Outdoor Adventures with Ancient Brit
PCT 2002 - May 18th
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Day 39: Saturday 18th May Peak 6253 – above Joshua Canyon
In the morning the walking was along jeep tracks through Pinyon and pine forest,
giving way to a sagebrush swale along turbine-covered ridges. I saw several Mule Deer.
In these parts they stay well clear of people, as most of the people they encounter will
be hunters.
When I reached Golden Oaks Spring, which had been upgraded recently and was
running well, I did my laundry and had a towel bath before resting in the shade of the
Oak trees. Bear tracks were visible as I approached the spring. “Cloudwalker” arrived
after making another early start to the day and told me that the USFS rangers had
warned him that bears had been active around Jawbone Canyon and Golden Oaks
Spring and that a backpacker had lost his pack to a bear two days ago. The USFS
recommend hanging food bags at night to stop the bears getting at them, but it is very
difficult to hang bags in such a way bears cannot get at them and I stored my food in
my tent. The food I carried was well packaged and I hoped it wouldn’t provide enough
odours to attract the bears.
My foot had started hurting again so I camped early on a wooded saddle, but still
managed over 16 miles with my early start. “Cloudwalker” and “Billy Goat” arrived as
it was getting dark after a very long day’s walk.
Day 39: 16.6 miles 7.47 hours Camp: above Joshua Canyon
In the morning the walking was along jeep tracks through Pinyon and pine forest,
giving way to a sagebrush swale along turbine-covered ridges. I saw several Mule Deer.
In these parts they stay well clear of people, as most of the people they encounter will
be hunters.
When I reached Golden Oaks Spring, which had been upgraded recently and was
running well, I did my laundry and had a towel bath before resting in the shade of the
Oak trees. Bear tracks were visible as I approached the spring. “Cloudwalker” arrived
after making another early start to the day and told me that the USFS rangers had
warned him that bears had been active around Jawbone Canyon and Golden Oaks
Spring and that a backpacker had lost his pack to a bear two days ago. The USFS
recommend hanging food bags at night to stop the bears getting at them, but it is very
difficult to hang bags in such a way bears cannot get at them and I stored my food in
my tent. The food I carried was well packaged and I hoped it wouldn’t provide enough
odours to attract the bears.
My foot had started hurting again so I camped early on a wooded saddle, but still
managed over 16 miles with my early start. “Cloudwalker” and “Billy Goat” arrived as
it was getting dark after a very long day’s walk.
Day 39: 16.6 miles 7.47 hours Camp: above Joshua Canyon
Sweet Ridge Mountain
Ancient Brit
filtering water
filtering water
Towel bath for
Ancient Brit
Ancient Brit