Slept through my alarm - up and packed quickly.

On trail a little after 6 AM - today we descend over 6,000+ ft.

The valley unfolds below - you can see glimpses of the wind turbines and the freeway and Casino. along with the mountains and clouds below in the distance.

Beautiful water stop off trail at a flowing creek.

Continued on down - getting windy! In reviewing camping options for the night it appears that everything will be crazy windy and sandy and not great. Reached out to the Hiker Haven hostel off trail and reserved the last three spots available!

Continued down all day amazing to see the San Jacinto peak tower over us as we descend - it is snow peaked and massive!

The trail isn’t smooth and flowy - slightly technical in spots - so it’s a bit slow going.

MILE 200*****

Wind is getting gusty - almost blows you off your feet - can be scary if you’re near a ledge…

Rattle snake on trail - he got very feisty and didn’t want to move. Eventually moved up the side wall but still in a striking pose. Waited a bit for him to settle down and zoomed past him quickly.🐍 🐍

Virginia caught up with us on trail and hiked down the neverending switch backs. We are stuck on repeat in a neverending downward switch back hike.

Finally made it to the bottom - water spigot to fill up and filter some water. Chatted with some other hikers that were trying to figure out where to stay for the night to avoid the wind… Wished them luck and headed out as nasty looking clouds are moving in fast!

The trail turned into a road walk for a few miles. Clouds still coming in fast - looks like the top of the San Jacinto Mtns are getting dumped on.

Made it off the road to find some trail magic - cooler filled with Gatorade bottles. Enjoyed a cold drink before heading back on trail for one last push to get to our hostel.

Hiked away from the San Jacinto Mtns, under power lines, adjacent to wind turbines, across washed out dirt roads, in the sandy sandy wash next to the train tracks and freeway, in the wind and some sprinkles until we reached the I-10 underpass.

Hiked through the creepy underpass and up the road to the hiker hostel.

Upon arrival we were told to take off our shoes and wash our hands. We brought our bags in and were shown around. The home has three cats (two are kept in the garage) - as a result Devon took my bunk bedroom (she’s allergic) and I got stuck with a squat spot in the garage with 5 guys (including Paul) and the cats! 🙃

We took turns using the shower and cleaning up - laundry was available as were loaner clothes to wear while yours are in the wash. We all got a set of pajamas to wear.

Ate dinner, ramen and bean soup (made by the host) and hung out with other hikers (12 of us in total).

The host had a crazy kid (5th grade) running around the house while we were there too - he was pretty damn annoying.

Slept poorly on the hard stinky garage floor - but ate well met some cool people and got a shower and clean clothes too!

** Longest mileage to date: 19.66 miles 🫠

Hostel Stay here: [33.92623, -116.69367]