May 11-12: When we awoke, got water from the river, and started down the trail, we were now 5- which is kind of a fun number. We had a river crossing followed by a bit of a climb.

Like yesterday, we had a big destination: Silverwood Lake. We came into view of the lake from above, and enjoyed views from around the perimeter as we circumnavigated the lake.

There were a few nice spots where the trail came close to sandy beaches. Had it been warmer, we'd have been all over those beaches in a heartbeat! As it was, the temperature was quite pleasant when walking, though a bit cold when sitting still- mid 60's - and we did not feel the need to swim. We did head down to a covered picnic pavilion for lunch (and a quick nap!) and Zack actually decided to go for a dip after all.

There were a couple long waterless stretches today, so eyes were on the water report and we made sure to stop and filter!

Again, we found the camping spots were merely ok, and Lauren suggested we try to make it all the way to CajonPass, where there was both a McDonalds and a Best Western. It was a bit of a stretch, but both Lauren and I managed to conquer our first 30 miler! (Wallaby opted to camp at around 24 miles. Turns out he was the smart one!)

At the McDonalds, filled with other hungry hikers, Lauren ended up getting s bit hypoglycemic and a bit woozy. I asked a couple people at the McDonald's for a ride to the hotel. As exhausted as we were, a hot shower, four pillows, laundry, and a hot breakfast were a pretty good exchange. (Though seriously how tired are you when there is a jacuzzi and you are too tired to use it!)

The next day, check out was at 11:00. We left the room at 10:59. We had to pass the McDonalds on the way back to the trail so, of course we stopped in for another meal.

Our hike out of Cajon Pass was a waterless climb, but on the cooler side, so not terrible.

We went through a pipe tunnel

And looked down on the passing trains

Or up at cool rock formations

We managed only 15 miles, though- which were harder than yesterday's 30! And Wallaby? Ended up camping 7 miles ahead. So the joke was on us.

But I did have something he did not: a dinner of a cheeseburger inside the tent!

Peace, love, and trail magic!

May 14- 15: I awoke a bit later than usual, because of my late arrival the night before. Then had to backtrack .3 miles to the water source to refill before hitting the trail at the late hour of 6:15. Today was the day to bank some miles and get into lower elevation to miss the snow.

It was 2 miles until a road crossing and then, due to a an environmental closure for the yellow bellied spotted mountain road (yes- it's true) a 7 mile road walk. I got to the road crossing pretty quickly and met up with 5 others- Diogenes, Robert, Turtle, Velcro, and Silver. Since it was very foggy and the weather was deteriorating faster than anticipate, I opted for the safety in numbers idea and stuck close by the group. Diogenes, who was tent less, Flagged down the first passing car and went back into Wrightwood. We persevered.

Very soon, it went from fog to rain to snow to heavy, wet snow. I began to suspect that Diogenes had the right idea. But we hadn't seen any other cars.

"If another car comes by, I'm going back to town" I announced. And then, just like that, a car drove by. Well, a truck. A rather small pick up truck. I waved my arms wildly and it pulled over. Silver and Velro joined me, Robert and Turtle kept going. During the 35 plus minute ride down the mountain, we stopped to pick up 4 more hikers: Mowgli, Cardboard, Chrome, and Kale. Which is why I can now check "riding in the back of a pick up truck during a snowstorm with 6 other people and 7 backpacks" off the life list. Check!

Back in town, and half frozen, we went to the grocery store where they had pots of coffee and hot chocolate brewing for half frozen hikers. We all secured rooms for the night, I ended up with Velcro and Silver in a rather rundown, but dry and warm cabin next door to Wallaby and Diogenes. I made the most of the town day by visiting the library and using the internet, eating large punts of food, and watching chick flicks on TV much to the others' chagrin. (Kidding- they LOVED A League of Their Own)

The next morning, it had stood snowing, and was warmer. So we packs up, checked out, and went to breakfast. Getting ready to secure a hitch, our friends at the grocery store warned against going back up to the trail: "it's nice down here, but still dumping up there" Great. We had already checked out! But then, we got an offer from Wendy, a local woman, to come stay at her house for the day.

