Apple thinks I’ve done about 39k steps today.
Yesterday I thought I had a sinus headache starting up from my allergies. The record setting rain has really created record amounts of flowers and pollen.
So I didn’t think much of a headache all night. But I was going kind of slow and mentally befuddled.
Yep. Altitude sickness.
The melt has resulted in some reports of dangerous conditions. We were going to take a bypass but Win caught I wasn’t doing well so instead of going forward we headed back to Spitler Peak Trail and down to Idlewild—the “official” bypass.
I’ll note some of the side trails are really not advised and messy. There are some advisory warnings since the side trails look good on the maps but desperately need maintenance and repairs.
We had planned to divert to Idlewild so it wasn’t a big change, but we had to hike back to the Apache Spring junction where we had tented (Mile 169.2) and then back to Spitler (mile 168.6).
As we dropped and took a short break suddenly everything cleared up.
It was strange. Usually I’m good to 10k feet without problems and I was having them at 7.5k feet which I’d done a thousand feet higher this week without trouble.
I got somewhat dehydrated though and that could well be the difference.
So we took a different route into Idlewild. A wonderful couple from Arkansas picked us up at the road and we talked about our kids who graduated from Texas A&M.
At the Idlewild campsite we met up with Mariah. She camped next to us last night and we passed going back to Spitler. She had taken 179.4, Devils Slide Trail like we had planned to and got to the campground in Idlewild not too long after we did.
Showers. Laundry. Food. Feeling much better.
190.7 will be Black Mountain Road. Then on to Mile 209.4 and a finished Southern California.
Water at 205.4, a stream at 200, and whatever we bring with us up Black Mountain. 209.4 is I-10 and the finish point (actually the surface street there where you can catch a shuttle).
I’m excited.
Great weather. Still cool in Idlewild.
BTW this clip is 186.4 on Far Out—part of what we are bypassing. Lots of very messy trail reports right now.