Category: Hiking

Lone Pine to Independence

Toby Leave a comment

45 Miles – 6/2/18 – 6/6/18

It’s easy to end up spending a few days in Lone Pine, which is exactly what I did. Plenty of places to eat including a couple amazing taco trucks., When I tried to hitch back to the trailhead I didn’t have much luck so I took a break and had a beer. After a beer or two I decided that it would probably be easier to hitch out in the morning so I stayed another night and ate more tacos.

The next morning I was able to catch a ride back to the trailhead by a couple from LA doing an overnight trip. In the Sierra. Once I got back to the PCT I hiked up to Chicken Lake where I stopped for lunch before continuing a few more miles before camping for the night.

In the morning I hiked up to the Crabtree ranger station and set up camp in the early afternoon. I had heard of hikers camping a little closer to Mt. Whitney at Guitar Lake but my understanding is that the ranger station was as close as I could get with just my PCT permit. I’m sure I could have camped at Guitar lake and been OK but the ranger station also had a pit toilet, which is a rare find on the trail. The idea was to take it easy and rest before hiking up Mt. Whitney the following morning. However, my tent turns into an oven in direct sunlight so I wasn’t able to get much rest before the sun calmed down. I did get to hang out on porch of the ranger station, which was nice.

When my alarm went off at 2am I only grabbed the things I would need to get up Mt. Whitney, ate a quick breakfast and headed out. It was nice being able to leave my tent set up and carry a lighter pack since I would be returning to the ranger station. Hiking in the dark was a little annoying but it was fun to see other hikers headlamps on the side of the mountain as they headed up the trail.

I crossed a few small snow fields on my way to the switch backs up the mountain. Once on the switch backs there were random patches of snow and ice but nothing too tricky. After reaching the junction summit the snow became a little more prevalent but still nothing too challenging. The sun started to rise and lit up the mountains as I made my way up to the summit around 6am. I was a bit intimidated by Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous united states, but it ended up being easier than I had feared. There were a handful of other hikers at the summit enjoying the view, I stayed for a little while and had a snack before starting to head back down. I’m always cautious of snow getting too soft and making the descent tricky.

On my way down there were a good amount of people heading up, which was a little surprising. As I headed back to the ranger station I was able to see all the scenery I passed in the dark which made it feel completely new.

I got back to camp around 11am and tried to spend as much time as I could in my tent before it turned into a sauna again. Once it cooled down I quickly fell asleep and even slept in a bit in the morning.

In the morning I packed up and hiked a mere 9 miles to the base of Forrester Pass, the highest point on the actual PCT. On the way I went over Bighorn Plateau and crossed a couple large streams which required getting my feet wet. Once across the last water crossing I set up camp, making sure that my tent had plenty of shade.

I once again woke up early, luckily not at 2am, and headed up to the pass. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I was prepared for a hard climb. The first few miles were nothing crazy, just a few snowy bits. However, once I got to the bottom of the final push up to the pass there was a good amount of snow making it tricky to find the trail. Luckily it was still frozen making it easy to hike on. Since it was difficult to spot the trail I scrambled between patches of snow and rocks until I made my way to the switchbacks which were snow free, with the exception of the chute right before the top of the pass.

Once at the top I was able to see down into Kings Canyon National Park, which was stunning, even with all the snow I’d have to deal with. Surprisingly getting down wasn’t too bad, there were plenty of footprints that made great steps and we’re easy to follow.

When I got further down into the canyon I was awestruck. It felt like I finally entered the Sierra, even though I already technically had days ago. I hiked along a large “creek” and the trail was pretty tame.

Knowing that I’d be heading out to Independence the following day I decided to push a little more and get into town a day early. There were a few water crossings and another climb up to Kearsarge Pass, which was luckily snow free.

The trail to the pass was beautiful, passing by a few lakes. The climb over the pass wasn’t technically that difficult but after going over Forrester in the morning it felt like it. Once at the top of the pass I was able to get a sliver of service and called a motel that was able to pick me up from the trailhead. Somehow the guy pulled up just as I was getting to the trailhead and I rode back down into the hot desert. I checked into the motel, took a shower and got some sleep.

Kennedy Meadows to Lone Pine

Toby 2 Comments

66 miles 5/28/18 – 5/30/18

In my continued effort to kill time and let snow melt I took two days off in Kennedy Meadows, bouncing between the general store and Grumpy Bear’s. I camped at the general store because it was closer to the trail and had a bunch of snacks and drinks for purchase. They also had a little concession stand with hot dogs and burgers. However the WiFi was slow and there wasn’t much indoor seating.

Grumpy’s had great food, fast (pay) WiFi and a beer bar, there was also a pool table. So I found myself hitchhiking a lot and bouncing between the two.

Since I had time to kill I decided to add astop in Lone Pine on my way to Independence. I mailed a good portion my food ahead to Lone Pine, which lightened my backpack.

As I departed Kennedy Meadows, now carrying a bear can, ice axe and micro-spikes, I entered the South Sierra national Forest. The trail followed and a river as it continued uphill before dropping down into giant meadow. The Skirted along the edge of the meadow in the trees before dropping down further crossing the meadow and a creek. I followed the trail uphill into a forest and camped just above a creek.

The next day I continued the climb up hill, realizing how heavy my additional gear for the Sierra was. At one point I was startled by a fast, low flying plane that flew over head. This happened a few times before I realized I was I was hiking through an Air Force practice area. I think I figured it out when I saw a fighter jet go sideways around some mountians.

