Caleb will take two trips to deliver us hikers to Marion Mountain Trailhead, about 15 minutes up the road, which is very winding through these hills, and connects with the PCT. This leaves about 30 trail miles unhiked between Paradise Valley Cafe and Idyllwild but today’s focus is over 10,000 feet above sea level. Rachel wants to summit Mount San Jacinto so that she knows she can handle 13,000 ft when we summit Forester Pass, in about five weeks.

The first group starts before 7am to the valley covered in clouds. A family with small kids gets turned around when the trail goes down and around. Luckily, Gert is excellent at spotting these false paths and pointing us in the right direction. Trailer Park passes, leaving Ravi at an early stream to get more water, and finds us an amazing water supply and decent camp – complete with pine cones and sunshine.

The idea was to set up one tent and dump all extra gear in there, but we realized we would be tired at the end of the day, so those who don’t need trekking poles to hold up their rooms for the night set them up. We also had the option to go down and spend the night with Caleb, but the elevation to get here was taxing enough over three hours and we all agreed we didn’t want to do it again tomorrow morning.

We continue on Deer Springs Trail at 1030am and I’m glad to be wearing pants when we walk through a narrow portion of the path surrounded by spiky bushes on both sides. The only part of me not covered is my fingertips and the triangle on my wrist where I got a small sunburn and blister. I always enjoy walking among the trees and am happy when we see the little stone cabin. It has a few untold stories of its own and I peek inside.

It was built years ago as an emergency shelter by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The windows are covered in stickers, the bunk beds and walls are signed, and there are ladders and a rescue stretcher in the ceiling. This also means we are close to the top, where there is no clear path over the boulders, by 1230pm. Our group is complete again a half-hour later and I enjoy some Whoppers from two thru-hikers in blue shirts after putting my jacket on and taking some obligatory summit photos.

We stay for an hour, snacking, and relishing in our accomplishment. Other hikers come and go. I forgot to mention or touch the snow on the way up, so I make a point to do so on the return. There are two vault toilets at Little Round Valley Campground and I’m told they’re full of trash, but the nice thing about being out here is that I have a permit to poop in the woods, so I will do just that. I’m not sure of others’ trail lingo, but I let whoever I’m hiking with know that I need to “find a tree.”

We get back to camp over two hours later and the feast begins. Rachel pulls out the freeze-dried brownies I gave her and Ravi pokes a hole in the bag in an attempt to help her open them. I let him know it’s not perforated so he then cuts through the oxygen absorber. Trailer Park takes the package to remove as much of the “Don’t Eat!” as possible, and all of us but Ravi will eat around the tainted ones.

Gert carried Caleb’s and my tent to the camp to save me weight and let me use his pad pump to conserve my energy. I cut my nails, something I have to do more frequently out here, then filtered water so I can have 3.5L to carry tomorrow and have a half liter with breakfast. I climb in the tent at 530 and am asleep when I rollover to the sound of my door zipper.

“Can I help you?!” as Caleb pokes his head in. He took two hours to hike up to kiss me goodnight (a sweet, very Caleb thing to do) and also spook some of my campmates. Rachel kept an eye on him and Gert poked his head out to check on the commotion. Ravi thought he was being told to wake up already, but Trailer Park was out or has better earplugs than the others. I have no trouble going back to sleep before the sun sets.

PS: the snow plant is mostly found in the conifer forests of California after a snow melt. Its scientific name means bloody flesh-like thing and it’s a parasite of fungi in the soil, no sun required.