May: Highs and Lows

Seeing how May is quickly coming to a close I thought I'd take the time to write down some of my highs and lows during this month. It has been an amazing first18 days down here in Southern California, and I can hardly believe that I've already come 369 miles! That's farther than it takes to get from Philadelphia to Boston or just about the distance from Toledo to Madison WI (shout out to you Mikey C). Anyways, below you can check out my highs and lows of the trip thus far.

High: San Felipe Hills (mile 77 to 101)

San Felipe Hills was a high for me because this was the first hot dry section that I actually timed right. I filled up after a long hot afternoon hiding in the shade of an underpass (yes, like a troll) at Scissors Crossing then headed up into these desert hills. San Felipe Hills had such an amazing variety of cacti like barrel cactus that I have yet to see anywhere else on the trail. I walked right through the sunset which can be amazing out in the desert especially when you are high in the hills and can see the shadows being created by the rolls in the mountains; everything is incredibly colorful and makes the Earth look like a loaf of bread baking. I slept out under the stars. I started hiking at first light, seeing one of the best sunrises on the trail yet, and managed to hike most of this long waterless stretch without even worrying about water because I was just enjoying the cool evening into morning air. When I reached the spring at the bottom of the hills, I took a nice well deserved lunch break.

Billy Goats Gruff?

High: Fields around Eagle Rock (mile 105 to 109)

Walking through the grassy fields around Eagle Rock was one of my favorite early sections of the trail anda total surprise for me in Southern California. I had just come down out of some of the harsh desert hills and started walking through these huge sweeping fields on my way into Warner Springs. The low sun on the grasses just light up the fields into a golden sea of color, and gentle breezes make them billow like waves on the ocean. I was listening to my iPod shuffle as I walked through here and up popped Kids on the Run by Tallest Man on Earth which was a great song to listen to, and I just felt like I was escaping everything out here on the trail which is something I don't really let myself do very often. Then you get to Eagle Rock which is the splitting image of an Eagle just perched out in the middle of the fields. The locals say it was entirely carved out by the wind, and it must have been a sacred spot for the Natives who lived in the area because even I felt pretty spiritual as I approached it.

The beautiful ocean of fields leading up to Eagle Rock.

High: San Jaciento Sunset (mile 179 to 185)

Worth every step...

...but there were sure a lot!

I had just met Alex in Idyllwild and was getting a bit anxious to get back on the trail. The two of us waited for my old hiking buddy Karl, but he was still scrambling to get his stuff together and didn't catch the hitch we had set up with the owner of the Inn. We got to the Devils Slide Trail that heads straight up 2 miles back to the PCT from Idyllwild at 5:30pm and that is when the run began. Alex was a former cross country runner and track star in high school so he certainly was keeping up. I was just fueled on a mix of adrenaline and perseverance to make it to the top of the mountain by sunset. First we climbed a couple thousand feet to just get back to the PCT with our packs full of 4 days worth of food. Then, there were two more uphill miles to get to the alternative trail to climb up to the top of the peak. We finally got to the turn off at around 6:30pm still feeling good like we might actually make it to the top before sunset. We saw the sign say 3.7 miles, and then we just bolted. I can't explain the feeling of how my thru-hiker legs just turned on, and it was like I wasn't even climbing; I was just moving. Somehow I got the Flight of the Bumblebee stuck in my head and just kept playing that over and over as I raced to the peak. It wasn't until 0.3 miles from the top that we got off the trail again, and I got to drop my pack. I realized I had lost Alex at that point, and he was calling my name climbing up the other side of the mountain from getting off the trail. At long last we had made it to the top at around 7:45pm just in time to see the remaining red ball of the sun drop below the horizon. The view from the top was an amazing 360 of so much of southern California with the desert off to the west and the San Jaciento Mountains to the south and the San Bernardino mountains to the north. Lots of low lying clouds (maybe some of it smog) gave off more amazing colors in the sunset. It was such an accomplishment climbing 4,400 ft (that’s just a bit short of climbing a vertical mile) and racing 7.7 miles in 2 hours and 15 minutes with full packs. Clearly a high seeing how that has been the highest point on the trail so far.

