Details
May 20
Day 1
Vivian Creek to High Camp
5.9 Miles
We drove up from Oceanside about 10:30AM, picked up our permits from the ranger station, and headed to the trail. When driving in you get to the Momyer Trailhead first so we pulled in to check it out before continuing to Vivian Creek. Once here we unloaded all our gear and Reecy and I sat at a picnic table. Jess drove the car back to Momyer, where we would be finishing, and walked back to us about 2 miles. She also stopped at the store and got us some sandwiches! We ate, got loaded up with our packs, and started out! My pack is always much heavier when I have extra gear, food, and water for Reecy. My pack was a little over 35 pounds! Good training. We made it up to halfway camp in about 2 hours and had a snack and rested for a bit. We then climbed for about 2 more hours and got to our camp for the night. Scouted around for a spot and set up camp. We filtered water, ate dinner, and watched the sun set. There were quite a few people up here but we were pretty far away from anyone else.
It was getting cold very quickly and we didn’t hang out very long outside of our tents. I had Reecy’s sleeping bag which I was very thankful we wouldn’t be sharing this time. It is a normal sleeping bag that is synthetic, light, and pretty compact. There are more details on my gear page. I used Musher’s Secret on her paws this morning and put a little more on now as we lay in the tent. I am not sure if it helps a lot but will be testing it out. I love listening to her snore and having her along with us. It makes my trips that much better.May 21
Day 2
High Camp to San Gorgonio Summit to Saxton Camp
10.3 Miles / 16.2 Total Miles
Today felt a lot longer than 9 miles. We didn’t get started until about 9:45 which is pretty late. We had breakfast, dug cat holes (I wish Reecy could learn to shit directly in it), packed up, and cleaned up camp. As soon as we started out we were climbing up switchbacks. We took breaks often and could really feel the weight of our packs. At one point when we were looking across towards another climb and the summit I decided that we could drop off our packs at a junction about .3 from the summit and take the essentials to the peak. This was a little help in the motivation factor. There were quite a few people on the trail and many of them with small day packs. That sounded like a better idea. We dropped our packs, grabbed warm clothes, cameras, and snacks and headed to the peak. Even with the elevation without our packs we felt like we could run. We made a few little detours to avoid a bit of snow and made it to the peak! Signed the book and took our pictures! It was awesome to be at my highest point so far and for Reecy to be there too. 
It was windy and cold so we didn’t hang out too long. Headed back down, loaded up our packs again, and headed down the other trail to Saxton. This trail was very different. We didn’t see anyone else hiking for the majority of the time and there was quite a bit of snow. We did not need any gear to get across but were still very careful. Sometimes it was hard to know if we were still on the trail or just following random footprints. We took a break for my favorite lunch, tortilla with Hummus, cheese, and sausage at dry lake camp. I am pretty glad a messed up and got 12 boxes of powdered hummus when I thought I was getting 12 servings. After about a mile or so we started down switchbacks. At one point I missed a turn and we got off track for a bit before we had to go back and look at the map and get back on track. These 5 miles seemed very long today. We stopped and filled one bottle of water at a creak crossing before getting to camp and continued quickly. The sign for Saxton was VERY high in the tree and I am glad that Jess saw it. The camp was really pretty and we were the only ones here. I asked Jess where she wanted to set up and she said right beside me even though we had the place to ourselves. We got set up and I went to investigate how the next water source would be. It was down the hill likely less than a mile away and I met a couple guys filtering water there as well. They were asking how much farther until camp and seemed very excited when I said it was so close. I got us some water and headed back up. We got cleaned up and had dinner. I brought along a chocolate bar and we shared with the guys.
They saw I had the bear can with me and asked if they could put their food in there for the next day. I am not sure if they were planning or hanging it or if they even had anything so it is a good thing I had room. It gets cold so quickly none of us hung out very long before crawling into our bags. It is only 8:30pm now as I write and I am listening to Reecy and Jess snoring already. I guess it is time to join them. Good night. May 22
Day 3
Saxton Camp to Momyer Trailhead
7 Miles / 23.2 Total Miles
We were pretty slow again this morning. We found a patch of sun and moved over there to have our breakfast and filter our water. It took us a bit to get packed up and we started to head what we thought was going to be all downhill today. There were a lot of places to get water so we didn’t have to carry much which was really nice. This side of the trail was so different than going up Vivian Creek and I loved the loop rather than going the same both ways. There were many wildflowers including many of my favorites – Lupines! I was surprised at the many uphill areas. Also once we got to Momyer Creek we couldn’t find a great place to cross so we just walked straight through it and then the large hill up to the car. I think this loop was the better direction to go but I think going to Saxton on a quick overnight would be a good getaway, training trip, or gear shakedown.
To see my base gear weight / list for when I hike with Reecy: https://lighterpack.com/r/a7opix
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