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5/26/2017 Wrightwood 369.3 to Tentsite at 377.9

Wrightwood is a hard place to leave. Our hosts, Ken and Diana, were so kind and so was every other Wrightwood citizen we encountered. 

I woke up early around 5:30  a.m. and Sherpa was still fast asleep so I hopped in the shower and then put on my clothes. Then I browsed the internet until around 6:45.  My that time Diana was already busy with the Memorial Day yard sale.  I helped her hand some signs and move some large items.  By the time I finished Sherpa was up and we got our stuff together.  We walked down to say goodbye to Dianna and she was so sweet she even said “Are you sure you don’t want to stay another night?” 


We have been so blessed with meeting generous people every where we go.  After leaving we walked back to the hardware store to drop our packs and chat with the hikers. I really have been craving a hair cut so I called a local place called Hair in the Woods.  They had an opening at 10:30 with Cheryl. We had 30 minutes to kill and Sherpa wanted a pastry so we walked less than a block to the bakery and she walked inside.  I loitered outside for a moment and a woman came out of the adjacent salon and invited us in to a soup tasting contest for hikers. Apparently they host one every year and the soups were delicious and the women who invited us in were hilarious!

After voting for a tie between broccoli and cheese I took off for my grooming.  

I walked over a few blocks to Hair in the Woods and when I went inside a little dog named Rosie started barking at me. Immediately her owner whipped out a cow prodded looking taser and cracked it into the air.  Instantly Rosie was as docile as a sleeping baby.  My internal reaction was “holy fuck, do not mess with this woman. She will put you down!” A conversation ensued about how she does it to her teenage kids and they immediately pay attention.  It definitely got my attention! 

Cheryl came out a few minutes later and ushered me to the back room.  She began chopping away at my insane hair and beard. When I came out I looked like a new man. I gave her a hug and was on my way feeling like a million bucks.  

When I got back to where Sherpa was before, sure was gone but the Funky town group was there and they appeared shocked at the difference also. Snake Bite was talking about getting her haircut too and later Rise or Shine, I can’t remember which, chopped her hair.  
I caught up with Sherpa and we went back to the hardware store. While there we picked up a package from Lindsey and Tom. They sent us coozies!! We are so excited. Our new favorite toys! We are going to take picture of them everywhere on the trail.  We grabbed a free hotdog at the market and a beer and used them right away. 

Not long after it was time to eat again and Sherpa was craving ice cream so we started walking to the ice cream shop. On the way Peoples and Bam Bam stopped us and we invited them to join us. We got ice cream and sodas, had some good conversation, then said goodbye to end our town adventure. 

We grabbed our bags from the hardware store and hitched a ride to the trail. It was insane how quickly we got a ride. We barely got our thumb out and a generous dad and son picked us up.

The ride to the trailhead was short and we started hiking after saying hi to Totes. We had a steep climb but it was enjoyable. We also found some sodas by the side of the road from a hiker named Dirty B. That shot of caffeine gave us what we needed to get within a mile of the summit of Baden-Powell. 

The site was occupied by Energizer Bunny but we found a flat site next to her. We are dinner and quickly slipped into bed as it was getting cold. Before long we were asleep like little hiker babies. 

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5/25/17: Swarthout Canyon 347.2 to Wrightwood 369.3

We woke up early at 430ish in hopes of beating the heat today. We have 22 miles to town (Wrightwood) and at least 15 of them are uphill. As we packed up in the dark we saw the big group of 9 hikers about to set out–we were impressed that such a big group was able to pack up and be ready so early. As we set out a bit after them, we climbed up as the dark predawn turned light. We were in a cloud and it was cool and misty for the first couple hours. 

Most of the morning was more of the same–just climbing up and up. It was really beautiful as eventually we climbed above the cloud and it was sunny with a blanket of clouds below us with only the peaks of surrounding mountains emerging above the clouds. It grew pretty exhausting climbing for so long, especially as we started to feel the altitude. We took a lunch break and set off again only to run into the group of 9 breaking as well. Beave informed us we still had a mile of climbing left to which I replied “SHUT UP BEAVE!” Hopefully he knew I was kidding. The last mile of climbing wasn’t bad except for a short 0.1 mile super steep section that we nearly died on. 

Luckily we survived and then had a much easier last 6-7 miles til town. It was mostly downhill and we walked through a ski resort which was surreal. It was strange to see ski lifts and lodges in the summer. We were texting our friend Amelia as we walked and found out she was leaving Wrightwood today just as we were heading into town. We hoped we would catch her at the road into town!

The last miles breezed by and we arrived at the trailhead to find not only Amelia but also Yote and Nicole and a few other people we’d hiked with at the very beginning! Finally we were making up for the days we took off to rest! We found out that Yote and Nicole had gotten sick and had to take off some days unfortunately, which is why we caught them. The others were surprised to see us as they thought we were far ahead of them! It’s funny how it all evens out in the end.