Don't mind the Spanish...

Low: The Descent from Fuller Ridge (mile 192 to 205)

Fuller Ridge coming down from Mount San Jaciento was great with lots of pines and giant boulders that would have been fun to climb on if I had the energy or time to spare. Then you reached a point where you could see I-10 off in the distance which would be staring at all day; The bottom of the mountain is only 4 miles away from Fuller Ridge but it takes 15 miles of switchbacks to get there. I started down with a good attitude, and it was neat to see how you transitioned into the different ecosystems as you went down the mountain. Once I reached a certain elevation, all of a sudden there would be no more of one plant and tons of another. However, I felt the further down I went, the plants became pricklier because of the harsher conditions. There was also less and less shade and no water to be found, so I had to manage with what I carried down from the cool mountain streams from that morning. When I finally reach one tiny sliver of shade under a boulder, it took me about 20 seconds to realize this was right where some bees had decided to build a nest and they were not happy bees and chased me for about 5 mins after that getting stuck in my hair but luckily I didn't get stung. Alex, who was just behind me unfortunately was not so lucky. Then there was the wind. 

So windy!

I didn't even notice until the last few miles but there were hundreds of windmills down in the valley by I-10. The wind here was so strong it almost knock all 210 lbs of me over plus my packweight. It was truly impressive but would also pick up some of the sand at times and was a very warm breeze, so not all that cooling or comforting. Then, finally when we got to the bottom, there was no shade so I waited for Alex, and we trudged across the flat desert to make it to an amazing oasis.

High: Ziggy and the Bear (mile 210)

Just imagine how great this felt.

Getting to Ziggy's!

Just after descending from Fuller Ridge I hit one of the highs of my trip; Ziggy and the Bear are some of the sweetest trail angels I have met so far who had posted signs outside of town encouraging us on and letting us know when we were almost to their place. We walked into their backyard, and the Bear introduced himself to us then had us sit down so he could bring out some very hot water with epsom salt for us to soak our feet in. We didn't even have to ask; he just knew we needed to fix our feet and get some nice cold water. Then Ziggy, a sweet older woman, came out and told us everything we needed to know and explained how they would be making us salad, and we would get ice cream for dessert. You have no idea how awesome those fresh veggies and ice cream tasted. She also gave us a great guide to all of the Southern California wildlife, and I learned the names of some of the lizards and plants I saw everywhere. We had wonderful shelter from the harsh winds whipping through the desert and got to cowboy camp under a tent in their yard. I also got a good sense of the PCT community seeing how I hiked in with Alex, met up with Birdy (a really wonderful woman from Chicago who has the most fitting trail name always stopping to look at the birds), and Karl came stumbling in later. We even had aanother guy Mike show up in the middle of the night finding his way with a tiny little flashlight, and I know he was happy for this little hiker oasis. The next morning Ziggy got up at 4:30 (which she does every morning) to make us breakfast with cereal and fresh fruit so we can leave early as hikers do. Before I left, I gave them a donation, and Ziggy told me how through the generosity of hikers, they were able to cover the cost of all the tents, food, water coolers, etc. However, the encouragement and support this sweet older couple shows to all these hikers is truly priceless.

Thank you so much for your kindness!

Low: Loosing my Knife (Twice)

No too much to say here. I lost my knife in the first section, bought a new one in Idyllwild, and then lost that just outside of Big Bear Lake. It sucks, and I still need to buy a third.