After some more climbing I made it to the top of a mountain, around 10,000 ft. There were a few sizable clouds forming overhead so I quickly set up my tent in case it started to rain.

Then I heard a clap of thunder, one of the last things you want to hear when you’re camping on top of a mountain. The cell was to the north and moving north east, the thunder started to die down and I climbed into my tent as it started to lightly rain. I then saw a bright flash and a thunderous clap of.. thunder directly overhead. I quickly made my way back down the trail and took shelter under a large rock with some other hikers as the storm passed.

Overnight the wind had blown my tent dry which was a nice surprise to wake up to. I dropped down to the Trail Pass junction which was the exit point for Lone Pine.

On my the way down I ran into some rangers that were checking permits. They mentioned that they had recently done a fly over and there was still a good amount of snow on the ground ahead. They also mentioned the best spot to hitchike down to Lone Pine, which can be difficult.

However, on the way down a car full of hikers headed back to the trail drove by, the driver said he would stop on his way back down. When he came back I recognized him from earlier on the trail. He was easy to recognize because he was wearing leggings with hot dogs on them. His trail name? Hot Dog. The ride down to Lone Pine, back in the desert, was a long winding one. Once I got into town I checked into a motel, took a shower and got something to eat.

Tehachapi to Kennedy Meadows

Toby 1 Comment

135 miles – 5/17/18 – 5/25/18

In my last post I forgot to mention that I was given a trail name, two actually. The first one was “Bloodhound” because I can always find great spots for a break or to set up camp. I tried it out for a couple days but it didn’t feel right. I was then given “Strider” because apparently I can just stride up climbs with my long legs

I spent my time in Tehachapi the same way I do whenever I stay in a town, eating and being lazy. I’ll usually get sucked in to binge watching some reality TV show like Catfish or Naked and Afraid. However the hotel I stayed at had a hot tub and a pool, so that got added into the mix. My favorite place I ate in Tehachapi was Red House BBQ, some of the best BBQ I’ve had in a long time. The town itself was pretty spread out so I got a few rides from the one Uber driver and when she wasn’t around called the taxi company which only seemed to have one car. I was able to tell because one of the mirrors was broken off.

Before heading back to the trail I grabbed some of the breakfast at the hotel, stealing a bunch of hot sauce packets and jelly. The same Uber driver showed up to give me a ride back to the trail where I ran into someone I hadn’t seen in weeks, the creepy guy from the start of my hike. He didn’t exactly remember me and was heading into town which was a relief.

I started down the trail which ran along the highway. A guy that was pulled over on the side of the highway asked me if I needed anything, stated that he had everything I could want, I settled on a Dr Pepper. He told me that he just quit his job and was going on a road trip before finding somewhere to start new.

Loaded up on sugar I followed the trail back into the hills. After reaching the top things became a little more wooded. It didn’t get as warm as I had hoped so when I found a place to camp I crawled right into my sleeping bag and ate dinner.

The following morning I actually slept in! All the way to 7:30am, which is an hour and a half later than usual. After eating breakfast I made the short hike to a spring to fill up a gallon of water. Generally I shoot for a liter for every 5 miles and I was going 20 with no other water sources on the way.

I started out hiking through pretty exposed areas and after a couple good climbs, passing the 600 mile marker, ended up in a forest. I found a spot to camp at another spring.

From the spring the trail winded through a nice wooded area before dropping down to a campground full of people riding dirt bikes and shooting guns. I used the bathroom (always a welcome amenity) and filled up my water. The climb out of the campground went through a burnt but rocky section. At the top there was a great view of the mountains ahead before beginning the desent back down to the desert.

At the bottom I came across a giant water cache, easily over 100 gallons, which was a welcome sight as the next water source was still a few miles ahead with a 2 mile detour. The climb after the water cache wasn’t too drastic on paper but the heat and sandy trail made it less than fun. When I hit 20 miles for the day I was ready to set up camp but as much as I wanted to I was unable to find a good enough spot. I pushed on for a couple more miles and found a nice spot under a joshua tree.

In the morning it was just a handful of miles to the next giant water cache. However, I once again found myself climbing up a sandy trail. Once I arrived at the junction with the water cache I was very excited to see a group of people hanging out under a tent. It was some trail magic! A couple of trail angels were set up with all kinds of stuff they were very eager to have consumed, so I helped. I had a Coke, a Gatorade, a Dr. Pepper, carrots and celery, Pringles and a couple of granola bars. I was now more than ready to power up the next hill, which I did easily.

At the top I stopped for a nice long lunch before heading down the back of the hill. On my way I ran into the trail angles from earlier hiking up! They said there was a surprise at the bottom. I headed down the switchbacks and at the bottom I spotted one of their coolers filled with soda! I drank another Coke and a root beer.

The next bit of the trail was wooded and a bit grassy before joining with a very worn dirt road, which was not very fun to walk on. I followed the crappy dirt road to a campsite with a somewhat creepy cabin. For the first time in a while I decided to set up my tent instead of cowboy camping and settled in for the night.

After a few miles of morning hiking, with a few great views, I arrived at Walker Pass ready to hitch into Lake Isabella for the day. However, this proved to be more difficult than I expected. After about 30 minutes of unsuccessful hitchhiking some more hikers showed up trying to get a ride as well. One guy took a ride to a town in the opposite direction. There were no Uber or Lyft drivers to be found, I imagine one could make a killing from hikers alone. I started to consider trying to get a ride to the town in the opposite direction a van showed up to drop off a couple hikers.

