Beardless Wanderer: 5 PCT

Us Arizona Boys love water in the desert!

I love Pinecones because they come in all shapes and sizes

We had lunch at this river crossing.

Cool flower growing out of itself

Another snake crossing...

Not a poisonous one though.. You can tell because there are no venom ducts behind the snakes head.

I haven't been hiking with music between 12:30pm-3pm in the desert for some time now. I realized that I have seen all 5 Rattlers between that time. It is the hottest part of the day, so that makes sense. It's a great time to talk with people, or simply enjoy. It's become my meditative time. After lunch at the creek, I told Doc about my Snake time. He agreed and turned his music off. 15 minutes down the trail, he spotted this beauty. I stopped to eat some gushers and was late to catch a proper picture. As we head into the Mojave Desert, it's a good rule to follow.

I don't take pictures of many hills. Doc and I agreed that the spacing of the bushes, made this hill more special than most. It's a beautiful hill.

The Reservoir supplying Deep Creek

Found this little Oasis just off from the PCT. It was a great place to journal, do some laundry and sit on a proper toilet. This trail is teaching me to appreciate the little things.

This guy stood his ground on the center of the trail. I had to politely escort him off with my hand. As much as I love catching wild things, I'm trying to respect the 'Leave No Trace' philosophy.

Golden time with the moon rising and a crane in the foreground.. It gets more beautiful everyday! My friends Chete and Brunch were camped on the beach. Me and 7 other hikers were further into the park. I got here at sunset and was blown away by the amenities. There was a porcelain toilet with toilet paper!! There was a sink with running water and a mirror. Plus there was water that didn't require filtering. I didn't realize that this was a National Park until we heard a voice through speakers around 8:45pm. "The Park will be closing in 15 minutes and everyone must leave." I had already set camp and was making dinner. No one was leaving. Thru-hikers were the only people that I saw. A Forest Service Vehicle, outfitted like a police cruiser, came through the park around 9:15pm. One by one we turned our headlamps off... Stealth mode... He cruised by slowly, looked and drove away. I talked to Chete and Brunch the next day. Chete said as he was climbing into his bag, a car slowed down, lit up his tent with a spotlight, parked and approached. He banged on the tent pole with the back of his flashlight and asked, "Are you hiking the PCT?" Chete responded, "Yes." The officer said, "Thank you, have a good night," returned to his car and drove away. It's these little gestures that help to make this hike that much more enjoyable.