Days 12, 13 & 14
Miles: 0
Well, as you can tell by the title of this post, we decided to wait out this "stronger, more powerful winter storm" according to NOAA.
Thursday, the 12th, I woke up at 5am to wind, rain and foggy conditions that made the next couple hours critical in our decision making. We didn't want to "whimp out" because of a little weather, but we also were cautious of the weather report of a second storm system that was supposed to arrive that afternoon and carry over into the majority of Friday. So with already wet gear from the day before we decided to stay and wait out the storm.
Copernicus, Oddball, Fred and Hawk left that morning to hard charge it to Highway 74, but Orange Ranger opted to stay and wait it out as well.
With the four hikers in the R.V. now on the trail, the three of us made our way over to The Beaver31 for a little more warmth and protection from the wind. Naturally, the weather toyed with us all day as the sun poked out off and on, but we had made our decision and hoped the weather report wasn't completely wrong and we weren't just sitting there for no reason.
As Thursday rolled on we were all awoken from a mid-day nap by the arrival of four other hikers seeking shelter from the wind and little bit of rain that had started up again. Heart, Jeremy (later to be known as "Ice Ass"), Niko (now known as Fidget) and Leanne (now known as "Go Fish") made their way into the bunk house. As the evening came though, we were able to cram all seven of us into the R.V.
Regardless of the close quarters, we were all thankful for the shelter.
That night was cold and windy, but it seemed that the real storm being predicted had stalled and now wouldn't arrive until mid-day Friday. But with time to kill we all sat around playing cards and talking.
Heart, Orange Ranger and Go Fish.
Fidget, Ice Ass (below) and Seth.
Go Fish, Twist and Orange Ranger.
Friday, along with the storm (finally) came more hikers! Todd (Pockets) showed up looking like he could use a dry place, and shortly after him, a couple named Bird and Free Bird rolled in. But with no more room in the R.V. the three of them set up camp in the bunk house.
Then.....the snow started! Finally, we had the storm we had been waiting for!
In a matter of a couple hours we had 4"-5" of snow. And woke up to 6"-8" the next morning.
When we made the decision to wait out the storm on Thursday morning, we told ourselves that we would leave no later than Saturday morning....but because the storm stalled we were forecasted to have bad weather all through Saturday as well. So, with the other eight hikers staying put, we decided to stay where we were safe and warm and wait it out another day....even though it was a decision we didn't like at the time.
Later Saturday afternoon, another hiker by the name of "Burning Daylight" came in (wearing shorts no less) and joined the folks in the bunk house.
And with the weather beginning to die down, all eleven of us had our packs ready for the next day of hiking.
Somewhat on a side note: Along with adding another to the growing number of hikers at Mike's place, Burning Daylight brought the explanation to a bizarre story we had been hearing about along the trail. Supposedly, Hawk and Fred had been hiking through the fields of cows leading into Warner Springs when suddenly they came upon a few cows tearing at a tent. After shooing the cows away they opened up the tent to find both backpacks, both sets of trekking poles and a sleeping bag halfway out of its compression sack....all the gear for two hikers just abandoned. Naturally, they became concerned and after an hour of standing there yelling for the missing hikers, they proceeded to Warner Springs where they notified the Fire Station of the situation. Because of the nature of the situation a small search ensued. Orange Ranger was even stopped by the Sheriff and asked to phone in the GPS coordinates when he reached the tent. But by the time he got there he said the tent had been removed along with all the gear and a helicopter was buzzing the area. This was all very curious to us hikers, but like I said, Burning Daylight brought the explanation.
Apparently, (summarized by the explanation we got) he had been camping with a young couple and noticed that all of their gear looked brand new. Somehow their ensuing conversation lead to the young man proclaiming "I've read about how to deal with bears, I've read about how to deal with Mountain Lions, but no one has ever told me how to deal with cows!"
Supposedly, the couple had set up camp in one of the fields and emerged from their tent to find themselves "surrounded" by cows. But instead of shooing them, and being as unaware of how harmless the Jersey cows were....they ran for it! Leaving all their gear and somehow making their way to Borrego Springs where they outfitted themselves with all new equipment! This is one of the many stories we have heard so far and wanted to share. We were so happy to hear the hikers were safe and are continuing with their hike.
-Seth
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Location:Trail Angel Mike's