The van was covered with all sorts of paint and the hashtag #greatfuldad. The driver was a deadhead that was giving rides while he waited to meet up with his daughter who was hiking the trail. He busted out some paint and markers and told everyone to sign his van, which we did. Afterwards we all pilled in and made the 30 minute drive to Lake Isabella.

I checked into a very basic and outdated motel which I wouldn’t stay in if I wasn’t spending most of my nights outside. The owner was friendly and even kept a hiker box full of random things. Lake Isabella itself, while it had a few good spots, seemed like a notable portion of the population were on meth. Despite this, I decided to spend a second night there as based on what I heard from others the conditions in the Sierras was still causing hikers to bail out and planning on taking a week off before planning on attempting to go back in. I figured another day of rest, and another day for conditions to improve, would be a good idea.

When I finally left Lake Isabella it was early. After waking up at 4:15am I walked a mile to catch the 5:20am bus back to the trail. The bus only ran 3 days a week, three times a day. Not surprisingly the only riders were sleepy hikers. Once back at the trail I climbed back up, this time into mountians. At one point I could look back down into the desert hoping it would be the last time I would see it.

The trail continued it’s trend of climbing up and then dropping back down a couple times before I reached a campsite at the top of one of the climbs. Being in an area with more peaks than hills made me happy and excited to get into the Sierras.

The next day followed the same pattern of ascending and descending before a long winding drop into a valley. I spent the night next to a trickling stream where a bear had been a problem last year. I guess the bear decided to move on because there was no sign of one.

The next morning I hiked the last 10 breathtaking miles into Kennedy Meadows. I’ll be taking a day off here, I can only make it so far north because of snow so I’ll be taking it slow until I meet up with Cristina in Reno. Since I won’t be able to hike that far north I’ll have to bail out of the Sierra and take a bus into Reno.

Auga Dulce to Tehachapi

Toby 1 Comment

104 miles – 5/8/18 to 5/15/18

Hiker Heaven is just that. The Saufleys have turned their home into a hikers paradise, set up for whatever a through hiker might need. You can shower, receive a resupply box, mail things out, charge all your devices, use their sewing machines to patch things up, and they will even do your laundry for you.

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bout every hour and a half they shuttle hikers to and from downtown Auga Dulce, most of which end up riding in the back of a pickup truck.

They have a few rooms set up for couples but otherwise you can set up in their backyard which is also home to some chickens and their dogs. They also have at least 10 porta-pottys set up as well. There is plenty of places to sit and relax, a “lounge” which is a trailer that includes a living room with a tv and a kitchen plus a grill outside.

I had originally only planned to stay one night but decided to stay another since my ankle was still tender. I was able to soak my feet and take it easy.

I was also able to take a Lyft into Northridge to go to REI for a new pair of shoes and in-n-out for lunch. It’s still weird going into populated areas.

On my second day there I had Strawberry cut my hair (shave my head) at the DIY hair cutting station. She and Dale also gave Tim a very technical hair cut which included shaving his name in his name in the back and some lines that ended up looking like mountians and eventually earned him the trail name “Mountain Do”.

After packing up and stopping at a Mexican restaurant for a late lunch I headed out of town around 5pm, it was 93°. The first 2 miles was a road walk and I was able to use my sun umbrella to help stay somewhat cool. After that the trail climbed into the hills as the sun set and the temperature dropped to a more comfortable level.

Hiking in the dark can be a bit tricky, especially when the batteries in your headlamp start to die. About 10 miles in I decided to stop and cowboy camp. The next day I continued on hiking through the hills and made it to Green Valley where as I was deciding if I should take a break before hitchhiking into town a woman stopped and offered a ride. Once I got into the very small town I grabbed lunch before heading to Casa De Luna, another trail angel’s home.

Casa De Luna was much more relaxed than Hiker Heaven. Altgough the rules stated that you have to wear a Hawaiian shirt while you’re there. The back yard was wooded and offered plenty of space to camp. The forest also contained a bunch of rocks hikers had painted.

In the evening they served taco salad for dinner and if you danced you got a free PCT class of 2018 bandana. After I did a little dance and got my bandana I snagged a ride back to the trail as I wanted to get going again. I ended up cowboy camping at the ranger station by the trail. When I woke up I discovered that the clouds had rolled in as a fog and gotten things a little wet.

I spent the day hiking in the clouds hoping that they would eventually clear but they never did, it just got a bit more windy as I walked along the top of the hills. After hiking 20 miles I arrived at the sawmill campground which was very much in the clouds with a bit of wind, it was a bit challenging to set up my tent.

In the morning I packed up my wet tent and continued on. Eventually I was able to escape the clouds and find a bit of sun, passing the 500 mile mark.

As I continued I was able to see down into the flat bare valley below, my destination for the day. I dropped down from the hills and snaked through some smaller ones before arriving at Hiker Town, which looked like the set of an old western movie. I arrived just in time to snag a room for the night and get a ride to the market / cafe for something to eat. The room wasn’t that great but for $20 I didn’t really care.

The next morning I caught a ride to the Wee Ville market, which is apparently frowned upon by the owners of hiker town as the hiker town people own the market / cafe I had first gone to (which seemed understocked and had weird hours for their cafe). Apparently there is a lot of drama between the two and in my opinion the hiker town people are kind of jerks. If you want people to go to your place rather than the one down the road make sure yours is better, don’t pull hikers into your drama. Anyways….

