DAY-6 REPORT: 7/29/12: Overlook at Oasis Spring to Sunrise Trailhead (12.15 mi)

TOTAL PCT MILES COMPLETED AFTER THIS HIKE:  59.6 Miles 

Start at Oasis Spring Overlook, our trail seen on the hillside ahead.

We decided to meet at the "civilized hour" of 8:00am at Sunrise Trailhead, since it was probably going to soon get hot no matter how early we started.  A little more sweat was worth it to have a second cup of coffee!  As well as ourselves, we met up with Rosalind and Daniel.  It was really nice to have Daniel join us again on this hike.  Overall hike time for this section was 6-hours, 25-minutes.  Subtracting time for lunch, we continue to move at around 2.0 miles per hour.  Our actual hiking pace, per the GPS, averaged 23mins/mile... not bad at all.

Looking the long way down, just after Pioneer Mall

From Sunrise TH, we all jumped in our truck to head toward the start at the Oasis Spring Overlook, but stopped at Pioneer Mall picnic area to stash some water that we could use to replenish our supply on the hike.   We could have probably dropped water off at a spot that would have been a bit later in our hike, but this was a nice spot to get some shade to take a snack break as well.  I don't think that there was a lick of shade available after this point.

Watching the gliders prep for takeoff

We had hiked the section of trail before between the Oasis Spring Overlook and Pioneer Mall, so it was nice to see it again.  We watched our GPS to see when we broke the 50-mile mark on the trail, and we all said a "Hooray" when that happened.  No champagne though, it was too hot!  

On the edge

We had a short break at Pioneer mall to eat some bars, replenish our water supply from our stash, and enjoy the last bit of shade we would have for the remainder of the day.  Note that there is no potable water supply here at the picnic area, so what you bring with you on this hike is all that you will have.  There is a source of water for horses at Pioneer Mall, but I would filter it before drinking it.

Another stop to enjoy the views

We had never before hiked the trail section from Pioneer Mall onward, and so it was all a mystery to us and we were very pleasantly surprised to find that this section of trail really affords the best views of the desert from the Lagunas.  Simply put, the views were mind-blowing.  We had to constantly stop to enjoy them.  We passed the hang gliding launch site that is at the end of Kwimee Road, and briefly watched 4 gliders being set up for launch.   A little while later, after we left them, they had launched and we enjoyed watching them flying for almost the whole remainder of the hike.

Entering Anza Borrego State Park !!!

After leaving the glider launch site we passed a sign that notified us that we were officially entering into Anza Borrego State Park.  This was a pretty exciting moment for us, because it marked the beginning of a new stage of our hiking.  From here on, till we came out of the desert again, it was going to be some dry and rugged going.

Our new pal, Priscilla

We ran into a friendly woman by the name of Priscilla Lister who writes a hiking column for the Union Tribune called "Take a Hike".  We enjoyed talking to her and we exchanged contact information as she said she would like to include a little bit about our "story" for the piece she was going to produce for this particular hike she was doing.    Once she writes the piece we'll provide a link to where it can be found online.  You can see archived articles she has written for hikes in San Diego by clicking HERE.  Her articles are a great resource for hikes in San Diego that you might not find in publications such as "Afoot and Afield in San Diego County."  Priscilla kindly emailed to us a few photos she took of our team while hiking, here are a couple...

Today's crew with stupendous views to our right

There's Allie and Rich faintly seen on the trail. This image shows the grandeur of the views from this trail section.

Cool boulder field nearer the end of the hike

It got really, really hot again soon.  We eventually had to stop for lunch, and found a spot in full sun but with a smattering of breeze.  The air near the ground, and the ground itself, was probably well in excess of 100-degrees.  Hot rocks to sit on, and hot feet!

Another Happy Day of Hiking

Eventually we made it to the cars and to our ice-cold beers waiting there.  It was an easy day of hiking, with an overall drop in elevation of about 500-feet.  The only thing that made it tough was, once again, the extreme heat.   Despite the heat, this was one of our favorite days on the trail.  From here, we drop into the desert, so we'll have to wait for cooler weather in fall or winter.  In the meantime, we'll be doing some recon to figure out the logistics for the next sections.  We're excited for all that is ahead of us!  Hopefully Atticus doesn't get much heavier than he is now.  And hopefully he will start hiking more on his own.  With him and the pack, that's in excess of a 50 lb. load now.  Thanks again to everyone who comes with us and helps us carry him! Without you, we would never be able to do this on our own.  Well, maybe we could, but it wouldn't be nearly as fun without you.

UPDATE: Priscilla Lister's piece can now be found by clicking HERE.