Day 17

This day was a long, tiring, 24-mile day as having to avoid camping in a recently opened, burned section of the trail. I was lacking the mental and physical energy early on and I decided to have an early lunch, and another dose of hot coffee. This certainly helped as there was a 16 mile waterless section up ahead.

The wind picked up and the temperature started to dropped later in the day. I saw the ominous clouds enveloping Mt. San Jacinto in the distant. I passed a small zoo along the trail, where a bear was having dinner.

I stopped for a little snack break in preparation for the last 6 miles to camp. It was a pretty much uneventful day, just covering the miles, when, in the middle of nowhere, a trail magic appeared; a couch and a dumpster with sodas inside necessitated a quick stop, and the bit of sugar high from the carbonated liquid fueled me down the trail.