We hing out with Wendy and her kids Morgan, Amelia, and Mitch on their beautiful log cabin up on a hill. They fed us, let us take showers, and treated us to movies In their theater room complete with leather recliners and blankets! I said "I might not go back hiking, I might just stay here!"

Dinner was delicious- salad, chicken and dumplings, and homemade ice cream. Plus, their cat decided that she liked me and spent the day (and night) sleeping on me.

As wonderful as that experience was, when it dawned clear and warmer the next morning, it was time to move on. Homemade waffles, fresh fruit and eggs from their chicken coop for breakfast and then a ride to the trail from Wendy. Talk about hospitality! It's really these wonderful interactions with nice people that make the thru hike!

Peace love and trail magic!

May 13: with our short day previously, we had a 12 mile hike into Wrightwood, a small off trail mountain town with grocery, hardware, and post office accommodations. It was a strange morning: very cold and windy on the northwest side of the ridge, sunny and calm on the southeast side. So I spent the morning putting on gloves and hat, taking off gloves and hat repeatedly as the trail meandered back and forth along the ridge.

We hiked through some ski slopes ( that had seen no action for the past two winters) which wa sound of cool. And through some piney forests before dropping down to be road into Wrightwood.

Since I had eaten at McDonalds twice, packed out a cheeseburger, and eaten breakfast in the Best Western, I did not have a lot of resupplying to do. I did grab a big burrito at the grocery/deli and found Wallaby again. The big talk was of the impending snow storm. It was supposed to blow I the next day after noon. Since we had a big, 9000 foot peak to climb, we decided that we should probably head out soon, get the climb out of the way, and we could hike out to the lower elevations before noon tomorrow, thus beating the snow. Great! In theory.

Wallaby again opted to stay put in town, and Lauren wa waiting for a UPS delivery. But since I tend to slow down in the afternoon (even in the wilderness, I get that mid afternoon slump from whence my diet coke addiction has sprung) I opted to head out with Diogenes and see if we could make it to Little Jimmy campground.

We caught a ride quickly-the guy pointed out the newly on the market house of Keanu Reeves- and headed back on the trail.

Baden Powell Peak was probably the most challenging climb so far, but still fairly graded. Made it up and over the peak as was the plan.

Sometimes, you don't see things the way they ARE but the way you want them to be. Which explains how I took a wrong turn and went down a trail on the southeast side of the mountain for a mile instead of heading along then PCT onto the wind. I finally figured out I was on the wrong trail and corrected myself, but ate up precious daylight on the process. I rolled into Little Jimmy Campground at 10 to eight, with just enough time to quickly set up my tent before it wa dark. Successful execution of the day's plans, and spins sleep for a cold night.

May 10: After our big mileage day out of Big Bear, we continued to descend in elevation along with an increase in temperature. Back down into the desert!

We stopped for a break next to a river by a brige, and ran into Doc, a section hiker who had given us a ride into Big Bear. Then we walked along the ridge of a canyon looking down into Deep Creek from above.

And finally, we came to the big destination of the day: Deep Creek Hot Springs! Nothing is better after a day of hiking in the desert sun than a swim in a cold swimming hole and a soak in the hot springs. It's not a far hike from a roadside trailhead and a favorite amongst locals. It's also clothing optional. So lots of old hippies.

(Isn't that always the way? The people who opt out of the clothing are never the ones you WANT to see taking that option. The guy who plays Thor in The Avengers? Fully covered. The guy who resembles Jabba the Hut from Star Wars? Opts out. Blah.)

You're welcome for taking it from so far away!

Lauren taking a little siesta post soak.

