The not-so-long hike back

It took me 6 hours to get to camp. I expected 3 hours to return to my car. I did it in probably 2 hours.

Why the difference?

1. I was going downhill instead of uphill
2. I blazed new trails in the snow
3. I was accustomed to the altitude
4. I glissaded when I could

(if you're part of the forest service... disregard "b")

I spent my time down peering into my map to practice some orienteering skills.

There was one point where after blazing a glissading trail down perpendicular to the road, i got lost. I was expecting another road 100' down, but I traveled for over 200'. I had to stand on some rocks and took angular measurements from peaks such as San Jacinto. "Ah! I cut down too early! I'm too far NE" and I'd have to go bushwacking to find the trail again.

The hike down was largely uneventful. I enjoyed the snow for as long as I could and would walk across it whenever I had the chance. Eventually the snow disappeared and I felt a little weird hiking around with my ice axe in hand... I still kept it "just in case" :).

By the time I got to my car, I was exhausted, needed to find a toilet and discovered that I lost a nalgene bottle and accidentally left a small container of tomato pesto in 3" of snow, under a log in the firepit back at camp. Don't ask why I put it there.