June 9

End: bird spring pass
Daily: 20.8
Total: 630.8

HOT! It was freaking hot today. For the first time since before Warner Springs we had to wait out the hot part of the day. 

We dropped out of the trees and back into desert. This stretch has no water for 34 miles. There was little in the way of shade but Joshua trees. About 6 miles into the day's walk was a water cache. We didn't need any water because I hate to rely on caches, but I did switch out some of my treated-but-tastes-like-grass water for water that didn't make me gag. Then we headed on, and the temperature rose and rose. I would guess in the sun the temperature was around 95 degrees. 

So we walked about 14 miles by 1:00 and then heard Pepe yell our names from under a j-tree. We decided to take a break, and then Boots and Bubs caught up. 

The second part of the day felt like it took way longer. All day long the ground was sandy, but the climb after our break was really deep sand. That wears you out.  I was happy when we made it here, but tomorrow starts with a huge climb. At least were going to get it done early. 

One thing I don't think I've mentioned is how many lizards there are. Soooo many of all different shapes and sizes. I like the big black ones with blue bellies (western fence lizards). They look like fat little dragons without wings, and tests have shown that if a tick bites them, any Lyme's disease they had in their systems is killed. There are also some lizards that are at least 9 inches long with tail.

The lizards are entertaining too because they run so fast to get away from you. Sometimes I wouldn't even have noticed if they hadn't moved, but they burst into movement and scurry up the trail for literally 50 feet sometimes, and I feel like I'm chasing them.