After a nice, long, break, we decide to head out and set up camp. And I learned a valuable lesson: if you ever utter he phrase "Oh, I'm dry ENOUGH to hike" (or run, dance, etc) remember that there are two and only two categories of wetness: sopping wet or bone dry. Damp does not exist! I have he still-healing underwear shaped chafing rash to prove it! (You're welcome for not taking pictures of that!)

Our first choice for camping, by the Rainbow Bridge had less-than-ideal spots, so we continued on another 5 miles or so to the spillover area of the Mojave River Forks Dam. We found a nice little spot near the river and once again met up with Doc and met Zack, who used to live quite close to Lauren in Austin! Great day!

Peace, love, and trail magic!

May 9: After our snow/rest day, we were able to get back on the trail by 8 am, thanks to the shuttle service from the hostel. We were expecting slow going from snow on the ridge line. Surprisingly, there was less snow in the higher elevations than down in the valley. (Maybe a lake effect?) so with the cool temperatures, the clear trail, and the day of rest, Lauren, Wallaby, and I were able to crank out some fast miles.

Once we climbed up the ridge, we were rewarded with some spectacular views!

After a brief lunch break, it was pretty obvious we were tearing up the trail today! So we decided to just keep going until dark. We dropped down into more arid conditioned and ended up camping on a nice flat spot between boulders with some nice views.

First 24 miler since Ziggy's!

Peace, love, and trail magic!

So often, when we think about Haiti, we only think of the bad things-- poverty, hunger, illness, the earthquake. It's easy to forget that despite all of its challenges, Haiti is a beautiful place.

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May 5-6: I'm not sure if it was the 24 mile day, the wind, or the restless sleep at Ziggy and the Bear's, but the next two days, I felt so tired! My feet had been feeling HOT the night after the 24 mile walk, to the point where I woke in the middle of the night went to the shower house, and just slathered my feet with lotion. Helped a little, but I still kept waking up feeling like my feet were roasting.

The walk out of Ziggy's was hot, dry, and windy. I left in between Wallaby and Lauren and kept leapfrogging with Wallaby all day, but never did see Lauren, which is unusual. I employed the short, frequent breaks strategy, with an eye on any shady spot I could find. The day took me through wind farms

Across exposed ridges

Along grassy expanses

And then down onto the sandy, hot desert floor. In the middle, was the fast flowing Whitewater River, where there were boulders nearby providing shade to eat lunch, soak your hot feet, and get more water before continuing on. Lost in my own little world, I took a wrong turn down a side trail and walked a good mile before realizing I was going in the wrong direction and backtracking to the split. (I want full credit for those two miles. I tell you!)

Back on the correct trail, I passed such bizarre sights as- a cow carcass

And people on horseback, Billy Crystal style in City Slickers

Finally, I saw Walaby settling in to camp at the early hour of 4:30. "I feel like I should do more miles, but I'm just too tired" he said. I concurred and turned in for an early night.

Despite the early night, fatigue reigned the next day, as well. We started out the day quite differently, in that the trail ran alongside and crossed Mission Creek multiple times. So water was plentiful. And my sneakers were wet. We climbed up to higher elevations and into pine trees.

With lots of stunning views

And a forest fire to the south. All day we watched planes fly over and dump water on it.( the fire was contained by day's end)

Near the end of the day we passed a bunch of cages behind a fence next to the trail. On one of the cages was a HUGE grizzly bear. Apparently, this bear is used in movies and TV shows and this is where his trainer keeps him. It was kind of sad, actually, seeing this bear caged up like that without any companions.

Once again, tired and sleepy, we camped early in the first flat spot we could find after the cages. Right before bed, I checked the weather app on my phone and it said- SNOW! But that couldn't be true. I was clearly way more tired than I thought.

Peace, love, and trail magic!

