Feb 22nd-24th, 3 zeros to cache food \ water through sections 6-8, and hang out with my friend Alan. Bonus 9 mile hike to Eureka peak in Joshua Tree NP.
If you followed my blogs over the summer of 2024, you’d have noted a lot of posts about Alan. I first ran into him while I was hiking the Teton Crest Trail and he was hiking through on an alternate of the CDT. We hung out in Jackson Hole for a day, then hiked together for a few days in the Winds. Then I chased him down in Colorado and made him hike a bunch of 14ers. I last saw him in Lake City, CO as he was setting off to finish the CDT.
We kept in touch and he offered to maybe meet up somewhere in southern CA, since he lived in the Bay area but wanted to do some winter adventures in the desert. The timing of his trip worked out perfectly. Instead of figuring out all the logistics and expenses of renting a car in Lake Havasu, as had been my plan for setting caches, Allen offered to help me instead.
I can’t describe what an incredible favor this was. Not only did it save me a lot of money but more importantly, I desperately needed some quality time with a good friend, who also understood thru hiking and all the crazy things I’d gone through in the past month. I hadn’t had any face-to-face contact with anyone I knew since leaving Tucson. I also needed some time off from the trail. I hadn’t yet taken a zero, so these 3 days were my big splurge. I won’t write about every detail, but here’s the highlight reel:
DWTH Zero Day 1: Alan met me mid day on Saturday. I loaded his Honda CRV with all my bags of food and 7 gallons of water. We had time in the afternoon to drive to just one of my cache sites, which I hadn’t originally planned on and wasn’t sure a 2WD could make it to. But Alan’s awesome little car handled the windy dirt road like a champ! Actually, it was one of the coolest backcountry roads I’ve ever driven, with crazy ridgeline exposure and epic scenery of the rugged Whipple mountains all around. It was a real treat!
Plus, before and after this, we got to drive along the scenic Colorado River and cross the Parker dam. There were so many things to see. For one, there were heaps of burros, just hanging out along the road. The clearly got fed by the tourists. And also there was the California water project, where tons of water from the CR is pumped for hundreds of miles to LA! What a crazy feat of engineering! And a troublesome over-reliance on the dwindling resources of this one river…
For my cache, I buried 2 gallons of water under some rocks in Whipple Wash. I’d need to make a couple miles detour from the route to reach the location, but later discovered it wasn’t as far as I thought. These 2 gallons were critical, as I was dubious that I’d find any natural pools in Whipple canyon. During normal times, it can even be flowing with water, but not this exceptionally dry year. The latest water reports noted some pools, but this was right after it had rained on Feb 13th. I didn’t trust the water to still be there (or the person reporting the water, for that matter).
The day was getting long, so we sought a campsite nearby for the night. We could have stayed in the Whipple mountains, but I wanted another night along the river. So I directed Alan right back to where I stealth camped two nights before. There had been boondockers parked in the area previously, so I figured it was okay. Unfortunately, my awesome spot was taken by a van, but it was easy to find another nearby, with a great view of the sunset.
We actually saw the remnants of a SpaceX rocket launch. It made for an amazing effect, but also, fuck SpaceX and all things associated with the Evil Lord Of Nazis. May he die a slow death, alone and afraid in an expensive space capsule, which he’ll have to use to escape our ruined planet, thanks to all his ASS ‘cost savings’ via DOUCHE, Department Of Unelected Corrupt and Heinous Embezzlers (thanks to Alan for that gem!).