After breakfast I hit the trail again and did a bit of road walking followed by some walking on the Los Angeles aquaduct, it was all very flat, luckily it wasn’t hot. I then entered some minor hills before making my way through a wind farm. Once I hit 20 miles for the day I }started to look for a place to camp. Luckily I was able to find a group of bushes to break the wind and called it a night.

The next day I climbed back into the hills, carrying plenty of water due to a dry stretch which had some good climbs at points. I stumbled upon a little trail magic area, a spot with some chairs, an umbrella and water. I guess I didn’t need to carry that extra water after all.

The trail then dropped back down, as it does, along another wind farm. After another 20 mile day I cowboy camped under a nice big tree. Little did I know that just a little bit further down the trail was a water cache and a picnic table which would have been a good place to camp.

When I woke up and started on my way I came across some hikers that were set up in a van next to a road. I chatted with them for a while and drank a soda before knocking out the last 8 miles before Tehachapi. In fact, just as I was getting ready to hitchike a truck pulled up offered a ride. He dropped me off at the holiday inn where I’d appreciate the next two nights. I decided to take a zero to celebrate finishing “Southern California”.

Wrightwood to Auga Dulce

Toby Leave a comment

85 miles – 4/29/18 – 5/7/18

The morning of the 29th I said goodbye to my friend Strawberry (Sisse), who I had been hiking with since the beginning. She decided to stay in Wrightwood a couple of days and I wanted to move on and get ahead of the strom that was going through the following day.

I hiked back up to the trail the same way I came in, the noticably steep Acorn trail, it was quite the way to start the day.

Once I hit the top I saw a couple day hikers but no other through hikers. As I hiked by a couple ski areas the clouds began rolled in like a fog.

I continued on, still not seeing any other hikers. Everytime I would pass under a group of trees I would get rained on by the water that had collected on them. I stopped at a visitors center which was closed but seemed abandoned, the fog made everything seem a little creepy.

I made my way to Vincent Gap, the base of Mt. Baden Powell. The wind was picking up, the fog was thick and I was alone. I thought about the fact I could be back in Wrightwood splitting a room with Sisse to wait out the storm. I knew I could push on and would be ok but I wouldn’t enjoy it. While I know I’ll will have to endure days of bad weather I won’t always have the option to go stay in a warm motel room. I stood there and debated what to do. I told myself that I’d hitchhike for 15 minutes and if I couldn’t get a ride I’d push on. After 5 minutes of standing in the cold, being passed by cars that may not have even seen me in the fog, I decided I wanted to go back into town.

Luckily there were a few cars parked at the trail and two women and their dogs were just finishing up their day hike. Feeling slightly defeated I asked them if they were heading back to Wrightwood and luckily they were. As soon as we drove over the mountian I just hiked the sky became clear and sunny, I didn’t know if anyone would believe me about the weather on the other side.

I spent the next two days eating and being lazy as I waited out the weather. I ended up spending a lot of time at the Racoon Saloon talking with other hikers, which was a nice break for hiking. I also had an amazing cinnamon roll at Cinnamon’s Bakery. While taking a few days off put me behind schedule it was worth it, I’m sure I can make up the miles further along on the trail, plus there’s no reason to rush into the Sierras since there is still plenty of snow that needs to melt.

After my break I caught a ride back to where I left off and made it over Mt. Baden Powell and was slightly frustrated to see that the forecasted 6″ of snow that made me take the extra days off didn’t come to fruition. The top of the mountain was amazing. Next was Mt. Williamson which wasn’t as tall as Baden Powell but still a good amount of elevation. On my way down my left foot felt loose in my shoe so I stopped and tightened it up, apparently a little too tight. After a bit my ankle started to ache, it felt like the shoelaces was cutting into one of the tendons on my foot. I loosened my laces and continued on with my ankle still hurting. I reached a portion of the trail that was closed to protect the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog and proceeded to take the detour along highway 2 to the buckhorn campground.

The next morning my ankle was still sore when I headed out, so much so that I missed a junction and actually headed south on the PCT towards the portion that was closed. The trail was fairly eroded which wasn’t fun with my sore ankle. When I figured out I was going southbound I turned around headed back to another junction and proceeded to head up a trail that wasn’t the PCT at all. After I while, and 5 miles of being lost, I made my way back to the PCT.

Even with my bum ankle and my goal was to hike past mile 400, which would have been just 12 miles if I hadn’t gotten lost.

Took a lunch break at the 400 mark and then pushed on. I passed a parking lot where two ultrarunners and their huskies we’re handing out oranges and homemade brownies, I had two of each and they were amazing, especially the oranges. They helped me and my angry ankle make it to the sulphur springs campground and set up for the night even though it was early in the day, I wanted to take it easy on my ankle. A good amount of other hikers showed up which was nice since most of the time I don’t give myself enough time to hang out before going to bed. There was even a campfire.

The following day I made my way over the hill and down to a fire station, which was the last water source for over hot 20 miles. When I arrived there was a guy that stopped by with a convertible BMW stuffed with trail magic. He was on his way to set up a ways back on the trail but he gave me some grapes, strawberries, a Coke and a beer. After a little while I found my way to a shady spot under a tree next to a parking lot next to the trail and stretched out on my ground sheet. A little while later two very exited guys showed up after finishing up a 100 mile stretch. They gave a bunch of random advice for the upcoming stretch, most of which wasn’t that helpful. They did give me my 2nd beer of the day though.

