Miles hiked: 22.9 on PCT, plus 1 round trip to Whitewater Preserve.
Left Ziggy and the Bear's a bit before 6 and it was a beautiful time to be out hiking. The nearly full moon was setting, a few clouds were drifting east through the low gap between the San Jacintos and San Gorgonios, and the sun's first light was painting San Jacinto with a pale rose hue. And it was still windy, here in this low gap between a coastal and desert climates. The trail climbed a gently sloping alluvial plain up into a canyon which led east then bent north again, with wind turbine looking down from the low ridges overhead. As the canyon turned north it narrowed, with steeper slopes and rock outcrops. More Black-throated Sparrows where there, along with Rock Wrens and a family of Chukar. I got to show the Chukar to You Again and Angie, and we laughed at them running around like funny scrub-chickens. This was actually the first time I'd seen these.
Up and over the short steep "headwall" of this canyon, we then contoured down a side canyon, crossed into the San Gorgonio Wilderness, and after a few more miles dropped into the spectacular main canyon of the Whitewater River. This canyon has a broad flood plain about a quarter mile wide, with the Whitewater River/Creek braiding its way back and forth. The canyon walls rise steeply, layered with different shades of reds and Browns, and are eroded into fantastic little side canyons. The whole scene evoked thoughts of a miniature Grand Canyon.
I made the side trip down stream to check out the Whitewater Preserve, a private wildlife refuge of sorts run by The Wildlands Conservatory. Along the way I saw a pair of Blue Grosbeaks, the male all bluey-purple with rusty wings and that pale blue bill. At the preserve, I learned that this is part of a larger network of public and privately owned lands which together make up the Sand to Snow Preserve System, which stretches from he high ridges of the San Gorgonios and other mountains east down into the desert pretty much all the way to the end of California. Pretty incredible effort to protect these stunning landscapes. The preserve headquarters is located at an old trout hatchery, and the fish ponds have been "naturalized" with rocks and riparian trees and shrubs around be edges. A Yellow Warbler sang from a cottonwood and a Greater Roadrunner slinked across the parking lot and hopped up on a rock wall like something out of Jurasic Park.
I brunched on my granola here in the shade then continued hiking. The trail followed the Whitwater upstream, west toward the high peaks of the Gorgonios, for a mile or so then cut north up and over 2 ridges and into the canyon of Mission Creek at about PCT mile 226. It was siesta time when I arrived here, so I washed my feet in the warm little runnel of water then sat in the shade eating the last of my oily cheese and taking a nap. Several other hikers where in the area, some who had stayed at Z and B's, and others who stayed at Whitewater.
I started walking again at 3:30, once it had cooled a bit. The trail climbed gradually up this narrowing canyon, crisscrossing the little creek and passing through the welcome shade of cottonwoods. This is really spectacular country, classic arid lands riparian habitat.
It was pretty windy in he evening when I started looking for a place to camp around mile 232. There weren't many sheltered spots to set up, and I had to home a bit farther than I was planning to. Eventually I found a little low spot between some rocks and bushes where I could hunker down. A few other hikers are nearby, but with the whistling wind and my privacy shrubs I feel like I've got the canyon to myself. I was camped near Kilty, who I've run into a few times since day 4 and who got his name for obvious reasons. He said he camped at Whitewater Preserve, and it was nice until the sprinklers came on early in the morning.
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