After chatting with our friends, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Wolf Bird and I went to get a hitch into Wrightwood and were excited when the first car that passed stopped for us! It was an older German brother and sister who drove quite quickly down the winding mountain roads. They dropped us off at Mountain Hardware, which serves as sort of a home base for hikers in Wrightwood. Not only do they sell hiking related items, they also accept hiker packages and have a back porch where they let hikers hang out and provide a charging station, have a hiker box, and have a list of trail Angels willing to host hikers. We immediately looked at this list and Wolf Bird selected a couple Ken and Diana from the list because he liked their names. He called and asked if we could stay with them for the night and they said yes!
With that figured out we headed to get food. We ran into a bunch of other hikers we knew in town including Pebbles–she has been hiking with her boyfriend Bam Bam but hitched to Weightwood early because she was suffering some muscle pain. She joined us for food at Evergreen Cafe and we pigged out as is becoming quite typical these days. 
We then resupplied for our next leg at the grocery store and chatted with other hikers until deciding to head over to Ken and Diana’s. They live about a mile outside of town so we had to walk there (I hate walking off trail miles) but it wasn’t bad and was so worth it. 
A sidenote on this town: we heard before getting here that all the motels were full because the entire town has a big garage sale over Memorial Day weekend every year. We didn’t realize the extent of this until we arrived! There were garage sale signs everywhere even though it was only Thursday and Diana even told us when we called that she needed to do some garage sale prep. Very interesting…


We arrived at Ken and Diana’s and immediately felt at home. Diana was super friendly and welcomed us and immediately offered us water and beer and grapes. Ken was still at work and Diana worked on garage sale prep while Wolf Bird and I showered and got our laundry ready. Ken and Diana had a beautiful home that they completely fixed up over the years and they were one of the few year round residents of Wrightwood. Many of their neighbors live elsewhere and use their homes on the weekends especially in the winter with the ski resort so nearby. 
We showered and started laundry and Wolf Bird changed into a pair of Diana’s pants so he could wash his shorts. He looked hilarious as her pants looked like capris on him and he was shirtless because he had to wash his shirts. We helped Diana put together a clothes rack for the garage sale and hung out talking to her and Ken once he got home as they cooked dinner. We had an amazing meal of grilled chicken breast and corn on the cob and salad. It was sooo tasty and we even had freshly baked cookies and Klondike bars after! It was nice talking to Diana and Ken and learning about them and their lives. We had a great time chatting about our elementary school teachers growing up and laughing about different rumors and quirks. We went to bed later than usual but were very happy with full tummies and a comfy mattress and clean clothes and bodies. We are in awe of the generosity of this town and of the trail Angels we meet!

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5/24/2017 Picnic Area at 329.5 to Swarthout Canyon 347.2

All we have been thinking about the last few days has been McDonald’s and today is the day! Ordering pizza with Pilar and Joseph made it feel a little less urgent and we didn’t wake up till 6, but we were still moving quickly to get our long awaited McFlurry reward. 

As we were packing up we noticed the big group with the sister’s passed us by: Rise, Shine, and Snake Bite. Sorry, I am very free wirh how I use punctuation. Seeing a big group ahead of you can sometimes make you feel that there aren’t enough cheeseburgers in this world to go around but we stayed calm and finished packing. 
The 12 miles went by quickly with the exception of the last few miles.  Sherpa was really starting to feel fatigued and a little I’ll from the lack of eating in the morning and the rolling hills. Despite that, the hike was gorgeous and I am in awe that we something surprises and delights every day. The last 3 miles for me was breath taking, literally and figuratively. 



In the distance we could see the highway with a steady stream of cars that looked like they were on a conveyer belt and a train that seemed as though it was at least a mile long.  It looked like a surreal game of trigger happening in the distance on many conflicting planes. I tried to capture it on video but it really doesn’t do it justice. 

There were black crows that were just floating, motionless, and stationary on the wind just at the crest of thr ridge. It is amazing to see wildlife just enjoying themselves. There seemed to be no purpose but pleasure as they weren’t going anywhere, doing anything, or exerting effort. Every time I tried to whip out my camera to capture this they slid away on the wind following the slope away from us, and then we would see them on the next ridge. 

On the final mile we passed through a canyon that had apparently once had a paved road. Time had ripped the road appear and now it was just boulders, broken asphalt, and a stream cutting it’s way through the canyon. 

We have come across old road before and it gives you an eerie feeling. I want to know who passed on the road and why.  And when was it abandoned. What board of select men decided to let it rot and then eventually hang it over to the PCTA. It must be, to a small degree, how Europeans feel when they see some centuries old remnant in their fields. In Spain, I had that feeling when we came across empty graves carved into the living rock.  