DWTH Zero Day 2: We set off for the remainder of my cache spots. We put food and water along hwy 95, then another food bag near the gas station at Fenner, just off I-40, end of Section 6. This would be my resupply for Section 7. I didn’t put out any water for 7, since a hiker several weeks in front of me, Nate, said it wasn’t necessary. I really appreciated the intel he gave me this whole way and very much enjoyed reading his blog (we think a lot alike). He does a better job than me in describing his emotions and mindset about this route…some beautiful musings, do read his whole series if you can: https://longwalksanddirtysocks.wordpress.com/2025/02/26/comparisons-and-advice-for-prospective-hikers-of-the-dwth/
We drove straight from Fenner to Amboy, where again there’s only a gas station. Yes, that’s 2 gas stations as the only ‘town stops’ for over 300 miles…rough! And the latter doesn’t even have tap water! Roy’s was kind to hold a resupply box for me and also had a tiny, barely open post office across the street. Mostly cyclists following route 66 send packages there, so they are used to holding items for adventurers. I also stashed a gallon of water nearby. Then 2 more along a highway I’d be paralleling on my way south out of Amboy.
Finally, I buried some water near hwy 62 (thanks Nate) and also near Joshua Tree NP. There, I also placed a food cache. Since we were already in the area and neither of us had been to JTNP before, we decided to get a campsite inside the park. Wow, did we luck out! We went to the nearest one, Belle, which was one of those rare gems that’s first come-first served, no wREC.gov BS! To our great amazement and gratitude, there were several sites still available. We couldn’t even believe that one of the sites wasn’t already taken, it was so incredible!
It was huge, with little hidey-holes among the rocks, perfect for some epic cowboy camping. We immediately claimed it. We had to go back to the park entrance to register and pay for it, which we dutifully did because you know, the Park Service is getting totally fucked by self-serving billionaire pasty fat fucks that don’t even go outside to know what they’re fucking up and it’s ledt to us great but poor Americans to do anything we can to help it stay alive a little longer. Can you tell, I love spicy run-on sentences these days and if anyone reading this doesn’t, they can all go get bent 😁 it’s my blog.
DWTH Zero Day 3: I rarely cowboy camp, but this spot was an absolute must. I got to watch the rocks and stars all night. Alan of course slept in his car, since he has it so perfectly rigged. It was funny how we had reversed roles from back when we were in Colorado. Then I was the one sleeping in the back of my rented Subaru and him in a tent.
We decided to take a day off and enjoy some of the park. We did a very scenic drive through it…the main tourist avenue it would seem, then parked at the west end to do a 9 mile RT hike to the top of Eureka Peak. An easy day. Kudos to the lovely ranger that suggested it to us at the visitors center the day before.
Too bad Americans like her are losing their jobs, destined to struggle with unemployment and lack of benefits, but also too bad for Americans like us, who will no longer be able to talk to a person that can give valuable information on America’s amazing natural resources. Fuck us all, say the billionaires and corporations. They could give a fuck. It’s all about padding their pockets even more.
On the way up to the peak, we found a bunch of horned lizards, which made me shriek with joy. I was surprised to learn that Alan may be the one person that gets even MORE excited than I do when finding these adorb herps. There was a lot of pleased shrieking going on over these horney findings. 😂
The summit hike was just perfect for getting a taste of the lush habitats of JTNP. I got to see real trees for the first time in a while. There were so many junipers and pinyon pine trees. Then the real treat, there were views of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto from the top. Wow, it’s so incredible to know that the PCT goes right along the tops of those mountains! The dip between them is one of the biggest descents and ascents on the trail, something like 6000 ft. I remember both very vividly. And just down in the valley, I could almost see my finish line at Whitewater preserve. Amazing!
This preview made me so excited to finish the route. I just had to survive another 300 some miles, some very challenging miles at that! No problem. We drove back to Parker in the afternoon and arrived just after sunset. Alan slackpacked me as I walked from town across the river in the dark…I wasn’t about to miss out on my bridge of the gods moment. And officially, I walked into California. I’d done so twice before, both times from Oregon (OCT and PCT). We camped right along the road, just where my route departed towards the Whipple Mountains, so I guess technically this wasn’t a zero day. I walked 2 miles plus the bonus peak bagging hike. Fun! What a whirlwind of a few days.
