Julian-Warner Springs

Feeling VERY rejuvenated after my first zero (a full 24 hours off of hiking) in Julian. We got back to trail on Sunday morning for an infamous climb up Scissors Crossing near Sunrise Highway in eastern San Diego. To be honest, the climb was lovely. Hikers mostly dread it because it’s usually extremely hot and very exposed, and with those conditions a consistent gain in elevation is no fun. But I had some fabulous friends with me and the temperatures were not bad, so we had a good time. 

This section went by so fast I didn’t even realize I was in Warner Springs (my second resupply, yay for new food!!) when I got here. We FLEW. Which is both good and bad- our bodies still need some time to adjust to the consistent high mileage days. I love how quickly miles go by- yesterday morning we hiked 6 miles before sitting down for a break, having no idea how far we’d come. We were having so much fun hiking and not giving a care about where we were that we missed the 100 mile marker. We found out when we looked at our maps to find out next water source, so we sat down for a coffee break and mileage celebration. 

When I say we, I mean the folks I am traveling concurrently with. There are some friends that I started with on 4/4 that stayed pretty tight, until I took a day off to meet up with a friend, Kelly, from my job this past summer. She came with a few girlfriends too, so lots of built in friends! I spent the day off with them in Julian, and did a bit of fast walking (4 mph up a windy ridge line, yikes) to get back to some of the crew I started with. I have loved that I have friends up trail and down trail- lots of little bubbles that I can pop in and out of depending on what I’m hiking that day. A good portion of the group I started with are what I’m calling “shredders”- they’re absolutely flying up the trail. I’m more of a “wanna stop here for tea and watch the birds fly???” kind of hiker, so I probably won’t catch up to them for a little bit, although they’re egging me on to do so. I have been really enjoying the culture of the trail- such diversity in ages and backgrounds, everyone with the same goal. I hiked alongside a 19 year old and 64 year old yesterday. Everyone is very supportive of each other’s hikes and wants everyone to be successful, safe, happy and healthy. Kind of like a family??? I’m sure my parents are pleased to know there are bunches of people looking out for me out here too. :)

The terrain, since Scissors Crossing, has changed drastically. We hiked through the desert, where trail angels cache water so that hikers don’t become dehydrated, to wide open fields with cows grazing and creeks running along the trail- all in one day. It’s been awesome to see that all by foot and realize how quickly the landscape changes. We hiked by a San Diego hiking landmark- Eagle Rock (simply, a rock shaped like an eagle) which I have been to before. It was awesome to hike some of this trail and be in such a different space than I was the first time I hiked it. 

I’ve loved the desert landscape, and specifically all the flowers and succulents along the trail. 

I’m excited to keep it up, starting with week two on trail. I will be hiking towards Palm Desert and Idywilld area, and get to see my parents! 

Still working on getting the photos to come through consistently. Also, I’m writing this all from my phone, probably shivering in my tent before I fall asleep. So hopefully you can give me some grace on spelling errors etc etc. :) Zoom zoom, back to trail!