The hike ended abruptly as the canyon spilled directly into the highway and onto an old part of the old route 66. We passed an official PCT sign that hilariously said McDonald’s. Sherpa was tiered and got mad when I said smile so I took a picture of the sign and her back instead. 

Mickeyd’s was insanely busy. It must be one of the only stops for miles. There were lots of hikers and nonhikers crowding around the tables and the counter.  That being said, we found a booth quickly and the food and service was efficient and friendly. We stayed there for nearly 5 hours just chatting with hikers and waiting to be hungry again. I ordered a bbq chicken sandwich, which was delicious, and a large 10 piece chicken nugget meal with a Dr Pepper.  I struggled through the last few fries, while Sherpa on the other hand ordered a crispy chicken sandwich meal and destroyed it.  She followed that up with a mcflurry and for second lunch she had a mighty kids meal with chicken nuggets and apple slices. I closed out our session by ordering 2 sausage egg mcmuffins. One of which I stuffed in my bag.  We decided after we had charged our phones and updated the blog to hit the road.  After grabbing a few Gatorades at the gas station next door, we set out to do the last 5.2 miles before bed. 

It was a steep and windy hike. Other than that the most notable part of the hike was when Sherpa nearly got bitten by a rattle snake.  She was marching along and we were looking at the massive trains that were going back and forth through the canyon and not looking at the trail, when all the sudden we see this snake jump back, cool up, and aggressively rattle at us.  It was a close call! We waited for the next hiker, Numbers, to come so we could warn him then walk on. 

A few hundred yards later she asked me if I saw that dead snake behind us. I was like, “dead snake? That snake is not dead! Why didn’t you tell me before I walked right by it!” It didn’t look poisonous but it was hilarious she thought that it was dead!

After five miles of hiking we came across the sister’s and their posse and decided we should stop. We quickly set up camp, chatted with Numbers and another hiker, who were night hiking, and then went to sleep like little hiker babies. 

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5/23/17: Mile 303.3 to Picnic Area at 329.5

We got up our usual time around 5 today and walked about 4 miles until we reached Deep Creek Hot Springs. This area is popular with locals and no camping is technically allowed, although when we arrived we saw at least four tents set up. There are hot springs here and different pools with water of varying degrees of warmth. There were a bunch of locals up and about even though it was before 7AM. One particularly colorful character was a guy who shouted at us “YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!! IM DOUG!!!” as we walked by. As nice as this area sounds it sort of grossed me out, as we read that the water contains some bacteria that can be fatal so they advised not dunking your head under in the hot springs. Also because so many people come here, there was a lot of trash around and it just felt dirty. I only felt the water and didn’t get in but Wolf Bird was not deterred. He went in the different pools and even walked on a slack line (like a tightrope) that was set up over the water. We spent about 20-30 minutes there and then headed on. 


We walked another hour or two until we came across trail magic! Coppertone, a past PCT thru hiker, had set up his camper van/truck at a road crossing and had chairs for us in the shade and lots of delicious treats. We enjoyed eating apples and doughnuts and then he even made us root beer floats! I believe that was the first root beer float I’ve ever had and it was quite delicious. We spent close to an hour hanging out, which was very relaxing, but also meant that now we’d be walking in the heat of the day since we’d taken a couple longish breaks. 


We set out once again and man was it hot!! In areas where there was a breeze it was at least tolerable, but on parts of the trail with no wind it was unbearably warm. We walked another 5.7 miles to a concrete bridge and it definitely took some concentration to not let the heat get the best of me. We chose the bridge as a break spot because we knew there’d be shade under it. It was crazy when we arrived at the bridge because there was a towering wall of rocks beside it! It was a huge dam! We set up under the bridge like the homeless hikers we are and then we heard noises like a whirring motor. That’s when we realized it was powerboats on the body of water on the other side of the dam! Pretty crazy to imagine as where we were it was extremely hot and dry. We ate lunch under the bridge like little trolls and decided to walk on after an hour and a half. Rather than take a longer break we wanted to go enjoy the lake!


We walked another couple miles and came across some water bottles in a cooler along the way which was such a nice treat. Finally we reached the huge man made lake! It was crazy that we were just on the other side of it! We found a side trail down to a little beach and we took a dip in the cold water. Pilar and Joshua joined us as well. This was a momentous occasion because I am notorious for not swimming in cold water on hikes, or ever, even though Wolf Bird always encourages (and begs) me to. I am glad I went in because I felt very refreshed and clean afterward!


We didn’t stay at the lake too long, as we had about 4.5 miles left to hike. We were heading to a picnic area that we heard had power outlets and running water and flush toilets–all the luxuries! The miles passed pretty quickly and were quite beautiful as we skirted the giant lake. 

