I started the day following a wash that weaves through the cinder cones, one with occasional dropoffs that required some climbdown, but otherwise provided easy walking. And also a few interesting rock gardens.
All of the cones have jeep roads up to their summits. These aren’t “social” jeep trails that were formed by repeated use. They are dug into the sides of the cones, an operation that presumably requires heavy equipment and thus the strong conviction by someone that these cones really need jeep trails on them.
But there was no one on them today. The desert was its usual silent self.
After a few miles I came to my last cache, on Kelbaker Road. It was also the end of cinder cone country and I had a decision to make. My planned route would take me directly toward Kelso via the Kelso Mountains. Those mountains are not particularly high. But studying the map I noticed that my route up into those mountains was via a feature named “Ragged Ridge”.
I had already hiked a few ragged ridges and was not really feeling excited about hiking another one. I decided to bear due south and circumnavigate around the mountains. It would add a couple of miles but would be easier hiking.
Because I had hiked late yesterday, I realized I could make it all the way to Kelso, even though I had food for another day. The route had been steady if gentle downhilling since Cima Dome and I was now in the low desert and heading lower. The vegetation was sparse and brown and low. No shade, no protection from the sun and wind, no real reason to linger another day. It was time to put my head down and walk.
I did see a lone Joshua Tree near lunch time. It was somewhat out of my way but well worth a small detour to enjoy its gift of shade.
And there was another flower
But that was about it for notable sights along this stretch. I drew even with the Kelso Mountains and topped a rise, bringing the Kelso Dunes into sight.
A turn to the east and a few more miles of walking raised the sight of the twin towers of Kelso Depot and the end of the hike
As usual, distances deceived in the desert. What looked like a mile or two was more like five or six. But I got to the parking lot, which still held my car, right around 5. It was quitting time for the ranger who rolled by and chatted for a few minutes (I emailed before I started to let them know I was not abandoning the car).
And so that was it, the end of the hike. Not sure how many miles it was. Anywhere from 160 to 200 miles would be a reasonable guess.
I suppose if I had been following a marked and named route I might have felt some sense of accomplishment. But really I had just been wandering about in a trackless desert for a couple of weeks. There are no monuments or markers, and except for this blog, no trace whatever of where I had been and what I had done.
That’s OK. I am kind of past the goal-oriented phase of life. All I wanted was to spend time out in light and space, to walk through lands that still retain their own integrity and sense of being. That’s enough accomplishment for me.