Wednesday, March 5th, 2025, 0700-1640
Hill Top House to Budweiser Spring, mm 83.5, elevation 3780′.
22.5 miles.
It was another great day. I took a more leisurely morning, enjoying my coffee and the views from the porch. I slept so great out there. It wasn’t too cold overnight and I was well protected from any breeze. I woke to the sounds of nibbling a few times overnight. The pack rats were hard at work, slowly dismantling the house. But at least they left my stuff alone.
I woke at my usual early time but took advantage of cell signal and the comforts of the porch to work on my blog. The sunrise was definitely worth sticking around for. With the weather forecast calling for rain by the end of the day, I considered taking a zero at the house. But it was so beautiful in the morning, it would have been a waste of a day. I could deal with a little bit of rain later on.
Heading out, there was another series of dirt roads leading to a wash leading to a small pass. It sounds repetitive and I guess maybe it was but it always felt like something new and different. Once again, I left one type of mountain range behind for a very different one, entering the monzogranite geologic features I loved so much. The range ahead looked really cool and was named the Granite Mountains. They were mostly off limits though, part of a large study area run by California State University. I was happy to admire them from a distance at least.
I walked a pretty straight and increasingly sandy road leading towards the Kelso dunes, which stood out in nice detail in the distance. But it was easy going down the road, as it was slightly downhill. I crossed a paved road and was surprised to spot a gallon water jug just sitting off to the side. It had no name or date and it was placed in plain view of the road. I took all of this as a sign that I should help myself to it, so I did. One of the guzzlers ahead was likely to have water, but it was hard to pass up this water that was just so easy to get. I hoped I wasn’t taking someone’s water who was counting on it but then again, they shouldn’t have left it sitting out in plain view and with no markings. It looked like it had intentionally been placed for someone like me to randomly find it. I wondered if it was possible that one of the hikers before me had left it?
I took a short break by the road and my luck continued. A guy came along in a prius and stopped short when he saw me. He’d backpacked and bikepacked several long trails and immediately asked if I was thru hiking. I think he was the first to recognize me as such on this trip. We chatted for a bit. He’d just climbed a nearby peak and was on his way to ski at Lake Tahoe. He offered me even more water, which I definitely didn’t need, and at least was able to take the empty jug.
I continued into the afternoon, working my way around the boundary lines of the study area. The route led through a beautiful rock garden, which was only slightly surpassed by those in Joshua Tree. The vegetation was so lush and the area so mesmerizing, I almost stopped short to camp there. But it was only mid afternoon. There was a nearby dispersed camp area, so I put it on my list of areas to come back to.
The rest of the afternoon was mostly all cross country, first along the fenceline of the study area and later for hours along the base of the Granite Mountains. I shaved about a mile and half by taking a more direct path past a guzzler, as I didn’t need water. A second guzzler right along the route had some of the best water I’d seen, but I only collected less than a liter. At the end of the day, I came to Budweiser spring. There were a few drops coming from the pipe, but not enough to collect.
The clouds were gathering and I needed to find a protected site from the wind that was forecasted to blow overnight. I didn’t want to go farther, as it looked like I would be leaving the protection of the nice big boulders shortly. Given the rain chance, I avoided the main part of the wash. Instead, I found a good spot just off to the side, and even with a slight slant to ensure good drainage. It started sprinkling just as I was about to fall asleep. Perfect timing!