Waking up this morning, the conditions had changed completely. The wind had died down to a breeze, and the sun was burning through the morning mist. Four of us got on the trail at about 8:30 am. The path was mostly smooth and wide following a level contour, we meandered in and out of the valleys near the top of the mountain range. There were plenty of opportunities to see into the desert, and each turn brought more new views.

About an hour down the trail we found a large rock formation which had been catching the sun. This was the perfect place to spread out some gear to dry, everything was still wet from the previous two days. We stayed here for almost an hour, enjoying the view and sharing snacks.

Back on the trail, the sun was getting stronger. The ground was bone dry and there was no sign of the cold and wet weather from the last two days. I continued on the flat and easy path for three hours, stopping every hour or so to take off my pack, stretch, and drink. We’d decided to meet up again at the water source 8 miles from camp.

The water source was a true oasis on trail. We had shade, plenty of space to sit around, and water on tap from a tank further up the mountain. We gathered here, and also met other hikers who were stopping to fill bottles and have lunch. We stayed for about another hour at this spot.

Once we had eaten lunch, drank as much water as possible and topped off with about 3L, we headed back onto the trail. Immediately after starting we began a steep descent of around 300 meters, it was quick enough to make my ears pop. Down on the valley floor it was much hotter than up top, but we weren’t there for long, heading straight into a brutal climb. The trail took us on an exposed dirt road about 100 meters up again. On a new mountain range now, the environment was noticeably more desert like, with cactus plants starting to appear alongside the trail once more.

We found a great campsite tucked into a valley with about five good, flat spots spread throughout the bushes. We arrived about 4:30 pm and had plenty of time to set up camp and cook dinner, mine was grilled tortillas which were fantastic and I’m looking forward to making more of them.