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| Looking down at Hemet Valley at sunrise from mile 119. |
Lost Creek Road to Hwy 74 - Nobo
Miles: 34 miles (2 days)
Hiking with: Sam “Hatchet”
Lodging: Warner Springs Ranch Resort before the hike and camped the 2nd night. Warner Springs Resort, Warner Springs, CA. Ok…I manage hotels so I look at hotels differently than most people. Nothing bothers me more than hotel employees that act like they wish you weren’t there but I will try and be objective with Warner Springs. I’ve stayed here two different times while hiking the PCT. Both times I called the hotel several times and was never able to talk with someone who would reserve a room for me – I know it doesn’t sound credible but it’s true. Both times I finally gave up and booked the room on Expedia – which I hate to do because I know that 30% of what I’m paying will go to Expedia as a commission where I would prefer it to go to the hotel. Both times upon arriving they were very friendly at the front desk and at the front gate. Both times we stayed in the older Casitas which were spacious but a little run down (Super 8 quality bed/bath/carpet - older & worn). For $106/night in the middle of nowhere I would say this is an OK deal. About 1 week after my stay I got a letter in the mail from the Warner Springs Resort that was a receipt for a $10 “resort fee”. This is fraud – if they were going to charge me a “resort fee” they should have told me when I checked in. I called the hotel politely about 3 times with promises of getting a return call from the person that handles this – no call back. Finally I called my credit card company and told them I did not approve the charge and they removed it from my bill - which means they will suck the $10 back out of the Warner Springs Resort’s bank account. Would I stay there again – yes, but I’m irritated because they could be so much better and there is no other hotel within 45 minutes.
Car Rental: Avis - Palm Springs Int’l Airport. I like Avis. I rent from them often and they treat me well. The reservation was for a full size car ($50) and the guy at the Avis desk asked if I wanted a 2 or 4 door. I said “I don’t care.” He gave me a screaming red Mustang – what fun on those curvy mountain roads!!!
Dining: Fishermen’s Market & Grill, Palm Springs. This had great affordable seafood and has been featured on the TV Food channels. There is also one in Banning – I’ve eaten at both and they are both excellent. Try their shrimp tacos – mmm.
Paradise Valley Café, Hwy 74 & Hwy 371. Popular because it’s the only café within a 30 minute drive & their burgers are great. I had one with green chilies on it…ymmm.
Start: We drove a car up Lost Creek Road (paved) and watched the GPS to where the trail came the closest to the road. There happened to be a pullout on the roadside where we parked and there was a faint trail leading up to the trail 30’ uphill. This was at mile 118.
End: Where the PCT crosses Hwy 74 (Palms to Pines Hwy). There is a PCT sign visible from the road and good size parking lot on the north side of the road. At mile 152.
Description: This section is in the high desert with very little shade and elevations between 4,000’ and 5,000’. Summer would be brutal as there was limited water. Fall through Spring would be optimal for this hike. The trail winds up, down and around small mountains and canyons. This is a pretty hike. We filled up with water at a cache at Chihuahua Valley Road (mile 127) and wrote our names in the log book. Only ½ mile away is a house that hikers usually get water from – but I don’t want to hike an extra mile so we forge northward. We were running low on water towards the afternoon and thought we would find a stream but they were all dry. Finally we came to Tule Canyon which had a trickle through yucky green stuff. So we kept hiking down to where the map said the best source was. When we got there we say a new cement water tank that must have been installed within the last month. About 15 yards away from the tank was a fire hydrant with a wrench sitting on it. We cranked the wrench and much to our disgust out came some terrible looking rusty orange water. Patience I thought…finally after about 3 minutes the water cleared so we started filtering. It was respectable tasting water. About 30 minutes after sunset we set up our tents in a small campsite alongside the trail at mile 143 where there was another water cache and then we fell asleep to coyote calls.
Rising before the sun we had our tents packed and ate breakfast as the sun came up over the horizon. Shortly after that we were on the trail with only 10 miles to go. This last stretch was must more interesting than the previous day as we hiked through large boulders as we ascended a mountain and then went into and out of Alkali Wash which looks like the extreme desert north of Palm Springs. Soon we were back to the car on Hwy 74. We drove down to the Paradise Valley Café for an early lunch (great Burgers), picked up the car on Lost Valley Road, returned the Mustang to Avis at Palm Springs Airport, and cruised home to Phoenix.
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| Sam "Hatchet" along the trail. Scenery typical of the first day. |
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| A burnt section of trail. This would have been the only stand of trees along this section. |
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| Sam "Hatchet" next to the mother lode of water next to Tule Springs. |
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| A view looking south into Tule Canyon. |
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| A tarantula!!! |
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| Red Mustang -- guaranteed fun before and after hiking!!! At the Hwy 74 parking lot at mile 152. |
