Desert Backpack

I went on a desert backpack over the weekend with some Wilderness class members and had a fabulous time.  It was hotter than the hinges of Hades on Saturday though and the going was tough the first day.  I will say it could have been much worse though.

We met for breakfast first at Henshaw Lake and then caravanned out to the desert.  The leaders weighed our packs.  We had to carry all our water and I had 7 liters.  My pack weighed in at 36 pounds- 15.4 pounds of it was water.  One gal had a 54 pound pack so the leaders took it apart and tried to help her whittle it down.

 

Then off we went, walking through the desert!  If you’ve been to Anza Borrego, you know that it all looks the same.  Lots of cacti, lots of sand, lots of rocky hills.  It’s hot, barren and unforgiving.  The desert has its own beauty though too.  I could get lost in the silken sweeps of clouds against the deep blue sky or mesmerized by the deceitful fuzziness of the cholla cactus.  It’s just one vast expanse of dangerous beauty.

Every few miles we would stop and practice our map and compass skills.  I am navigationally challenged so this was an important task for me. 

We did some rock scrambling to the top of a hill (Shake or Quake, I can't remember) to see the marker at the highest point.  That was a little difficult and made me think of rattle snakes hiding out in the crevices.

 

Jim even gave us a lesson on how to attach an umbrella to a backpack!  This will come in handy for Carolen on her thru-hike.

We made it to where we were to set up camp and then after lunch we continued on to the Pictographs.  The Kumeyaay Indians lived in this area and left their mark via pictographs and morteros.  I was fascinated by this and my imagination went wild with how these people must have lived.  Just the thought of making an existence out here, trying to find food and water, must have consumed their whole lives.  What are they saying in these pictographs?  No one knows.

We had the option of continuing to Smugglers Canyon or taking a break.  Since I was dying in the heat, I opted for the break.  Carolyn, who had a sinus infection, and John, one of the leaders, took the break as well.  The nice breeze and shade rejuvenated me and definitely perked me up. 

 

We made it back to camp about 4:30pm with 6.5 miles on the day. I immediately started up my Jetboil because I was HUNGRY.  We had the “kitchen” area that we all sat around and cooked.  Honey bourbon was passed around and thoroughly enjoyed.  We had a little game going where someone would say something interesting or stupid or funny and the person with the alcohol would say “I did not know that!” and then take a drink.  We ran out of drink after only a few minutes but the saying continued on into the next day and I think now it will probably be a little joke amongst us forever.  “I did not know that!”

The leaders did a little fire demonstration with different types of flammable items that included Fritos.  Phew, the Fritos were stinky but they burned well!

After sitting around the fire for a bit, I could barely keep my eyes open so I toddled off to my cozy little area behind a boulder.  I decided to do a bivy instead of tent this time since the weather was so good.  My set-up was essentially a ground cloth, a bivy, a sleeping pad, and sleeping bag.  I crawled into that thing and zipped the bivy up and immediately wished for my tent.  The mesh was right up against my face and I couldn’t do any side sleeping.  I slept intermittently, waking up every hour or so.  I thought I heard an animal and sat bolt upright at one point, forgetting that I was in a bivy. 

 

The moon was bright and full and cast her light over the desert.  It was a spectacular sight.  I was positioned so I could see the moon set and the sun rise in the morning and was completely awed by the beauty God can bestow upon us.

 

Morning came without me being stung by a scorpion or bit by a snake or attacked by a coyote so it was a successful night.  I stumbled, bleary-eyed, to the kitchen area to make coffee and eat breakfast.  I stuck with protein bars instead of oatmeal because I was worried about having enough water to get out.  I had already packed my stuff up because, really, how much does it take to pack up a ground cloth and bivy.  Not much. 

8am was the time we were given to be ready to start walking.  The gal with the 54 pound pack did not realize how long it would take her to pack up so I ended up helping her deflate stuff and take down her tent.  She had moxy, carrying that pack in the heat. 

We headed out into the desert again and the temperature was much cooler, thank God.  We went into an Indian Village that showcased more pictographs, tons of morteros, and wash areas.  It was SO cool to see.

 

 

We had the option to do another scramble up a hill to see a marker but most of us opted out.  So we headed on back to the cars and made it back about noon with 4.8 miles on the day. 

Jim, our leader, weighed our packs again so we could get a feeling for how much water/food was consumed.  My pack weight had reduced to 22 pounds!  I think Carolen said hers was 22 as well.  The other gal was down to 33 pounds.

Everyone decided to go on up to the Julian Brewing Company for lunch and beer but I decided to skedaddle.  I felt like I needed to get home to Simone and Little Kahuna since they had been home alone all weekend with Dennis in Hawaii at his dad’s funeral. 

I did find it in me, however, to go through the drive-thru at Burger King in Ramona.  Guess what I found?  They have added the Angry Whopper to their permanent menu!  Now that's what I'm talkin' bout!