Stretch Goals (D-30, 600-630.8)

It was 52 miles to the next town (Ridgecrest) where I hoped to take a zero day. I was thinking I could do 26 miles today and then 26 tomorrow and catch the evening bus at 6 pm from the trailhead to the town. Then Shalini informed me that the last Eastbound bus to Ridgecrest was at 3:30 pm and the Westbound bus was at 6 pm!!! Darn! Oh well...I figured I could stay at a campground close to the trailhead on Monday night & go to Ridgecrest on Tuesday morning, which was not a big deal except that I would have have to depend on hitchhiking or finding a ride, since the bus ran only on MWF. Of course, there was a stretch goal that I could go fast and do a long day today, to enable a shorter day tomorrow in time to catch the bus. It definitely looked unlikely especially after the first couple of hours today, when I had covered only 4 miles due to time to filter & fill water, as well as getting lost for a short while. Also today was supposed to be a long distance between natural water sources. Finally there was a bit of elevation and more importantly, the second part of the day was going to be in a very windy region.

However, two things helped...thanks to some extremely generous Trail Angels. They had kept a huge water cache at 2 points along the way.

This water cache at 613 mile was such a lifesaver for all the hikers! So well maintained and so much water 🙏

Then as the evening came around, I wanted to complete at least 26 miles and then stop at any good campsite. But, as mentioned earlier, the wind was blowing hard and there were hardly any sheltered spots.

These Joshua trees were the only things around. They are funny looking trees, aren't they? 😀

In the middle of nowhere, I saw these giant steps...I call them Steps of the Gods 😋.

Anyway, the next good option for camping in somewhat sheltered spot was the next water cache at Bird Spring Pass and since the Sun sets so late here, I figured I would go on. I pushed through and reached it after a long day...a stretch goal achieved! Or as my friend, Ritu says, some days on the trail are "self-improvement days" 🙂.

Another huge water cache at Bird Spring Pass.

A reasonably sheltered spot for my tent. The wind was blowing hard all thru the night, but the tent survived 🤞🙂.

Data:

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