I left the shade of the tree and proceeded to climb up a hill in the heat. The goal was to go about 18-20 miles from where I had camped the night before but there wasn’t much in the way of established tent sites until 24 miles, and I wasn’t interested in going that far. As I hiked I kept my eye out for a spot to camp but didn’t have any luck. Just as I thought I would have to make it the full 24 miles I saw a spot up on a ridge 21 miles in. I decided to cowboy camp first time which was a fun change. A bunch of hikers from the night before also set up camp there as well.

It was a short 17 mile hike the following day with a stop at a ranger station that had water and ice cold soda for $1 which was nice. It gave me a boost to make the push to my destination, a KOA campground near Acton, CA. I was exited about a shower, pool, hot tub and ice cream. However, when I arrived it wasn’t that appealing. There were a bunch of non-hikers and the pool and hot tub looked heavily used so I skipped using them. Apparently that was a good call because I heard that the health department shut down the hot tub the day after I left. I didn’t like the vibe of the place so I just hung out until it was time to sleep.

The final day before Auga Dulce was just a 10 mile hike with a slight climb and decent before hitting Vasquez Rocks which was a very welcome change in scenery. A good amount of movies and TV shows were filmed in this area including the original Star Trek, blazing saddles, The Flintstones Movie and even a scene from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

After Vasquez Rocks it was a short road walk into Agua Dulce and then a short hitch to the amazing Hiker Heaven, the perfect place to stay, but more akbout that in my next post.

Big Bear City to Wrightwood

Toby 5 Comments

103 miles – 4/25/18 – 4/29/18

Woke up in the morning and Mountain Mama was making breakfast, even though she said she wasn’t a breakfast person herself. After eating breakfast I gathered everything up and she gave me a ride back to the trailhead, even turning around and going back after I realized I had forgotten my phone. I ended up getting back on trail around 9am which is 3 or 4 hours later than usual, so it would be a shorter day.

The hike north of I-18 started with a fire detour a little ways in. I noticed that some hikers ignored the large sign that read “Closed to the public” and kept on hiking. I like to call these people jerks. The detour was short and provided a good view of the fire damage the jerks were hiking through.

The trail was mostly flat and wooded after the detour. I stopped and had lunch near a barely moving stream where I refilled my water. The rest of the day was hiking with minimal elevation and amazing views of Big Bear Lake and the valley on the other side of the mountain. For once the temperature was perfect and with all pine trees I felt like I was hiking on a summer afternoon back home. It was my favorite day of hiking on the PCT so far.

In the morning I slept in a little and got up with the sunrise. The trail bounced between wooded and rocky with little shade until it dropped into a valley with a healthy stream where I stopped for lunch, it was nice to soak my feet in the cool water.

Some miles later made it to a a creek with some nice banks to relax on. I was so busy relaxing I forgot to take a picture.

From there the trail raised up and hugged against the side of the hill, nicely shaded. I passed the 300 mile mark, which was my goal of the day. I crossed a wooden bridge and continued along the hillside fallowing the creek below. I started looking for any breaks where I could set up my tent. Finally after 23 miles of hiking, my daily distance so far, I found a place to camp for the night.

It was easy to get up in the morning because 4 miles ahead were hot springs! I quickly made my way further into the canyon and was soaking my bones before I knew it. After a few cycles between the hot spring and cold creek I forced myself to move on, even though I could have stayed all day.

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followed the trail through the canyon at one point crossing a cool bridge where I saw 3 young boys and a tiny dog out for a day hike, I assumed they were going to see if they could spot any topples girls at the hot springs. At one point I came across a big rattlesnake sprawled across the trail like he owned the place. After waiting f for him to move it was clear he didn’t have anywhere better to be, so I threw a rock at him. He didn’t like this. He made a lot of noise as he retreated into the bushes. I passed quickly once he had moved far enough away.

I then came out of the canyon and made my way to a dam that was completely dry, it seemed strange as the creek before it was pretty unsubstantial.

As I reached the bottom I saw a woman sat in a chair covered up and hunched with some stuff around her, I assumed she was homeless. However, to my surprise as I walked by she announced that she had some trail magic and she did. She gave me a cold apple, tangerine and a sandwich! After talking to her a bit she mentioned that the three boys we passed on the trail were her son’s and the oldest wants to hike the PCT when he graduates next year and she agreed to spread some trail magic while they went to hike.

I continued on and maybe just a mile or so came another mom handing out trail magic, this time it was soft drinks and chips. She was waiting for her son, who was hiking the PCT to come by. I don’t know how but I managed to drink a can of cherry coke in under 5 seconds, at least it felt that way.

I continued on climbing back into the hills. At times the trail joined dirt roads and at one point a highway. The trail climbed over a hill exposing a lovely lake which the trail winded around. After 24 miles of hiking I hit a substantial picnic area where I promptly ordered a pizza and after eating set up my tent and passed out.

The next day I made my way back into the hills before starting the long decent to Cajon Pass. The trail followed the ridge line which exposed some smoggy mountains in the distance. I could see highways and busy railroads as I got closer. Once I reached Cajon Pass I made my way to a gas station to buy some yogurt and kombucha for a dose of probiotics, as I finished my antibiotics, before I grabbed lunch… at McDonald’s. While it’s not somewhere I’d normally eat McDonald’s was the only “restaurant” and I was hungry. Not surprisingly the McDonald’s was full of smelly hikers. I actually saw a woman hold her nose and gag as she walked by.