We finally arrived at the picnic area and were excited to charge our phones and have fresh water. Unfortunately the bathrooms were locked but we were grateful for the other luxuries. There was a flyer for a pizza place at the picnic area–apparently we could order takeout to be delivered here. We hoped that Pilar and Joshua would hike here so we could meet the $30 order minimum. Right as I was about to give up and start cooking ramen, we heard voices and they showed up! Luckily they wanted to order food as well so each couple called and ordered a large pizza to share. The pizza place said it would take an hour and a half–that would mean it’d arrive at 9pm!! Way past our usual bedtime by 8. We decided it was worth it and hung out chatting and watching a movie on Wolf Bird’s phone. 

The delivery driver called about an hour later clarifying where we were. She had no idea which picnic area we were at and also was not very tech savvy and did not understand the screenshot of GoogleMaps that Wolf bird sent her. There was quite a bit of back and forth between her and Wolf Bird about where we were etc and ultimately the park rangers at the picnic area entrance helped the driver and even offered to get in the car to show her where to go! It was very strange the driver was so unfamiliar with where we were when they had put a flyer at this area themselves! In the end we got our pizza and devoured it (with even some leftover) and headed to bed late (almost 10pm!). 


Uh oh, after writing this I realized all my posts are slowly becoming just about food….

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5/22/2017 281.2 Delamar Mountain Road to 303.3

Today was a day filled with Magic, trail magic that is.  It seems like that is happening to us more and more often. Not a whole lot to report on the first part of the day except that we hiked early and fast. Our plan was to get to Splinters cabin and rest in the shade in the hottest part of the day. 


On the way Sherpa and I got in an argument because apparently, according to an unbiased source, I was interrupting her. I hiked ahead in a huff for a couple miles then we met at the last water source before the 5 miles to Splinters. All’s well that ends well. 

Right before Splinters we came across some guys carrying a giant bag of chip bags, Starbuck Vias, and caramels. I grabbed a Via, Sherpa and another hiker Totes, grabbed caramels. Soon after we saw a cooler on the bank of a beautiful stream with beers on ice! We grabbed a beer and went down to the water to eat lunch and cool off in the water.  There was a gaggle of other hikers there including Rise, Shine, Totes, Beve, Land Mammal, Tastey, and others. 
We had a really enjoyable lunch then headed to Splinters for the rest of our siesta. We had already hiked 17 by the time we got there so only a few miles left to be on schedule to hit McDonald’s for lunch on Wednesday!

At the Cabin we talked to a new hiker named Baloo who said there was a giant rattle snake snaking its way around. It didn’t take too long before we spotted it. It was huge! 

After naps and a few minutes on the internet we started hiking. Hiking from Splinters along Deep Creek was unbelievable. We were half way up a deep canyon with a beautiful deep stream below with waterfalls, shielded from the sun by the canyon walls.  We hiked just passed our goal of 22 and pitched our tent at the first flat spot we could find. 

It was very buggy and our tent was broken so we danced around while Sherpa cooked our dinners and I repaired the tent poles. She scarfed down her dinner and I ate in the tent once we got it up. It was hot so we slept initially on top of our bags, but once we cooled down we slept like little hiker babies. 

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5/21/17: Big Bear Lake to Delamar Mountain Road

We “slept in” today which meant I got up around 7:30 and Wolf Bird got up at 5:45. One of us clearly excels at sleeping in. We got a delicious breakfast at the Teddy Bear restauarant right next to where we were staying. It was just us and the locals eating so early on a weekend. 

After that we hung out enjoying a last shower and having a nice bed and TV. We packed up our stuff and planned to Uber to the grocery store in town, as it was almost two miles from where we were staying. Two miles isn’t very far to walk, but when they are off-trail miles, I refused to walk more than a half mile or so! No use wasting my energy when it’s not even getting me to Canada. There were no Ubers on the road when we checked around 11AM (other hikers told us there’s only one uber driver in town) so we decided to do the only logical thing, which was eat some more. We got food at the restauarant connected to our hotel and by the time we finished eating there was an Uber driving and we requested it right away.

We had a nice ride to the grocery store and then bought food for our next ~100 mile stretch. Once we were all packed we called Kathy, the woman who gave us a hitch yesterday, as she said she would give us a ride back to the trail. About 15 minutes later her and her husband Mike and cute little dog Rosie showed up and drove us up to the trail. They were such a nice couple and we couldn’t believe how kind they were to go out of their way to drive us back! And they were so casual about it too.


