The Mojave. Huge, flat, hot, windy. We are entirely dependent for water on the LA Aqueduct, which at first is contained in a huge pipe, then appears to be completely sealed and cemented underground. We lose a water bottle trying to defeat its security. We envision our thirsty corpses baking on the cement, the sound…

Sawtooth mountain is heavenly on the east, hellish on the west. We cross back and forth a few times. To our surprise on the descent, there are four people wandering in the woods carrying nothing but beer. These self-proclaimed idiots explain to us that their trucks are stuck for good on the trail, and they…

We quickly figure out that we are nowhere near the spring on the map because the trail has been rerouted. We bank on another unnamed spring that looks like it could be ahead. We spot a trough of water to our left! But it’s so full of algae it’s become an opaque, thick black goo.…

The people in Agua Dulce treat us well. We wash, organize, wait, eat, overeat, and make phone calls in perfect comfort provided by the ladies at the local Century 21. We have no map of the section ahead, so I call the PCTA with lots of questions. We might run out of water, but we…

We agree that trail life seems to be all we can remember. Life is an endless journey, each day with its own problems and pleasures. We make it back into the desert again, eat lunch near some decrepit trailer parks in Soledad Canyon. I find my first hat, a blue ball cap with an auto…

The torture doesn’t last. In fact, 24 miles have gone by, leaving us to spend our afternoon in the sun at Messenger Flats. We attained another new and intense state of mind while climbing over Mt. Gleason. Pete seemed to suddenly be fueled by invisible isotopes. I shot after him, surrendering to a single-minded drive…

The day divides itself into two distinct parts. In the morning we continue our mountain tour. There are moments of unrestrained bliss. Then comes the point when we begin to expect the day to end soon. But it won’t. We finally collapse in ugly Sulfer Springs campground. Hunger provides the only impetus for movement as…

Our tour of the San Gabriels commenses in full. Some of the vistas are extraordinary, many fade into smog. We top Mt. Baden Powell where a lone hiker snaps our picture. The rest of the day is an exhausted push to the next campground with water. There we meet more hikers, who give us enough…

Breakfast at Tiffany’s at Cajon Pass surpasses even our monstrous expectations. Then, loaded with water and some extra treats, we heave-ho through the heat, rattlesnakes, and ticks. Up 5000 feet and into the San Gabriel mountains. Sometime during the day I reached a state of consciousness that made everything seem as it should be.

There would be times when the trail would not live up to our desires. Days when the trail refused even the smallest craving. A store full of yummy treats turns to a lost opportunity far behind us. A refreshing lake is really a pit of mud and jet skis. A quick mile becomes a wrong…