After lunch, with 3 Mc Doubles for the road, I continued on back into the hills before stopping to camp 6 miles later next to a very empty water cache. As I was setting up a trail angel showed up to refill the water cache. I gave him a hand and talked to him a bit. He mentioned that a storm would be pushing through in a few days and was forecasted to dump up to6 inches of snow in the mountains, something I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with until the Sierras. Trying to figure out if I could make it over the mountains that would get the snow before the storm I decided to not worry about it until I arrive in Wrightwood the next day and could better understand what the storm was going to bring and when.

I woke up in a literal fog but all the cloud cover kept it from getting too cold overnight. It was kind of eerie hiking up into the mountainsin the fog and not being able to see the top let alone too far in front of you. Then to add to the creepiness I heard some random screaming. I was prepared to find an injured hiker but never came across one.

Eventually I pushed up above the clouds which provided an amazing view. I continued up, up and up. Luckily the grade was pretty tame for the most part but it still gave my legs a workout.

I eventually came to the junction with a trail that lead down to Wrightwood, which is where I was staying for the night. I got checked in at the Pine Cabins, got something to eat and drink, got some more food for the next stretch and then ate some more. It will be interesting to see what this storm will bring, hopefully I can make it through the tricky parts before it hits.

Idyllwild to Big Bear City

Toby 7 Comments

110(ish) miles – 4/19/18(ish) – 4/24/18

As soon as I got into Idyllwild I made my way to the Idyllwild Brew Pub and had a burger with a few beers. I got settled in at the Fireside Inn, took a long shower and stretched out in a big comfy bed which felt amazing after the long hot hike in.

I spent the next day and a half relaxing, eating and getting ready for the next stretch of the trail to Big Bear City. The entire time my tummy was still not happy with me, but I felt fine otherwise. I kept thinking “ok, that has to be the end of it” since I felt fine otherwise but was continuously proven wrong.

After my day off I headed up the Taquitz Peak trail, just north of where the PCT fire closure ended. This trail has a fair bit of gain so it took me some time to make it back to the PCT, but the views along the way we’re amazing.

As I approached Saddle Junction my tummy issues returned again. I pushed on, digging a few holes along the way until I made it to Strawberry Junction, which somehow had a porta-potty, a very welcomed sight. I set up camp and made use of the facilities multiple times that night. The next day I made the wise decision to return to Idyllwild to see a doctor, this time via the Deer Springs trail.

I managed to get in to see the doctor right away, whom had already seen 3 injured PCT hikers that morning. After a quick conversation he gave a couple prescriptions, advised a couple days of rest and sent me on my way. So back to the Fireside Inn I went, this time I stayed in a room with a tub! After picking up my meds and some tummy friendly foods I settled in and binge watched Catfish. I continued to rest, catch up with friends and family about my ordeal, eat bland food and make use of the tub.

The day I headed back to the trail it was snowing so I stopped for a real breakfast and lunch on my way out of town while it passed, my tummy handled both without issue. I got a hitch back to Deer Springs trail and got back on the PCT, which had patches of snow from earlier in the day. This is when the clouds and wind started to roll in.

I pushed past my intended campsite for a lower elevation even though I wanted to stop, I had some miles to make up as well. Along the way I passed an older, somewhat heavy, man from Alabama that asked where the desert was. He didn’t look like he was having fun. When I arrived at my destination for the night it was pretty cold, even at the lower elevation. I ate dinner, beef jerky andpeanut butter m&m’s in my tent as struggled to get warm.

The next morning I got moving quickly and started down the mountain towards I-10. Once I continued down it warmed up quickly and returned to the desert landscape from earlier on the trail. Luckily it wasn’t too hot but I still drank water like a fish trying to stay hydrated. The downhill hiking got a little tedious so I started listening to a podcast, which proved to be hazardous as I walked right by a rattlesnake and didn’t even notice it. It wasn’t until I heard a loud shriek behind me that I took out my earbuds and went back to take a look

When I finally made it to the bottom I arrived at a water faucet where I was able refill my water before pushing through the dry sandy stretch to I-10. On my way I thought about setting up camp but seeing all the giant windmills made me push on, camping in the wind isn’t fun. A southbound hiker at the water faucet mentioned that she had seen a bunch of hikers camp under the interstate, where there was a small water cache. When I arrived at the overpass the sound didn’t seem “too bad”. I took a break and weighed my options, wind or noise. It was then when the train came by, I decided to move on.

Just as I hit a road a truck with three guys pulled up and tried to give me a beer, I had to decline as one of the medications I was taking would apparently make me projectile vomit if I had any alcohol. The guys said they had just finished hiking a section of the PCT and we’re going to set up and cook food for passing hikers. I returned to under the interstate with them and chatted as they cooked up some burgers in a frying pan. While their gesture was nice their company was less than desirable, they had maybe done 100 miles but talked like they had done the entire trail. However, since they made me a burger I felt obligated to talk to them. It’s at this point I made the mistake of deciding to sleep under I-10. It was loud and I didn’t get much sleep.

The next day I started the climb out of the valley and really felt it, I had next to no energy. I pushed on to the office of a wind farm that had a small shelter and water for PCT hikers. They even had WiFi. The next push up hill was rough, even though it was still early it still felt hot. I could tell that despite drinking a lot of water I was dehydrated. I pushed on until I hit the junction for the Whitewater Persevere, once I saw the river I immediately got in, it felt amazing.

O

nce I got to the persevere I sat down in the shade and decided I needed to stop for the day. There were toilets, potable water and plenty of room to camp. I spent the rest of the day rehydrating and eyeballing all the food people had brought for picnics.

The next morning was an early start to beat the heat. The trail crossed a big, mostly dry, river bed before pushing into the hills and then dropping down the other side where it followed a creek lined with trees.