We got to the trail and started hiking around 2:15. We planned to hike about 10-15 miles depending how we felt. It was funny because the trail gets fairly close to town, where we just were, and we could see the lake of Big Bear Lake for quite a while. It felt great to be hiking again especially after being rejuvenated in town. All that food and rest really restores the mind and body. We had a really enjoyable afternoon hiking through beautiful trees. We chatted much of the way and time just flew by. We only passed two hikers right after getting on the trail and didn’t see anyone else the rest of the day. 

We got to a campsite at the 12 mile mark around 6 or 630 and debated whether or not to stay. There weren’t marked campsites up ahead so there was no guarantee we’d find a flat place to sleep. But we both felt really good and decided to chance it and hope for the best. We walked another three miles to a forest road and were excited to discover flat ground right next to the dirt road. 


We are sharing a fuel canister for this section so we switched off cooking dinner and setting up our tent and enjoyed a fancy new (and very spicy) ramen brand for dinner. What a great day!

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5/20/2017 Mile 253.6 to Big Bear lake

Today was an easy 12.5 to town. We got up at 5 a.m. and were on our way by 6. The miles went quickly and the terain was very nice and mostly downhill. The most notable part of the hike itself was the massive pine trees we encountered. 

They were so impressive we stopped frequently and we can’t wait to see some redwoods. 

As our hike came to a close we ran into a hiker going south that looked like she may have been running. She stopped and talked to us and let us know that the Make a Wish Foundation was having a race and they had an aid station up ahead where we could get food and drinks for free! We continued to pass more and more hikers reiterating the same thing.  When we finally arrived at our destination we came on a glorious site.  They had so many delicious snacks and were so welcoming. Sherpa and I said hi to a few hikers we knew, Gourmet and Flame. Then we crossed the street to hitch. 

While we were hitching we saw a few of the racers, who were going 26.9 miles, emerged from the woods and were cheered. One woman was met by her husband with a series of honks from his cat and some hugs. Sherpa felt things, I looked on. 

A few mins later a woman in a white car stopped for us and two Swiss hikers.  We crammed into her car and learned her name was Kathy. 

Kathy is a real gem. She gave us her number for when we wanted to go back to the trail. She said she was a CPA retired from the Ford Motor Company on her way back from helping out at a dealership. She was very kind and drove us all the way to the post office and introduced us to one of the town’s oldest members.  

At the post office I shipped Crash’ s sleeping pad and then we went to find a place to stay. We ended up with one of the last available rooms at the Robin Hood hotel. It was great because we had a king size bed. After the hotel we went to get burgers and beer at Fire Rock Burgers and Brews. The burgers were exceptional. Sherpa’s had bbq sauce and Mac and Cheese drizzled on top. 

After burgers, we were pretty spent. We want back to the room and I went to get fuel and a watch for Sherpa.  When I got back, Sherpa took our clothes to the laundry mat. 

When she returned we went to eat Himalayan for dinner. Another delicious meal which Sherpa topped off with some ice cream. We stopped by some shops and went back to the hotel. 

At the hotel we turned on the tv and the classic Miss Congeniality was on. I was watching it more than Sherpa and when she was getting really tiered I had to beg her to let me watch at least till they foiled the exploding crown plot. 

After the crescendo, we turned off the tv and slept like little hiker babies. 

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5/19/17: Mile 230.2 to Mile 253.6

We awoke at 5 and set out on a gradual uphill climb all morning. It started out pretty easy and nice, especially while the sun was still below the mountains surrounding us–this meant we were walking in the cool shade. However, soon the grade seemed to increase a bit and we were walking in the sun and it grew hotter. We rose to about 8000 feet by mornings end and we were definitely feeling the elevation. We were breathing more heavily and our leg muscles were burning. At some points I had to stop after each switchback to catch my breath! It wasn’t actually that bad or difficult in the larger scheme of things, but the PCT is such easy and gradual walking that this felt tough in comparison.

We entered the San Bernardino mountains and also entered an area where there had been a wildfire in years past. It was crazy to see some huge trees fallen or charred black.

We finally reached the water source we had been aiming for all morning around 10:15. There were nice picnic tables in the sun and we met Justin, who is from New Zealand and had broken his pinky toe the previous day!!! It sounded super painful to walk on but he was in surprisingly high spirits and also grateful for painkillers. Wolf Bird and I took a longer break than usual to cook up some ramen. I had extra and wanted to get rid of the extra weight and also of course wanted an excuse to pig out. We had a nice long break and filled up on water as well. 

For the next 6.5 miles I listened to music, which I haven’t been doing too much so as to save phone battery. It was a nice change and the miles really flew by. It was really beautiful scenery with some snow covered mountains not too far away and huge trees surrounding us. It is so refreshing to walk amongst trees after long treeless desert sections. We passed the same couple of groups throughout the day–Gourmet and Sonya and Flame and a French guy Protein, as well as a bigger group of about 6, three of whom we later discovered were sisters hiking together. Two of the sisters hiked the AT together as well, same year as we did in 2013!

