Mile 118.5

I heard the rattle first. Looked down at the trail and didn’t see anything. Th on en I heard a hiss to my right.

Saw the snake. Saw the rattle. Saw it hissing at me with its beady little eyes.

I was too close to back up, so I skirted the trail and got past the snake. After putting enough safe distance beyond the snake, I looked back and took some pictures.

Don’t believe me? My iNaturist app confirmed it was a rattlesnake.

More details to follow when I have found my missing witts. 😀

The rest of the day was uneventful climb along many meadows and ridge lines.

After I found a campsite, I hot my first view of my next biggest obstacle:

Mount San Jacinto

At 10,813 feet high, it’s not even close to the highest mountains in California or that I’ve climbed. But it is the highest point in this part of the PCT.

It’ll take several days to even reach it and the descent is supposed to be treacherous.

Oh and a storm is expected to hit around the same time.

I may have to take a Zero Day in IDYLLWILD to wait out the storm.