Most of the day was a climb but the trees provided plenty of shade and being next a creek meant that I didn’t have to carry as much water.I took a nice long break under a giant tree stretched out on my tent footprint.

Towards the end of the day the trees gave way to open exposed trail and the creek disappeared the trail before I made camp next to a much smaller creek.

In the morning I started my day by making a pretty intense climb up to a spring where I collected enough water for a 15 mile dry stretch. I pushed uphil to the abandoned Coon Creek Cabin and had lunch before making another up hill push before before starting the decent into Big Bear.

On the way I passed a private zoo where they keep and train animals for movies. I saw one sad looking bear, so sad I didn’t even take a picture. A little further down I came across a cache supplied by Papa Smurf and Mountain Mama. Then I came across a trail couch. It was a day full of random trail attractions. After a few more miles of downhill I ended the day at Arrastre campsite where a surprising amount of hikers ended up at, the most I’ve camped with on trail.

The final day before Big Bear was a short one, only about 10 miles, and mostly downhill. Although I was surprised by a few uphill stretches.

I arrived at the I-18 junction just before Papa Smurf showed up dropping hikers off at the trail. I caught a ride with him and spent most of the day visiting with other hikers, doing laundry, buying food, eating food and even stopping at a Starbucks. Tonight I get to sleep at Papa Smurf’s & Mountain Mama’s in a sweet bunkbed.

Warner Springs to Idyllwild

Toby 1 Comment

76 miles 4/11/18 – 4/14/18

Woke up a little later than normal and packed up, making the most of the bathroom and running water at the Warner Springs Resource Center before heading out guided by my headlamp. I made my way through a field before being greeted by the most beautiful sunrise of my hike so far.

The trail entered a wooded area and crossed a creek a few times as it continued up into the mountains with incredible views.

After a good amount of climbing the trail entered a boulder field with some pretty giant boulders, some of which provided some shade which was a nice break from midday heat.

I ended up at the key destination for the day “Mike’s Place”, where hikers could get some water and just hang out. It was an eclectic house tucked up in the mountains with all sorts of random things. There were hammocks set up, a porch to hang out on and even a dart board. I didn’t get a chance to meet Mike but the caretaker / cook was friendly. He said “I’m here to cook and make sure you guys don’t burn the place down”.

After an extended break I decided to push on even though hikers we’re more than welcome to camp at Mike’s. There was still daylight and I wanted to get a few more miles in. I heard that there was a windstorm coming and was hoping to find a spot a little more protected from the wind. All stocked up with water I climbed back up and over a ridge before I found a place to camp after another 20+ mile day. And the windstorm did arrive with force. My tent held up but was a little noisy in the wind, I was too tired to care and still managed to sleep well.

The next morning I continued to on as the trail dipped and climbed until I reached trail angel Mary’s place, an awesome little rest area for hikers with a water tank, picnic tables, a tiny library and the “Muir John”.

After lunch I hiked a few more miles and set up camp for the night. The next morning I made the short hike down to the Paradise Valley Cafe arriving just before they opened. They were nice enough to let us hikers in early because it was a bit cold outside. Fully fueled up on coffee and a giant breakfast burrito I tackled the beautiful climb into the mountains towards Idyllwild.

On my way I made a mile long, very steep, detour down to a spring for water. For some reason I felt that since the water was from a spring I didn’t need to filter it, a mistake that would come back to bite me. Due to a fire in 2013, which still has part of the PCT closed, I would have to take an alternate route into Idyllwild. I made my way to the junction and camped. The wind kicked up again and I had a rude awaking in the middle of the night when I experienced the effects of unfiltered water.

The following morning I struggled while following the detour into Idyllwild where I had luckily planned to take a day off.

Julian To Warner Springs

Toby 3 Comments

32.5 miles 4/8/18 – 4/10/18

After some great sleep in the hotel I made my way down to Mom’s for the free slice of pie they give to PCT hikers. I got it to go because I had other plans for my hunger. At approximately 8:30am I destroyed the all you can eat buffet at the hotel, bacon, eggs, sausage, fruit, all went in my stomach. I then went back to my room so I could wash my clothes and soak in the tub. As I was leaving I ate the piece of pie from Mom’s.

On my way out of town I stopped by Carmen’s, a restaurant that let’s hikers sleep there after closing, but I just stopped by for the free hug and see some puppies. I also saw a few other hikers I started out with. I then hitchiked with much more success than the day before. A nice woman was shuttling hikers to and from scissors crossing, no sketchy pick-up truck today. At the water cache under the highway two former hikers we’re making quesadillas and handing out donuts. As good as that sounded my stomach was still full of breakfast and pie.

The trail started with a bunch of fully exposed switchbacks up the side of a hill. While sleeping in was nice starting to hike around 1:30pm wasn’t. I was able to use my slightly broken umbrella but the wind kept catching it. The plan was to only go 9 miles before setting up camp. Something that seemed so easy ended up being strenuous because of the heat and elevation gain.

I drank through most of my water and wasn’t feeling that great. The rested feeling had gone away comep at about 4pm realized that I hadn’t eaten anything for breakfast. After a Snickers bar and a couple spoonfuls of Nutella I started to feel better. I set up camp and talked to a hiker from San Diego named Steve (not to be confused with Steve the unicorn) over my dinner of tuna in a tortilla and called it a night.

The next morning I started hiking at 5:30am headed to a water cache 5 miles ahead, which I arrived at just as I ran out of water. Luckily there was more than enough.

