Skyline Trail: Cactus to Clouds, May 23, 2021

This Sunday got scary a few times.

I lost the trail more than I ever like to, and had to climb-scramble across some extra loose rock and dirt to the point of concern.

But, as always, bringing my breathing and heart rate down, and relying on guidance from good friends put me in a solid place.

Huge thanks to my friend Laz for showing me how to use AllTrails, and to the team behind the app itself, I’d love to see the Pro membership become a public utility for everyone who enjoys or works in the outdoors.

Starting at the Museum Trail is nothing but serious, and it was all I could do to hike to the top, at which point I found it’d be another 6 miles to San Jacinto summit. I didn’t like not making my target, but it was the right choice to not make a 32-mile day out of a planned 20-ish day. That said, I aim to take on this loop another day soon as I scale up for Pine to Palm 100 in September.

This was a beautiful test for my many selves (mental, physical, despair pit, joyful sunbeam, wolf being a wolf), as well as a good barometer for when to let one take over for another.

Last thing: there were a few times I’d look up and see I had an incredible amount of distance and climb or descent ahead of me. A lot of advice has us focusing on one step at a time, and that’s definitely sound and valuable.

On this day, though, I kept looking straight at the enormity of this trail. I’d stare at it, take it in, and stand with how big the things I really want really are. I can do a lot with 14.5 hours, and this was one of the best ways I’ve spent that amount of time.