April 26 -- Anza-Borrego State Park

I typed this post out last night and sent it off, but it's lost out in the desert somewhere and never got posted, so I'll try again.

I left San Diego early in the morning in the fog, heading east toward the mountains. I thought I had lost my way, so I stopped in for coffee and directions, and waited awhile for the fog to lift. When I hit the road again, I was treated to spectacular views of the lush green landscape. I soon dropped down into the valley and buzzed through small towns on my way to the desert. Everything here is so manicured and clean!

Up and over the mountains I went, along twisty-turny roads that I'm not used to traveling in a car. Hair-pin turns around solid rocks with nasty vertical cliffs on the other side. It was fun driving, but sometimes scary. Absolutely everything is in bloom here, so I have been treated to some wonderful scenery. I expected the desert to be brown and dusty and dry. It is, in fact, dusty and dry, but it is alive with color. I am typing this from a library computer in Borrego Springs, so I'm not sure I will be able to upload my photos, but I'll try.

Once I was up and over the mountains, I descended onto the desert floor. Whereas I had left San Diego in the fog at around 65 degrees, it was now 95 degrees at 11:30 am, and there is not a speck of moisture in the air. I began chugging quarts of water to keep hydrated and can hardly keep up.

The Anza-Borrego State Park, where I stayed last night, is on the desert floor and was broiling when I got there, so I went into town -- into air-conditioned stores -- and hung out for awhile. Since it was too hot to go hiking in the middle of the day, I drove 20 miles or so to where the PCT crosses the roadway and befriended two hikers by taking them to Julian about 12 miles away. They were ever so grateful.

Julian is no bigger than a minute, with one main street. On that street, however, is Mom's bakery, notorious for the best pies in the world. The bakery, which is also a restaurant, treated me, Crow Dog, and Swope to a free lunch because we were hikers. Thus, I had a most magnificent chicken pot pie, a root beer, and a slice of apple pie. It was to die for! No kidding!

After lunch, I drove the two guys back to the trail and ran into Elderly Ellen and Yeahbut. I thought that I would never see them again after dropping them off at Mount Laguna, but there they were -- hot and tired and smelly. We chatted for awhile, then I drove back to Borrego Springs to the campground. By the time I got there, the wind was howling. I managed to set up my tent, but when I laid down, the wind was buffeting it so much that I knew I would never get to sleep, so I yanked up the tent (otherwise, it would have blown away without me in it) and stuffed it in the car. I tried to sleep in the front passenger seat, but that was uncomfortable. About 10 pm, the wind subsided, so I set up my tent again and went to sleep. It was still stifling hot.