I took a short break and then continued down the trail which seemed to snake through the hills forever. Just as I thought I was going to go over the top it would just go around another hill that was hiding behind the first. While it was still warm it wasn’t as bad as it had been. I put on podcast and powered on, remembering to eat snacks along the way.

I was so focused I missed the 100 mile marker on my way into camp at Barrel Spring as the trail dropped into a lush green valley. I thought about pushing the extra 8 miles into Warner Springs but decided to take it easy for the night instead, my feet were a little sore.

I set up my tent and relaxed, grazing on all the extra food I had as I’d be picking up a resupply box the next day in Warner Springs. A number of hikers that I had met previously made their way in camp and we all ended up eating together. As I crawled into my tent I started hearing a bunch of frogs being extra loud. I still managed to pass out right away.

It was difficult to get out of my tent the next morning even though I slept in an hour. The trail entered a pasture full of cows that didn’t want anything to do with me, I just wanted to pet one. Feeling rejected I moved on through the green pasture and gentle hills, a very welcomed change. I moved through flat open meadows with fantastic views. A little while later I made my way to Eagle Rock, which I think looks more like a dragon.

The trail then dropped down next to a creek with plenty of shade from the surrounding trees. I saw a couple rabbits run across the trail in front of me. A short while later I made it to my destination, Warner Springs. The Warner Springs Resource Center was set up for hikers, you could take a bucket shower, charge anything that needed to be charged or just sit in air conditioning.

As soon as I got inside someone was getting a group together to go to the Post Office so I jumped on the opportunity and went with. I picked up my resupply box which somehow ended covered in stickers and quickly realized I had too much food. So what did I do? I ignored the problem and went to have pizza and beer at the restaurant next door. When I made it back to the resource center I set up my tent and sorted through all my food. I put a good amount in the hiker box but still ended up with a lot of food too carry. How could I part with my gummy bears and Cheetos?

I took the coldest bucket shower ever (on purpose), charged up my electronics and visited with other hikers, some of which I hadn’t seen since the day I started. Still full from lunch I made myself eat some of the heavier items in my food bag for dinner. I was still left with too much food. Luckily I only have to carry two liters of water for the next stretch, which should help with weight.

Campo to Lake Morena

Toby 6 Comments

20 miles – 4/3/18 – 4/4/18

I must have used my Seattle super powers to summon clouds to Campo as I set out to start my hike, it wasn’t the intense sun I was expecting, it was nice and cool and carrying 42 lbs on my back seamed pretty easy. About an hour or so in the clouds were defeated by the sun and it suddenly felt very hot even though it was only in the upper 70s. I was so glad I decided to bring an umbrella for the sun, it was like my own personal cloud.

The trail started out nice flat before hitting a stream about 4 miles in where I refilled a liter of water to bring me back up to the 6 (12 lbs) I started out with. This stream would be the only source of water until mile 20. A little further on the trail started to climb up a hill with only a few shaded areas. As I continued up I was able to look down into a lush green valley with a lake and some nice trees providing plenty of shade. It seemed so close but was not close at all. I took a drink if my nice warm water before heading on.

I took a few short breaks to eat, stretch and air my feet out. At one point I was yelled at by an angry rattle snake hiding under a rock. Eventually it started fell really hot even with my umbrella. I was sweating buckets but it did make my shirt feeling nice and cool. I decided to stop around mile 11 set up camp with Sisse and smurf (a trail name I gave her because her blue shirt and hair and white hat) even though it was only 2pm.

The sun made my tent feel like an oven so I resorted to sitting in a small patch of shade for a while, occasionally getting up to stretch my legs. All in all I felt pretty good but slightly dehydrated, I guess I was being overly conservative with my water. Eventually I decided to eat dinner, which was some cold soaked Alfredo pasta that I started at the stream back at miles 4. I figured the heat would make it nice and warm, which it did, but I put in too much water. That combination of excess water, heat and time caused the noodles to dissolve into paste. With the excess water I felt like I was eating paste soup. I did eat it all though. Hopefully I figure out this whole cold soaking thing soon, I kind of have to.

When I crawled into my tent I discovered that the slick material my tent is made out of allows my sleeping pad to slide all over the place, any time I’d move it would move underneath me. This became pretty annoying but I did manage to get a good amount of sleep. However, in the morning I discovered a good amount of condensation inside my tent. I though having one side open would prevent that, it did not. Not only was the condensation on the inside of my tent but also on my sleeping bag. I wiped up what I could and packed up before heading out. I would later find out that the condensation was an issue for everyone.

I continued on down to Hauser Creek, which was dry, before pushing up the side of a sun exposed hill with a noticeable amount of elevation gain. At the top someone had left a few jugs of water for thirsty hikers, luckily I had more than enough water to make it to Lake Morena. I felt challenged to drink all it because I had carried it for 20 miles.

Once I arrived at the Lake Morena I was so happy to find an abundance of water taps and showers. After setting up my tent I walked into town with Sisse and grabbed lunch, a double bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry banana milkshake. So good. After returning to camp I took an amazing shower and helped sissie eat the rest of her large pizza she had gotten for lunch as dinner. Then, as I was writing this, a hiker walked up and asked “Do you like pizza?” offering me a slice of his large pizza. I couldn’t pass it up.

Today I’m going to kick it up a notch and ramp up to 15 mile days with a stop in Julian before continuing on to my next official stop at Warner springs. Luckily I’ll only have to carry 2 liters of water this time.