We took our next break at a forest service cabin. This is a cabin you have to reserve to stay overnight at, so there were a few families there. The cabin had a roof and four walls but open doors and windows (no glass)… But the families were all tenting right next to the cabin and even on the cabin porch, rather than staying on the floor of the cabin which we found a bit strange. We ate some snacks at the picnic tables there and took advantage of the very clean outhouse at the cabin. We ran into a group of four guys who were PCT hikers at the cabin. We’d seen them the last few days, they are younger, probably 22 or so I’d guess. One of them was complaining to Wolf Bird about the lack of trail magic so far and how he’d been hoping there would be some at this cabin. He then said he hoped there was some about 6 miles up the trail as he’d heard sometimes there are sodas there. We were really surprised and put off by such an attitude. To expect people to bring you sodas or snacks on the trail is just ridiculous! The whole reason it is called trail magic is because it feels so magical and unexpected when it happens! It is a humbling experience when someone goes out of their way to help hikers and this hiker’s the entitled attitude really made us sad. I think he is also just setting himself up for disappointment. 

Anyway, we then hiked about 4 more miles to get water at a faucet in the woods. A pct hiker from 2003 owns a ranch and installed a faucet on his property for hikers–so incredibly nice. We chatted with the big group with the three sisters and a few others, Land Mammal, Fat and Sassy, Cedar, and Beave. Right after we got water we passed by a private zoo right next to the trail! They keep animals that are trained and used in movies I guess. We saw a tiger (we think), a bear and a mountain lion in tiny cages. It was crazy and also sad to see them caged up. The mountain lion was pacing frantically which was kind of scary. 

We then walked a nice leisurely three miles (although I was carrying a lot of water so it was heavy) to a random couch in the woods. A hostel puts it there with some pamphlets And info to advertise hikers to stay with them in the upcoming town. The group of four guys we’d seen at the cabin were there and looked sooo dejected and depressed. We later joked that it was probably because they had expected trail magic and there was none. There were remnants of old soda cans and snacks by the couch so they had probably seen those and gotten upset that it was gone by the time they got there. 

We hiked on without a definite plan of where we would camp. Many people were planning on camping about 3 miles up the trail so as to make a shorter day into town tomorrow. If we also headed to that campsite that would be a 26 plus mile day for us, which would be our longest yet. We were both feeling good but I was hesitant about walking so far so soon after having shin splints. They have been feeling so much better lately (only sore in the morning and better the rest of the day, and same for Wolf Bird’s heel) so I didn’t want to risk making them worse. We decided to camp somewhere in the next mile or two. There were any tent sites listed on the PCT app we use to navigate the trail so we just had to hope we’d find a flat spot that wasn’t listed. We found some flattish spots after about 0.6 miles, but they were far from perfect. It’s not much fun sleeping on sloped ground, but we were worried there wouldn’t be anything better further down the trail since it looked to be all downhill from the elevation profile. We went back and forth about whether to stay and then once we decided to camp in that area I was incredibly indecisive about which specific area was least sloped. Wolf Bird helped to convince me it didn’t matter that much and also was very sweet and got out my sleeping bag and pad for me. We cooked some dinner and set up camp and enjoyed a little extra time than usual to lounge before bed. We went to bed excited for town tomorrow!

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5/18/2017 Hill Billy’s to mile 230.1

Sherpa and I set my alarm for 5 a.m. the night before but I woke up 10 till and jumped out of bed to catch the bathroom before everyone woke up.  Then I went back to get Sherpa up and found her turning off my alarm. Whoops! 

We got our gear together, I had some coffee and we waited for the rest of the crew to be ready.  I slipped Hillbilly a donation and he thanked me. Soon everyone was loading up in his pickup truck to head to the trailhead.  I snapped a photo of the group and then we took off. 

At the trailhead we said goodbye and headed off in a big column of about 6 or 7 of us.  Sherpa and I were right behind the first person and we couldn’t seem to find a good way to politely pass. I took a video of one of Sherpa’s failed attempts.  It was hilarious, at least for me because when I want to pass someone I am not afraid of speaking up.  Sherpa expects people to be “more aware of their surroundings” and instead is content to just clicking her poles on the rocks, hoping they will get the hint.  She didn’t, but luckily there was someone who stopped to talk to the group and Sherpa and I seized the opportunity!

We accelerated for a bit and then hit our normal rhythm. Flame and Beve were right behind us for a while and eventually Beve passed us. The hiking was very pleasant and to our right was a enormous wind farm.  Before long we entered the wind farm property and section c of the PCT. 

