Day 14 – 10 miles – Mile 209 to Mile 219
Checked out from the Hampton in Banning CA after a hearty breakfast, divided up the supplies we had shipped here, and FaceTimed with daughter Colleen and grand-daughter Amelia. Returned to the trail by Uber.
Four miles up the valley side and into a side canyon to the Mesa Wind Farm. Roland invited us into the break room of the office and gave us Gatorade and chatted with us. Very nice that the people here support PCT hikers as they pass close by. Shade and water are always available. We thanked Roland for the Mesa Wind Farm Trail Magic and headed farther up the canyon.
Temperature was in the high 70s with little breeze. We discovered that a lot of maintenance is done on the wind turbines “when the wind is down” because going up to the naselles in the wind isn’t a good idea.
The trail climbed to a small, steep pass before descending to the boundary of the San Gorgonio Wilderness north of Palm Springs.
A few more miles brought us to the side trail to the Whitewater Preserve. This is a shady park-like area with picnic tables and restrooms. PCT hikers can camp free.
Dogleggers on the Trail 