Tuesday, March 29, 2022
My friend, Hunter, and I backpacked from Lake Havasu BLM to Lake Havasu itself to a cove named Pilot Rock yesterday.
It was a great hike out with cloud coverage protecting us from the hot sun. Yet those clouds brought rain, all night long.
Read the details of Backpacking Lake Havasu Part 1 before reading on.
What’s That Sound?
The rain showered my tent all night long, it was rather calming – until around midnight.
Just after midnight the showers ceased for a bit and that’s when we heard “Hee haw! Hee! Hee! Hee! Haw!” on the trail above us! A wild burro was coming down for a drink and it seemed excited or upset we were there, lol. What a sound to hear in the middle of the night!
I whispered to Hunter “Did you hear that?” I wasn’t sure if she was awake. She replied excitedly “Ya! Artemis is on guard right now, she has no idea what that strange sound is.” We had a short laugh about the situation and became quiet again. I fell asleep.
The donkey never came down to our cove, at least we didn’t hear it walk by.
Fresh Rain in the Desert!
The rest of the early morning it rained and rained. We planned on leaving at 7 AM but it was still raining. There was no hurry to get back so we chilled until about 8 AM once the clouds started to clear.
The morning was so fresh!!
It’s a treat to be in a desert during a rain, it’s a special kind of fresh due to the fact it’s not common.
The Creosote bushes release a fragrant oil that you only smell here! The air may get a little bit humid but that rarely lasts since the ground and plants don’t absorb much water to release as evaporation. Any bits of water are greedily held onto by the native cactus. The ground dries quickly but on this day there were small pools of water here and there since it wasn’t a hot day. I couldn’t help but think of all the desert life jubilantly rushing to take drinks were they could before it disappears for months.
The hike back was a little tiring, Hunter had never been backpacking and it had been a while myself, we stopped a bit more than on the way out.
We got back to the RV and Hunter’s Jeep around 11 AM, ready for a shower and lunch! Hunter lives in her Jeep and has a membership to Planet Fitness for showers (many nomads do this) and she graciously offered to bring my in as a guest!! OMG! A hot, long shower! I’m in heaven. RV boondocking showers are quick and there’s never the pleasure of feeling that hot water run over your tired skin.
After getting the backpacking stench off our skin at Planet Fitness we headed to my favorite sandwich location in Lake Havasu – Ed’s Deli. We stuffed our faces with Italian subs as if we had been out on trail for weeks! It had only been a day but we’re also both nomads that rarely eat out so this was a treat!
That night we celebrated our first but not last backpacking trip together with chocolate pudding cups topped with whipped cream.
It was a great time with a new friend I feel is quickly becoming a kindred spirit to me.
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