After a few more miles we came across a sign leading hikers to the wind farm office for water and shade.  We wanted to check it out just to see what the setup was like and as we approached a man in a pickup truck said there was water and Gatorade inside. Sherpa almost cried she was so excited and it was worth it. The Gatorade was premixed fruit punch, very strong and delicious!

We helped ourselves and said hi to a few hikers inside and then hit the road. As the day went on the hiking was more and more enjoyable and beautiful. We entered high prairies overlooking vast canyons 

Our next destination was Whitewater Preserve. Our friend Crash left his sleeping pad there and I was going to pick it up for him and mail it.  Sherpa didn’t want to hike the .5 miles in so she hiked on.  

The preserve was on a small river that lay in the bottom of a canyon. The river bed was all white stones and white sand and it stood in contrast to the tan canyon walls and grassy hills above.  It had a very nice layout and I spent a few minutes snapping pictures of a wading pool and a sand shade hut. 

Looking at Mt. San Jacinto through a telescope at Whitewater Preserve

Afterwards I went into The rangers station quickly located Crash’a pad behind the counter, and meandered back to the trailhead passing a few hikers on the way.  

Sherpa was going to wait for me somewhere no further than 7 or 8 miles ahead at a stream.  

Hiking alone for the first time was really enjoyable.  For some reason, I am not as thoughtful when hiking with others around so it was nice to have the solitude. I tend to come up with little snippets of ideas that I like to write down so I don’t forget them. I usually only write down the idea not all that I want to remember, hoping that I will be able to recreate the idea from the captured sentiment.  Here are a few that came to me as I wrote them down:

When I’m walking I feel as if I’m devouring the land. And as I walk ground crunches beneath my feet and moistens my tongue. 

Sometimes I cross very dry land and it leaves me part needing a drink to swallow the next few miles.

I once kicked a tumble weed and set it free sooner then it would have on its own 

And because of me it laid in some stream bed and took root 

far from where it would have, had I not giving it to boot

The mountains rise like breasts from the chested ground. 

I smash them beneath my feet and squeeze there peaks between my toes

and perch like a nipple at their peek

My hike was a lot of elevation gain until the very end when I descended into a valley to meet a stream that flowed along the trail for about 12 miles.  Sherpa was sitting under a very pretty tree with tiny song birds all around.  It was very idyllic and peaceful. She suggested that we shift to another spot along the stream and that’s where we spent the rest of the afternoon. 

I took off all my clothes and washed in the stream while Sherpa shook her head. I also washed the salt from my clothes and hung them to dry. Just as I was putting on my boxers 3 hiker guys passed by and definitely got an eye full. Oh well! I am not ashamed. Though Sherpa I’m sure thinks I should be!

We both tried to nap and then at 6 pm, we got up and hiked another 4.2, set up camp, and slept like little hiker babies. 

 

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5/17/17: Mile 187.8 to Hillbilly’s

It was tough getting out of bed at 5AM this morning with the cold and wind there to greet us. We finally mustered the courage and were up and walking by about 6AM. We had a beautiful walk along Fuller Ridge first thing this morning and it did not disappoint. We had beautiful views into the valley below as the sun rose. It was a truly stunning landscape and helped make the cold windy morning bearable. 

Our walk today would be about 20 miles of relentless downhill. The PCT is crazy about switchbacks, so our climb down the mountain felt extremely drawn out. We had pretty fantastic views all day. The houses and roads in the valley below looked so far down underneath us. It was hard to imagine we’d end up there by day’s end. 


It was warm but not too hot today, mostly because of the intense wind all day. There were some intense gusts, I imagine up to 45 miles per hour, possibly more. At times the wind nearly blew me over–its force was so strong I could lean into it. 

We broke up our day with breaks every 2ish hours or every 6 or so miles, which was nice. We passed mile 200 today!!! And had a photoshoot where it took quite a while to fit both of us and the “200” in the frame. 


About two thirds of the way down the mountain we passed a dad and son hiking the opposite direction, who were on a three week trip. They told us they’d stayed with a Trail Angel named Hillbilly the previous evening and told us he would host us for free or even just give us rides to In N Out Burger if we wanted. Well, after hearing that we were fantasizing about burgers for the next couple hours. We were on the fence about if it’d be a good idea to try to get a ride to In N Out because that meant we’d have a bigger than intended day at about 22ish miles. This wasn’t a huge day but we have been trying to take it easy due to our previous injuries. We decided to stop at our next water source and decide. 


We arrived at the water source, which was actually a water fountain in the middle of the desert, around 1PM. We took a lunch break and ate sitting in the intense sun, as the wind made it too cold to sit in the shade. During our hour break, many other hikers caught up to us and also took a break. There was a group of two guys walking from together and then a group of about five guys and girls walking together. We briefly chatted with them before deciding that we felt good and wanted to head to In N Out! No big surprise there–we like our food. 


