Imagine, if you will, that you have volunteered to participate in a reality television show that’s premise is this:
They are going to set you on top of a mountain, somewhere around say 9,500 feet of elevation, and from there they are also going to release a very important hamster, one that has, say, the winning lottery numbers shaved into its fur. Now the hamster will definitely head down to the desert below on a particularly well sloped side of the mountain because of some special training it’s had or some really good treats or maybe because of some magical ley line reason, and it is your quest to retrieve it, yes, find and capture it before it reaches an odd location in the desert called “Ziggy and the Bears”. You will have no water and it will be 104 degrees outside with full exposure. Now you can’t just rush logically down the simplest path of descent because you have to FIND THAT HAMSTER, so it is imperative that you mercilessly zigzag down on nearly parallel pathways, going in and out of every possible canyon, sometimes completely circling the same patch of scrub that produces no shade no matter where you place the sun in relationship to it. It will take all day. At least all day. And there will be no water. If, after a careful sweeping of the entire mountainside, you still haven’t found the hamster, they will offer you some water so that you won’t most certainly die, but it will be in the form of a surrealistic looking water fountain. You will see it from above and long for it, but once you reach it, every turn of the handle will cue a gale force wind gust that will stream the flow of water horizontally in the opposite direction of your open mouth or water bottle. If you try to actually cover the fountain with your mouth, the water will surge directly out of your nose . Once you figure out how to hydrate yourself and therefore live, there will still be 5 miles of opportunity left on a
flat and featureless landscape in which to chase down the hamster before it reaches the Ziggy place. While it may seem like they’re throwing you a bone at that point, in truth there will be strategically placed 3 feet deep sand pits all along that 5 mile stretch you will have to figure out how to propel yourself from, AND 120 mph winds that will be pushing ruthlessly against you no matter which direction you are facing. Expletives shouted out at the producers will actually be blown right back into your mouth and out the pores of your back along with the rest of your soul and some handfuls of grit. There is little if any chance that you will actually catch that hamster… But if you do.. If you do… You will definitely win the lottery .. So you’re going to give it all you’ve got.
That is exactly what the descent from Fuller Ridge was like a few days ago.

Number of Days on Trail : 16

Total Miles Hiked to Date: 265.2

Fun California Fact: The word “descend” in California, actually means “ascend”. The word “ascend” means “ascend” too. As a matter of fact, most map related terms mean “ascend” in California.

Favorite Gear Item of the Week:/strong> My Go-Lite Chrome Dome umbrella … I wrote a love haiku to it: