
Distance:
miles
Time:
hours
Elevation gain:
feet
Day 3 route overview

Elevation
Upon leaving Mt Laguna it’s a steady descent to the Sunrise Highway, the trail levels out before ascending again after numerous picnic areas.

The cloud finally lifted
The entire trail so far had been shrouded in a blanket of cloud. I hadn’t realised exactly how high in elevation the trail was until suddenly, the clouds completely lifted and parted a gap on the horizon while revealing an impressively clear rainbow. I could see all the way down into the valley which looked hot, dry and baron while up here I was walking through a winter wonderland. “Ahh, the weather’s finally clearing up!” I gasped as the clouds wisped over while breaking across the hilltops. I turned back and could see the enormous mountain range I just hiked over.


Back to winter
A few miles of sunny weather had me in high spirits, but all too quickly the weather turned again and I was plunged into another vast expanse of grey and white. The wind picking up carried hail and snow along with a strong westerly wind. I couldn’t bear the hail scraping the skin off my shins as I walked through the wilderness alone. I almost gave up, as I came up to a road there was a parked car with two people still inside, I was so tempted to ask them for a ride, but I decided to press on another few miles before finding a tiny tent site right next to the trail.
After snuggling into my quilt, I checked my mileage for the day and realised I had crushed 30 miles! The weather had distracted me from checking my progress along the way, but I must have been hiking pretty fast in an attempt to stay warm and keep moving. It was a peaceful evening in the end as the wind died down around 9pm. It’s safe to say, I slept very well.


Gallery
Overview
- Views and vista 60%
- Difficulty 90%
- Elevation gain 90%
Start time:
07:00
Camp time:
19:00
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