I called Hillbilly and he said he could give us a ride no problem, just give him a call when we got to the road 4.8 miles from where we had lunch. He also said we were welcome to stay with him–he’d be cooking spaghetti and sausage for dinner. I told him we’d talk it over and give him a call when we got to the road. 

The walk to the road was a nice change in that it was flat as opposed to the 18 miles of downhill we’d just walked. However, part of the walk to the road was on pavement which was hard on my shin splints. Then after the pavement ended the trail changed to loose sand–it was like walking on a beach for miles! It really gave our calves a workout. To top it all off, the wind was more intense than itd been all day! We later found out that there had been a wind advisory for gusts over 50mph! I was growing extremely frustrated by the time we neared the road, as most of the 4.8 miles had been walking directly into the wind which was a lot of work, especially in loose sand.

We finally reached the road and went under the underpass below the highway. There were some coolers with water bottles and even beer! But we had very little time to check them out because we saw an SUV at the far end of the underpass with a bunch of hikers piling in. We booked it over there to see if we might be able to finagle a ride to In N Out rather than make Hillbilly come get us. 

We met Mama Bear, as she calls herself, who had checked the underpass for hikers to see if anyone needed a ride. Four hikers that we hadn’t met before were piling in the car and she was going to drive them to Hillbilly’s to stay. She asked if we wanted to join. We had planned to just get a burger then come back to the trail and find a camp spot after. We had to discuss it but finally decided that we would just stay with Hillbilly after all, but not without asking Mama Bear if we could stop at In N Out first. She very kindly said yes and we hopped in the car all squeezed in and sitting in each others’ laps. The reason we had to discuss whether to stay at Hillbilly’s was that often it is the case that you get a late start the next day, as you are relying on the trail angel to get you back to the trail and typically that doesn’t happen super early. It was supposed to be really hot the next day so we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to start hiking in time to beat the heat. We ultimately decided to suck it up for the chance to have our burgers!

Mama Bear drove us to In N Out and we ordered our food to go (2 burgers and fries and Dr Pepper for wolf bird and a burger fries and a chocolate milkshake for me). We met the other hikers, Flame, Beav (as in Beaver), Gourmet, and Sonia. Flame and Beav had each hiked the AT before. Beav hiked Southbound like us! He hiked in 2012 but started on the same date (July 1) that we did in 2013!

We got our food to go and were off to Hillbilly’s! Mama Bear started describing Hillbilly to us and said things like “he doesn’t have a lot of teeth” and “he’s different…but harmless” and then finally said “I guess what I’m trying to say is he drinks a lot”. Well this would be interesting. 

We got to Hillbilly’s and discovered six other hikers already there, so that made 11 of us with us five joining. Hillbilly was quite a character right off the bat. He is in his 60s with white hair and off color jokes. Wolf bird and I were sitting eating our burgers when Hillbilly came up behind wolf bird and tickled his ribs and yelled “gotcha! I knew you were ticklish” and then told me he’d get me too later. His house was full of knickknacks with a lot of tiger things–rugs and paintings and statues.., even a panther table! Hillbilly had clearly been drinking all day and offered everyone beers and shots. We did not partake. All this being said, he was incredibly generous. He allowed us all to take showers and do laundry and then made us all dinner as well. It felt so nice to shower even though I almost felt guilty showering the day after I was in town!

We met and chatted with some of the other hikers but were already getting tired by 7ish! We usually go to bed by 8! The atmosphere was pretty loud and chaotic and social. Wolf bird and I hadn’t noticed that many of the others had already claimed floor space to sleep on so we got stuck with space right in front of the loud tv in the living room while everyone else were more tucked away. 

A group of hikers called Hillbilly asking for a ride so a whole new group of four hikers arrived around 830 or so. We had turned down the lights but couldn’t figure out how to turn off the volume on the tv so we were just laying on our pads frustrated. Then when this new group of hikers came in, they were very loud and moving all over the place and turning on lights etc. I was really frustrated as I am a light sleeper and knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep until everyone was quiet and it was dark. Wolf bird was frustrated too but not nearly as much as I was. Finally everyone calmed down and the lights were out, but then hillbilly turned on the tv in his bedroom. His bedroom was right beside the living room and he left his door open so the Noise from his tv was pretty loud where we were laying–I could hear even through earplugs. Wolf bird luckily fell asleep but I didn’t fall asleep until hillbilly turned off his tv at midnight. I was very grateful for a place to sleep and food and shower and laundry… But it did come at a price. Sometimes sleeping out in the woods is just easier and more simple! Nonetheless it was a strange yet memorable experience… And we did get our In N Out after all so all was good in the world.