10th May 2025

When I woke it was a little cooler but with the hot springs in close proximity this was nothing a dip couldn’t resolve. I took my oats to the pools and sat on the side with my feet in. I chatted with Drizzle, Raw Bean and Debs and before long I dressed down to my knickers and submerged topless into the water. Drizzle, knowing how prudish and nervous I was about this began stripping off in solidarity, quickly followed by Raw Bean. Let’s just say Dan got a bit of a shock when he rounded the corner to bring coffee! 

The heatwave continues, reaching about 31°C today and we just happened to be walking in an exposed canyon section. Whenever we got to a pocket of shade on trail the group would stop on the path itself, plonking down to rest. Luckily we seem to be the only people on trail hiking at this pace and have only seen two other hikers since leaving Big Bear. 

You know it’s hot when the rattle snakes are hiding out in the shade! 

One highlight of the day was when Chapstick spotted a raven tussling with a snake ahead of us on trail before snatching it up into the air, the snake hanging limply in its talons. We continued to see wildlife, two rattle snakes, several fish in the canyon river, hummingbirds that zoom past so quick you can feel the vibration in the air, toads and a horned lizard. Dan also had a run in with a bee which stung him on the cheek. I pulled out the stinger quickly and Dan took an antihistamine at once, which appeared to be enough to stop any effects.

As we approached the end of our walk we reached the dam and walked around it where there was no shade from the 4pm sun. Construction works had once taken place next to this site, but have since been abandoned leaving behind a large pipe which would become our refuge from the sun. 

Later on, Heavyweight rolled into camp looking broken. He was clammy, a little burnt and simply looked exhausted. He crashed on the floor and we instantly began worrying about heatstroke. We put up his tent for him and made him take small sips of water before he crawled into bed. We camped by the water of Silverwood Lake all feeling slightly broken by the physical effort of the day.