SDTCT when I woke. I was moving before the sunrise, since I didn’t want to be discovered camping along the shore. I couldn’t see how far away the water was, but the flats made for a nice sunrise. I didn’t even realize that I was standing over 200 feet below sea level. The depression was formed by the San Andreas fault, which stretched the landscape as the plates slid past each other. I’m not sure I’ve ever been in a place so low, and[…]

DWTH Day 41: Whitewater Preserve & the PCT

May 24, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Saturday, March 15th, 2025, 0540-1400Desert Hot Springs to Whitewater Preserve, End Section 8e, elevation 2100′16 miles. Then skip to start of the SDTCT. I woke early, as I was very eager to get out of the flop hostel and leave Desert Hot Springs behind for good. This was the day I’d finally finish my hike from the Arizona Trail to the Pacific Crest Trail, completing all legs of the Great Western Loop. My layover in DHS was necessary and revitalizing, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to leave a town. I took a bus north a few miles to reconnect to the route where I’d gotten off, then walked some blocks through the remnants of town. As[…]

DWTH Day 40: Desert Hot Springs Layover

May 15, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Wednesday, March 12th, 2025, 0540-1400Black Rock Campground to Desert Hot Springs, mm 15, Section 8e, elevation 2100′18 miles.Plus 2 days in town, hiding out from a winter storm (Thursday-Friday, March 13-14th) I slept warm and comfortable in the embrace of my juniper, then was up early, eager to make it into town for a hot shower after 18 days. I think this stretch set the record for the longest time I went without a shower, plus also laundry. However, I did take a pretty good sink shower / laundry at the Fenner gas station a week and a half prior, so I’m not sure this record counted as much. Regardless, I was feeling pretty rank. I briefly stopped at the[…]

DWTH Day 39: The Homestretch

May 2, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Tuesday, March 11th, 2025, 0630-1900JTNP mm 84 to near Black Rock Campground, mm 17, Section 8a, elevation 4030′27 miles. The morning was beautiful in the canyon. I heard a great horned owl and a canyon wren at the same time as I continued up. The canyon split and I decided to not follow the suggested route, but rather go for an easy dirt road walk across the Queen valley. I picked up the Desert Queen Mine Trail and followed it to the road. It was early and a weekday, so I didn’t see a single car while walking several miles along it. What I did see were tons of Joshua Trees! Plus there were many cactus and bushes planted and[…]

DWTH Day 38: Joshua Tree National Park!!!

April 15, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Monday, March 10th, 2025, 0650-1740Pinto Mountains Wilderness mm 63.5 to Joshua Tree National Park, mm 84, Section 8, elevation 4100′20.5 miles. Coyotes woke me in the morning, the sweet sounds of the desert. It was cold when I started, only 39 degrees. I proceeded up the wash, which forked into a bunch of branches. I took a wrong turn at one of them and had to do a short up and over to get back in the right wash. Luckily it was pretty easy. A series of passes and washes repeated through the morning. The going became more tedious as the washes got pretty thorny, narrow, and rocky. I took yet another wrong turn and had to do a short[…]

DWTH Day 37: Pinto Mountains

April 4, 2025 kaulua26 Arizona Trail

Sunday, March 9th, 2025, 0800-1810South Sheep Hole Mtns to Pinto Mountains Wilderness mm 63.5, Section 8, elevation 2580′.22 miles. It was warm overnight and I woke to the amazing scent of the nearby blooming creosote and vines. The desert holds so many surprises! I set out across another valley, aiming for my water cache at HWY 62. It was a cross country stretch of 4 miles, but easy to take a line-of-sight off the distant hills. I used the ‘Sight and Go’ feature on my Garmin watch and it worked great. The skill simply involves following a compass bearing, something I did every day when I worked on ships. But it’s even easier with mountains to aim for and nothing[…]

DWTH Day 36: Sheep Hole Mountains

March 31, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Saturday, March 8th, 2025, 0540-1740Mm 13.5 to South Sheep Hole mountains mm42, Section 8, elevation 1440′.26 miles. After being so adamant about trusting in the Routemasters the previous day, I still deviated from their plans for the first half of this day. The route led away from the highway, going free form through the sand and then following a sandy poweline road for miles. This was all for the sake of getting away from the highway while crossing the large valley as I headed south. I reasoned that it was fine to swap a sandy road for the straight swath cut by the highway. The view would be the same, the going much easier, and there wasn’t much traffic early[…]

DWTH Day 35: Zombies, Roy’s, & Lava

March 28, 2025 kaulua26 Desert Winter Thru Hike

Friday, March 7th, 2025, 0600-1650Amboy to mm 13.5, Section 8, elevation 636′.13.5 miles. I slept pretty well considering my location. The trains came by every few minutes, blowing their whistles every time, but I got by with my standard tricks for drowning out the noise. The wind was also whipping my tent, so no matter what, earplugs were in order. In the morning, I had my instant coffee and first breakfast, but was looking forward to more gas station food, sad as that sounds. But the store didn’t open until 8 am, so after packing, I decided to do a little exploring. The area used to be a real town, with a school and houses. People worked at the nearby[…]

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