Tag: Big Bear

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.

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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.