Sunday, April 25, 2021
Miles: 29.7
Elevation gain/loss: 8678’/4262′
Start: water spout by old rusty pipe
End: one of the last Mission Creek campsites
Despite the high wind warning for Cabazon, I had good sleep; the wind wasn’t so bad in my dry creek bed. I was up at 4 and hiking by 4:50am. There was trail magic at the highway underpass, with 15 gallons of water, soda, and trash bins. I stopped for water later when I passed by the Mesa Wind Farm’s hut; and met Spurs who was also hanging out in the shade and enjoying the free wifi.
When I was passing through Whitewater Preserve, I bumped into Trisha, who I has seen before at Mary’s Place. We had a humorous experience with a random passerby saying we were bound to end up married to each other by the end of our hike. We smirked at each other and giggled after the older man left.
The last few miles along Mission Creek were challenging, as a storm a few years ago flooded the canyon and destroyed many sections of the trail. People have put up cairns, but it still required some bushwhacking and wayfinding.
I made it to my desired campsite at 5:15pm, where a large pine tree had fallen in the last few weeks, reducing the campsite to only one viable spot with a lovely privacy shield from the trail. After sitting for a little while to let my feet stop hurting so much, I set up camp, filtered water, had dinner, and then fell asleep before 8pm.
Transcending Mountains 