[pct-l] San Felipe Hills - Trip Report

[msaenz at mve-architects.com (Mike Saenz)]

Section "A" completed!
Cool temperatures (well, relatively cooler...) and gusty winds made the 24 miles of the San Felipe Hills a pleasant walk. I met up with Bill and his grandson, Brian at Warner Springs Friday evening as they both walked the 8 miles from Barrel Spring and Warner Springs that day. I had to be in Indio Friday, or I would have done that walk with them. We had planned on being on the switchbacks up from Scissors by dawn on Saturday, but I slept through my wristwatch alarm... We were only a half hour off schedule, starting out from Scissors at about 6:30am. The switchbacks weren't as bad as they looked from the highway and we made the initial climb quickly and easily. Then it was in-and-out-and-around all the gullies and canyons of the San Felipe Hills. DAMN that trail squirrels around those hills!!! On the plus side, the contouring of the trail allows for an easy walk. The only thing that changes in those hills is the direction the trail takes! The terrain is almost monotonous until you get to 3rd Gate at approximately 14 miles from Scissors Crossing. Easy to lose track of time up there.
My decision to stop my previous hike at Scissors turned out to be a wise decision. The first opportunity to pitch a tent is a little over 5 miles into the hills, a small exposed perch. I would have been hating the final 2 miles trying to find this spot. A little over 9 miles from Scissors, the "flat sandy wash" appears. It's huge! If only there was a way to maintain water here, it'd be an ideal campsite.
We spotted two hikers ahead of us early on, and met up with them at lunch (mile 7). They were Thru-Hikers Jeramiah ("Mia") and Sarah form Colorado. The had left Campo last Tuesday and were making excellent time! I had mixed some peanut butter and jam in a squeeze tube to make PBJ sandwiches. This worked well, I'll be eating many PBJs on the trail in the future!
We made it to 3rd Gate around 1:30pm, where we all crawled under whatever bush offered shade. Siesta time lasted until 4pm when we began setting up camp. The 5 gallons of water I cached separate from Charlie Jones' main water cache the week before was untouched. I had hidden an extra gallon for Doug Remillard ("Rem"), who started his thru-hike last Monday. There was about 18 gallons of Charlie's water left, so nobody needed the ones I left. A Thru-Hiker we met on Friday evening (I forget his name) had mentioned that he spent the night before at 3rd Gate and had seen my water and that there was still plenty of water in the main cache. So water would not be a problem. I only carried a full platy (1 liter) and a Nalgene filled with Cytomax to keep me hydrated till 3rd Gate.
Camp at 3rd gate marked my 100 mile point! To the mile!!! I had already done the 8 miles between Barrel/Warner with Paul Frieman (Ctn. Bivy, or is it Pvt. Bivy now? ;) ), and Scissors Crossing marks mile 78. The 14 miles to 3rd Gate was mile 100.
Dinner was Chicken Alfredo Pasta (yum), bread and my traditional "oilcan".
Though the wind was gusting throughout the night, I slept soundly.
Slept in late and took my time cooking up breakfast burritos. I had packed in eggs, ham, a potato, a green onion and tortillas! Kept them in an insulated lunch bag with one of those "Blue Ice" things to keep it cool. It worked! Had an awesome breakfast!
Bill and Brian had already packed up, so they went on ahead of me. I was cleaned up and packed an hour later, so I solo hiked the final 10 miles into Barrel Spring.
Even with the hour head start, I expected to see Bill and Brian on the trail from time to time, but they were (I later learned) held a steady 2.5 mph pace and apparently didn't stop for lunch! Even on those huge vistas where you can see miles of trail across the canyons, they were out of sight.
The terrain changes a little 5 miles out of 3rd Gate. Along with the elevation gain, the bushes get a little thicker and a little greener. Once the trail crosses over to the east side of the hills and begins to descend into Barrel Spring, wildflowers bloom and the grasses cover the hillsides. A great relief from the stark desert left behind. Barrel Spring felt like paradise after the shadeless, barren San Felipes!
Bill and Brian waited the hour for me, and while they waited, met Charlie Jones as he was coming back from his maintenance trip to 3rd Gate. (Sorry I missed you, Charlie!)
We shuttled back to my truck at Scissors and headed into Warner Springs. We found Mia and Sarah at the mini-mart. Sarah was on the phone and Mia was lounging on the edge of the parking lot. Both were "fat & happy" after lunch at the restaurant!
Section "A" is finished. Don't know when I'll begin Section "B", as the weather is warming up. I may try and stay alpine during the summer.


Water report:

Several gallons of water were still at the cache at Scissors. Another 3 gallons were left on the north side of the road, across from the main cache (it wasn't there the day before, so I assume a northbound hiker placed it there for themselves)

San Felipe creek is a slow trickle.

19 gallons were left at 3rd Gate (Charlie had made his last visit that day after I left, so his report to AsABat's website will be more accurate)

Trough at Barrel Spring is full with a small stream of water falling out of the pipe.

Bill says that Ysidro Creek was dry (I'm still amazed at this!)

Canada Verde is flowing.


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McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
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