Jeri’s Steps: 48,000
Pints: glasses actually
Churches: nope
Stiles: not here
Benches: only in the campsite
A three day trail camping hike in Point Mugu State Park, California.
Weds May 5th – Started at Thornhill Broome at 2.30pm. Weather 67 degrees. Tough, steady climb up the Ray Miller Trail with frequent switchbacks. Stopped after 75 mins for a bag of Doritos. Made it to the top in about 2 hours then we had a long, fairly level stretch to the intersection with Wind Canyon Trail. Off the left and further down a small hill was the turn into the camps. After about a half mile we found the camp on our right, with sites scattered through the trees. But no toilet block. After more searching we realized we were in the group site and so doubled back to the trail and carried on for a further few hundred yards. There were three or more primitive sites near the toilet block and we chose number 3 up the hill. Plain site with just flat ground and a table. Soon had the tent up and dinner ready. The pocket rocket boils water incredibly quickly! The Mexican rice and chicken dried meal was very good. Poured water in and waited 10 mins. Red wine from our smart water bottle and creme brûlée for dessert! Bed at 8.30pm sleep came pretty quickly but Tim’s sleeping pad had to be pumped up three times during the night.
Thurs May 6th – Started at 8.00am, misty in morning, back to camp at 4.00pm. 12 miles; tough finale up from Wood Canyon on ‘Hell Hill’. Scorpion! Snack at Danielsen, lunch on trail near Hidden Pond Trail. Two Foxes trail. Ranch Center abandoned. Tough day but do-able. Chicken risotto and red wine for dinner, bed at 8.00pm.
Friday May 7th – Decamped and left at 8.30 am. Breakfast was tuna tortilla and coffee. Efficient decamping. Slog up the hill from the camp to the Overlook Trail. Saw a skunk. Misty, cloudy conditions. Good walking soon got us to the Ray Miller Trail. Only a few ups then the big descent. Got to car at 11.15am. Drove to Neptune’s Net for lunch…
So was this a good test? Yep everything worked pretty well and the backpacks were manageable in terms of weight. We carried a lot more stuff than was needed for California; i.e. all our raingear, electronics etc., trying to match the weight we will likely end up carrying in England. We think we’ll actually carry less water and food in England because we will be seldom walking in wilderness areas. Here’s the YouTube video;
