Black Mountain Road
3/29/25
Start: 190.7+5.2 miles Idyllwild, Black Mountain Trailhead
End: 193.9 next to a creek
Trail miles: 8.4
Sleeping system: tent. It's very windy
Total miles: 110.5
Total ascent: 1800 feet
My alarm went off at 6:30 this morning and surprisingly I was still asleep. I got up, made tea, took a shower, packed my pack, chatted with Morgan, and ate a snack. I also reached out to Nitsy, a trail angel's in Cabazon, to ask if I could stay at her place Monday and how to get there. She told me she'd pick me up on the road so I didn't have to walk across the super windy section to get to I-10. I remember doing that the last time and it was a long slog. I told her I appreciated all of that and would see her Monday!
Callie (Pants!) was early and we got ourselves some caffeine treats and headed out of town! We chatted along the way and she told me she had once made a big adventure plan for Hood River but it hadn't happened. I told her she was welcome to come stay at my house and adventure any time!
When we turned off for Black Mountain Trail there were three hikers who had just been dropped off, so we stopped to pick them up because Pants had offered to drive me up the road as far as she could. There was a gate at 1.8 miles, so she dropped us off and headed back to her cozy house! I had to repack my pack because I'd followed a friend's suggestion about how to pack it and I was not happy. The others took off when I started n messing with my pack and I didn't see them again.
It was a long, climbing morning but it was beautiful out and the scenery was lovely, so I was very happy. I had to traverse a bunch of snow patches but they were all pretty small and easy to navigate. Initially I had planned to do 10-12 miles today but looking at the comments on the upcoming tent sites they were all going to be very windy and exposed (we use an app for the trail that gives us info about tent sites, water, towns, side trails, etc. and we can all comment on different info markers if we want to contribute). I decided I wanted to be in a decently protected area, so I stopped around 2pm. Around 4:30 two more hikers showed up, and later two more. The wind got increasingly more violent as the day went on. I got in bed around 5 to work on my journals. It's 6:30 and it's still light out, but I'm thankful I'm camped and cozy in my tent.
To adventure and beyond!
Love, Mission
