GET Day 40: Still in the San Mateos

Daily Miles: 20.8, Total Miles: 559.8

First order of business today was another climb, this time to Blue Mountain at over 10,000 ft. Great 360-degree views of where I’ve been and where I’m going. Worked my way down to Water Canyon to Pothole Spring and filled up for a long dry spell.

Now that I’ve lost all my elevation there was nowhere to go but up. I followed Indian Creek up a wash then switchbacked up to Grassy Lookout at almost 9,700 ft. Beautiful views again but definitely a smoky haze. Just as I started up FR138 towards the Mt Withington Lookout, I met two decked out, high-clearance 4WD vans. I yogied two liters of water from some nice people, including a couple from Brisbane, Australia. He’s also a mining engineer in a city I spent a lot of time in when I lived in Australia -small world!

Walked another five miles and set up camp on a high ridge next to a Forest Service helipad. Hopefully no emergencies tonight.

If someone wanted to hide out and not be found, the San Mateo Mountains may be the place.