Day 15: Prairie Dogging

Today was a waterless day. I took my time in the morning making sure to hydrate and then lugged out 8 liters with me for the next 40 miles. I quickly drank a liter to lighten the load on my back; a liter weighs slightly over 2 lbs. 

I would follow a wash into the Pinto Basin. Since it’s a desert and there is no trail, the challenge today consisted of trying to find sand hard enough to comfortably walk on. Loose sand is the worst (+ it gets in my shoes!).

I’m not sure what animal digs tunnels in the ground out here, but what looked like prairie dog holes were everywhere. It was cool to see until I’d be walking and BAM, the ground beneath me would give way and I’d sink a foot into the ground. My foot solidly stuck in one of the tunnels. It was like post hiking through snow, except in the desert. 

Outside of that, the day was largely uneventful until arrive at the Cholla Cactus Garden at sunset. 

Its a popular tourist attraction due to the thousands of the Cholla cactus densely populating the area. Like hiker trash should, I cooked dinner in the parking lot and evaluated my options: find camp in the open desert or push ahead another 7 miles to Whitetank campground. My legs were tired from the 33 miles I’d already walked but thought this would be a good early test on mileage. I put in my AirPods, cranked Rufus Du Sol’s ‘Live in Joshua Tree’ album, and set off content to hike by the light of the moon. 

I arrived at the campground at shortly before 10pm to fortunately find a site since this was a first-come, first-served campground. 

I fell asleep immediately, content with a good day. 

Miles: 40