May 16-17: we awoke after the snow day fairly late by hiker standards- 6:30 or so - and enjoyed one last homemade breakfast at our host's: waffles, fresh eggs from the chicken coup, sausage, and fruit. Then we all loaded into the SUV and headed up to Sunburst Trailhead, where we had left off in the snow. I had been expecting slow going and lots of snow, butch like our first day back in Big Bear, the trail was fairly clear with only soft snow in the shady areas. We moveduch faster than I had anticipated.
Silver and Velcro were still on the "I lost a day and a half" mentality, whereas I felt like we had been smart and prudent about the weather. But toile I said, the going was easy. So the result- big miles!
We passed a group of Japanese tourists who were hiking. We ended up answering lots of questions thru the 2 guys who knew the most English. "All the way to Canada." "From the Mexucan border." "About 30 pounds." "About 25 miles a day, give or take." "No, I haven't run into Reese Witherspoon." They ended up giving us a bag full of cucumbers. Never one to turn down fresh produce, I ate like 5 cucumbers that day.
As we hiked down in elevation, we hiked out of the snow, and dropped layers as the temperatures climbed. Typical hiking day- lots of short, frequent rests for food (including cucumbers) and water. We ran into Diogenes at one stop- he reported that he, Lauren, Beer Goddess, and Something Hawaian were all planning on stopping at the same campground as we were. So we had that to look forward to. We also passed Party Girl who was hiking with her dog. She wasn't sure where she was going to end up that night.
Now, I'm gonna let you in on a little observation I've had over the course of not only 2 long distance hikes, but life in general: females have a much better sense of direction and are much better map readers than males. It's true. It just is. Which is how Silver, Velcro, and I ended up in the debate over whether or not to take the small side trail we passed at mile 424. They were sure Big Buck Campground was further along, I was sure it was down the side trail. But, you know, 2 to 1, so we ended up hiking on and searching for the campground for another 4 miles before concluding that it WAS down the side trail. Luckily, we found a nice, flat spot to set up tents and got dinner made just as the sun went down. We are the last of the cucumbers after a 29 mile day.
The next day started out COLD! Despite our drop in elevation, the temps were still quite brisk in the morning- start hiking in gloves and a hat brisk. Today we had an even steeper descent and a stop at the Acton KOA, which was .3 miles off trail. I was considering staying the night at the KOA- they had a pool and a hot tub- and letting the rest of the gang behind us catch up. But e needed to get there first!
Steeper descending than yesterday led us to a stop outside of the North Fork Ranger Station- complete with picnic tables and bathrooms! We pulled our tents out to let the condensation dry in the sun while we ate, talked to a trail maintenance volunteer, and enjoyed the always welcome trail magic- cokes and snickers! While we were there, who should show up behind us, but Robert- the hiker who refused the ride into town on the snow day. Turns out he had to zero in the woods the day after the snow to let all his gear dry out. He was meeting some friends at the road by the ranger station and going into Acton to rest up- cold hiking in the snow takes a lot out of you!!
We also passed Zack (now Skyline) after he ranger station stop. He, to, kept hiking in the snow, zeroed to dry out his stuff, and was feeling pretty wiped out. Hooray for being prudent and going back to town!
Steeper descending than yesterday led us to a stop outside of the North Fork Ranger Station- complete with picnic tables and bathrooms! We pulled our tents out to let the condensation dry in the sun while we ate, talked to a trail maintenance volunteer, and enjoyed the always welcome trail magic- cokes and snickers! While we were there, who should show up behind us, but Robert- the hiker who refused the ride into town on the snow day. Turns out he had to zero in the woods the day after the snow to let all his gear dry out. He was meeting some friends at the road by the ranger station and going into Acton to rest up- cold hiking in the snow takes a lot out of you!!
We also passed Zack (now Skyline) after he ranger station stop. He, to, kept hiking in the snow, zeroed to dry out his stuff, and was feeling pretty wiped out. Hooray for being prudent and going back to town!
Finally, after much twisting and turning around the hills and ridge lines, we made it to the KOA. Let me just say this- KOAs are nice and all, but they really don't qualify as "camping". Most of the RVs have more amenities than a house. And like u said- pool and hot tub. Unfortunately, it was pretty windy and in the mud 60s, so I wasn't exactly jumping to get in a pool. Instead, I shared a washing machine with Skyline, showered, and ate copious amounts of pizza we had delivered. Lauren and Diogenes never did show up, even after our 3 hour stop, and it looked like nobody else was gonna stay there, so at 4, I moved on as well.
The next 9 miles to Vasquez Rocks Park were really cool! We went thru an area with very cool rock formations where they were reportedly filming the new Star Wars movie a few weeks before.
Got to the campsite with plenty of daylight left to make dinner, set up, and hang out for a bit before bed.
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