TRAIL JOURNAL
/ June 12, 2022
Coming out of the Piute Mountains and the trees, we crossed the northern end of Kelso Valley along the Saint John Ridge. The heat there was intense with no shade. It felt like we were back on Mars, but I liked it. I think I saw a coyote. The steep hills were the color of desert sand with dots of sage brush all over them like wallpaper, and a big bright blue sky. It was a sort of Star Wars amazascape.
In a few places the trail came across clumps of Joshua trees. Even though we didn’t want to lean against their prickly trunks, they did offer some decent shade. We took it!
As the trail turned and headed north again, we could see the Mojave off to our right, and the mountains ahead getting bigger and rockier. I started to feel excited about getting closer to the Sierras and alpine wilderness that I love.
- Magnus!