Wednesday, April 29, 2026. No clouds, mid-40s going up to mid-70s.
Up at 6:15. Nice, quiet night. On trail at 7:30.
Hiked 5.4 miles to Scissors Crossing to catch a hitch into town at the highway. Nursed a bit less than 1 liter of water to get there.
Found somebody’s Z-packs tent 2.5 miles from Scissors Crossing. I carried it to town and posted on FarOut that I found it.
We got to stare at the nasty climb we will have tomorrow as we hiked all morning.
I made a short video to show what hiking in the desert was like. YouTube video of home to Julian.
We reached Scissors Crossing at 9:30 and 5.2 miles. There was a nice water cache and chairs waiting for us under the bridge.
We sat down for about 25 minutes when a day hiker named Bob asked us, Fibi, and Olivia if we wanted a ride into Julian. Very nice of him.
We got dropped off in front of one of the markets in Julian at 10:15. I immediately found the owner of the lost tent. She was extremely happy!
It’s a rough couple of days in Julian as there was a water main break a few days ago. Water is back on today, but no restaurants are open until tomorrow. Ouch.
We hung out in front of Jacks Grocery for a bit. Got a drink and snack. The hotel texted that my room was ready now. Awesome.
Brad and I walked the 2 blocks to the hotel and checked in. They also do laundry for $25, which is a nice bonus. We unpacked, showered, and dropped off our laundry at the front desk. I fixed the day 1 blog and uploaded day 5 blog. Generally relaxed for a bit.
Walked to the outfitter in town and got new shoes, socks, and gloves. I’m a little worried about the shoes. They are Altra Olympus trail shoes, which are a great shoe, but a zero-drop design. We added a heel lift insert to compensate for the fact that I am not used to a zero-drop shoe. Fingers crossed!
Walked to the market and picked up resupply for 2 days plus a deli sandwich and frozen burrito. No other food options with all the restaurants closed.
Boxed up my dead shoes, had the hotel print a UPS label, and asked the outfitter to add the package to their next outgoing UPS pickup. Everyone was very helpful.
I talked to my family and had a nice video chat with Pit Crew after an early dinner in the room. There is karaoke at the American Legion a few blocks away starting at 6:30. A lot of hikers are heading over there for the evening.
Spent 2 hours socializing and watching karaoke. It was a blast. Brad and I got talked into doing two songs: Don’t Stop Believin’ and later on Piano Man. We were the oldest in the room by a good 20 years. Token old guys 🙂
Overall, a really good test day.
Technical Notes:
- Pop Tarts: 340
- Jerky: 200
- Slim Jim: 250
- Ham and Swiss on rye: 380
- Burrito: 720
- Seltzer: 600
- And more
- Propel x: 0
- Water liters: 2
- Miles: 5.18
- Time: 1:56
- Up: 358
- Down: 1220
- Calories consumed: 4000
- Calories burned: 852
- iPhone battery used: 50%
Leave a Reply