Sunday 12/3
Spent yesterday with John&Jana hanging out and bullshiting. John & I have decided the valve on the toilet is leaking at the housing. A mirror and a flashlight made things a lot clearer. New valve $27…. new HIGHER toilet $107….about the same amount of work to do. HIGHER toilet is what I’m thinkin’ today.
I left my watch on CA time. Left this morning 7:00 CA. Missed saying good-bye to John. He was up , just missed connecting. John rented the little space I use, to somebody thru Craigslist. He had vacated by the time I got there. Sounds like Randy Quaid from Vacation?. John sees the good in everyone. It causes him pain sometimes but it makes for some goddamn funny stories.
The sun is just waking up as I head up US95. The first part is busy and some Interstate 40. Get past Needles and take the road thru Goff and then a no # road that goes thru Mojave Desert Preserve. The warning sign disavowed any responsibility past Goff. Ya, ya it’s paved for, christ sakes…..for awhile. Then #4 dirt…..for awhile. Then a little narrower. Now, I don’t care for it, when it starts to narrow. Now washboard, I hate washboard. By this time I’m 20 miles or so in. Not quite half way. I THINK I’m probably thru the worse. Now, you got to know, this is secluded country but not really remote. I don’t have any concerns about perishing in the desert. I do have concerns about a tow truck bill. So now we go along another 15 miles or so, no worse, no better, no problem. I start to cross a series of sandy washes. I’ve been doing it for the last 10 miles or so but now they start to get deeper and LONGER. I know what I’m doing and I don’t want to slow down thru the sand…….well, I do actually. I think Bill and the schooner weight so much, plus the dualies, we would get traction. That’s what I believe, as Bill starts to bog down a little bit and I reach for the 4H dial. Nope, old Bill was just shifting gears and we finally clear it. THIS is not the place to test my belief. One 8 mile miss turn, a shitpot more washboard and we hit pavement. It was the best morning of the adventure. I also, not necessarily on purpose, am following the the old Indian trail from inland to the coast and the Old Spanish Trail.
Two hikes today! One up in the Preserve and one at my campsite tonight. Both go to springs. This afternoon’s also included a large abandoned mining area. I really like hiking in the desert! Adventurous day today! A little windy tonight. Death Valley tomorrow.
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