May 7-8: I was not over tired. The weather report was right. We had snow on the way. I woke up to ice in my water bottles and the very tip off nose (the only part of my body outside the sleeping bag) like an icicle. I have a rule when hiking- you do NOT hike in your sleeping clothes nor sleep in your hiking clothes. With one exception: IF it is freezing in the morning AND you are hiking into town WHERE there are laundry facilities, THEN it is okay to hike in sleeping clothes. So the hiking clothes went on over the sleeping clothes, and then covered with my puffy jacket, hat, and gloves. Off to Big Bear Lake!

Despite the cold, it was a rather pleasant walk into Big Bear Lake. The sun was coming up over the mountains, the birds and animals were scurrying around, the fire to the south was out. I had been wondering about bear activity in this area, and then I came across something that answered my question: the famous "magic dumpster"

The magic dumpster is often filled with soda, cookies, sandwiches and snickers. Except that I was going by at 6am, so no treats for me. 😕 I did sit on the adjacent sofa, though. Just because. It was cold.

As the sun came up, it warmed up and off came the hat, the gloves, the puffy, and eventually I stopped behind a bush and off came the sleeping clothes. We dropped down in elevation a bit and has someone nice views of a more desert-y sort.

Wallaby and I reached the road intoBig Bear around 11:30 (16 miles by 11:30- not bad!) and got a hitch into town to the hiker hostel. And about an hour later, Lauren appeared! So we were a trio once again.

The stay at Big Bear was filled with ally he things you do in town- laundry, shower, re supply, replace broken gear. The weather got progressively colder. We at are at a delicious pizza place, has ice cream, and watched the snow fall from inside. We went with a bunch of others hikers to see The Avengers at the movies, and more or less hung out and rested.

Overall, our timing could not have been better. No wet shoes. No frozen sleeping bags. Just a good rest day in a nice town.

Peace love and trail magic!

May 4: This morning started out COLD! Campin at 9000 feet will do that. So it was up and out early for hiking and warming up. No problem there- it warmed up quickly as we had a 7500 foot descent.

Unlike the AT, which would have dropped 7500 feet in 8 miles ( not that the mountains went that high) the PCT took a leisurely, meandering 19iles for the descent. At times, it gets a bit frustrating- hiking sideways along an exposed ridge for 3/4 of a mile while looking down at the switchback you will take back another 3/4 mile- 15 feet below you. Occasionally you'd see a slide down between switchbacks where frustrated hikers decided to cut a half mile out of the hike. Myself, I did not. Because I care about erosion and I do not want the PCT to slide right off the mountain!

Then I started thinking about the extreme elevation changes we have been going through and how several years ago I experienced elevation sickness climbing Mt Shasta and in Kings Canyon driving between vista points. Maybe these slow gradual descents were, in fact fantastic acclimating tools? Preparing us for the higher elevations in the Sierra?

Hey, maybe the architects of the PCT really knew what they were doing! Thanks, guys.

So after the 19 mile easy (but very dry) start, we hit the bottom of our descent and the final 5 miles for the day? Near Carbazon, CA we passed through a 6 mile wide canyon between two 9000 mountain ranges. The result? Giant wind tunnel! Outside of the wind farms and the power lines going in and out, there was nothing much to see here except lots of loose, gravelly sand, sage brush (sniffle, sniffle) and lots of unhappy rattlesnakes. Getting blown all over the place. The last 5 miles were harder than the first 19!

At the end of that 5 miles was Ziggy and the Bear's. Ziggy and Bear are retired former thru hikers who recalled that section as being particularly difficult. So they bought a house near the PCT in this area specifically to host tired hikers! How freaking nice is that!

I'll tell you, the shower, hot chocolate, and relatively wind- free sleeping spot were greatly appreciated. As was the fruit and snickers bar. Plus, the nagging feeling that if Ziggy and the Bear were not there, I would have spent the night camped under the interstate with cars zooming overhead because it was the only place where you could get out of the wind!

BEAR

Peace, love, and trail magic!