Picture from our next campsite over looking the wind farm with the storm continuing to move through.

After our night with Merlin we continued moving through the desert and into the first of two wind farms we would encounter this stretch. We made it to water by 4pm that night and ate with a horde of hikers that we are now hiking with. As we ate dark black clouds settled in the mountains above us. Around 6 or 7 Kristi and I decided to move on and knock out a few miles before we slept so that when we woke up we would be that much closer to Mojave. The gypsies we were hiking with yelled out are you sure you don't want to stay here? Those clouds look pretty bad. I responded, " No we are moving on this is where good stories come from." Pride absolutely goes before a fall.

We left the camp and began climbing into the high desert. As we inched forward the clouds turned darker and darker. What is happening? We are in the Mojave. It doesn't rain here what care those clouds doing here. Soon we couldn't see the mountains behind us. They were engulfed by the clouds. Kristi and I ran on talking about how exciting it was to be racing the storm. The wind was growing angry and began sending blasts out that knocked you off the trail. We trudged on always a mile or so ahead. By 7:30 we reached a picturesque canyon that was totally protected from the wind due to mountains on each side and it showed an enormous amount of flat land which was rare real estate for where we were. We could stay here or we could move on. If we stayed, we would have to start the morning with a 5000 ft climb. If we pushed on, we could be in Mojave by early morning. We agreed, this fact is key,
we both agreed to move on and climb the mountain.

We did not know this but this mountain divides the land which houses two wind farms. There is a reason they put wind farms where they are, because of the vortex that leads the apocalyptic force winds into the wind mills. We were uknnowingly traveling into this vortex.

We began our ascent as the sun was setting. We climbed switchback after switchback. As the wind was at our back we could run with our packs on with little energy output, but as we turned the other direction on the switch back you could barely move. The wind literally held you in place.

The sun left the horizon. Darkness now settled in. We pushed on up the mountain. We felt rain or sleet at our backs now. What is happening this is the desert. One key point much of our clothes are down. Our sleeping bags are down and down and moisture do not play well together. We had to seek shelter soon. Then I spotted it. A flat spot on a ridge where we could set up our tent for the night. It was windy, but we had set up our tent in a similar spot with similar conditions in Apache Springs. This could work...To be continued