Low: Dashing through the Snow (mile 255 to 267)

This was one of my poorest decisions on the trail yet. I was hiking with Karl and Alex just outside of Big Bear Lake, and we all wanted to put in some good miles so that we would not have to travel far the next morning to get into town. We had been moving at a nice pace the whole day and were feeling fine around 5pm when we got into the camp we could have stayed at to call it a 21-mile day. However, we all decided to hike an extra 12 miles to the next campsite since we were feeling fine, and there was nothing wrong with a little night hiking. Oh, and I should also mention how we ran into a group of Scouts at that camp and one of the leaders warned us it would get down to 20 degrees later that day. I thought no way man and we blindly pushed on.

We started off fine joking around having a good time. Then the winds and the cold started coming. It was funny how we stopped just where our friend Birdy set up a stealth camp, and she had decided to call us her boys since she was tired of all the older men hitting on her. We kept going for a while and soon got ourselves lost temporarily but quickly rejoined the trail no problem.  We went up through a steep valley then got out on this wide windy plain which is where we first saw the dark ominous looking clouds. I was totally consumed by the moment and wanted to chase the storm and didn't bother putting on extra layers or gloves like the other guys. I raced off across the plains battling the chilly winds and nearly running into these black clouds rushing to the west just ahead of us. After a while, we finally got under the clouds and the sun had set, and I was starting to lose my enthusiasm. I think at that point most of us would have been fine with stopping but nobody wanted to be the one to quit on our goal. I kept hinting to Karl who was in the front that he could stop at any time but he took this as my sarcasm and just started to get extremely pissed at me and more stubborn about reaching the camp still 6 miles away. 

The morning after...

At one point my flashlight died and I had to replace the batteries and my hands were so numb I felt like an old man who had forgotten how to work his fingers. When I got my headlamp working properly I realized we were now in the middle of a snow flurry. We kept mindlessly pressing on through the dark and snow at breakneck speed and were lucky nobody got injured. We ended up passing the camp because we blindly cruised by the sign and had to backtrack about half a mile. When we got in, nobody wanted to talk and I finally got some warmer clothes on and tried to battle out setting up my tarp with my numb hands. I got it up but set it up poorly so I had to crawl out of my warm sleeping bag and adjust it twice in the night. The tarp was also right up against my sleeping bag and hammock which made the outside damp, not good for a down sleeping bag, but luckily I stayed warm. We woke up the next morning to a thin layer of snow, and luckily everyone was in a much better mood.

High: Deep Creek and the Hot Springs (mile 297 to 312)

Deep Creek was one of the best spots on the trail so far. It was relatively large canyon where the trail stays up near the rim, and I could take in some of the amazing views down by the water. This combination of water and shade in the hot desert was very much welcomed, and there were many opportunities to head down to the creek and take a quick dip.

Ahhh, relaxation.

Then there was a clothing-optional hot springs tucked away in the Canyon which the guidebook had mentioned could be a bit sketchy and dirty. However, when I showed up it was an amazing scene that I will probably always think of whenever I think of California. The hot springs trickled down from the hills and was trapped in three pools some man-made, some natural along with a beach overlooking the cool flowing waters of Deep Creek. The beach was full of young couples enjoying the water with beautiful California girls in their short shorts and bikinis. The smell of pot mixed aromatically with the wildflowers and the dry desert air. There were some nudists, mostly older, including one rather large woman sprawled out on a floating raft sipping away at a handle. There were jam sessions going on under the shade, guys showing off their dirt bikes, and packs of dogs roaming around everyone where you couldn't quite make out whose dog was whose or if they even had owners. Everyone was super friendly and all seemed to know each other just from hanging out that weekend. It was an amazing morning just soaking my dirty feet in the hot springs then cooling off in the creek but sadly this is a trip in motion, and I had to keep moving and couldn't stay the whole day.

High: Cajon Pass (mile 338 to 352)

This day started off heading up into the chaparral. I had been bitten twice by ants and was tearing my way through an overgrown trail full of sharp, prickly shrubs. I had looked over the map and figured the day would be mostly like this until I reached Cajon Pass when the PCT crosses I-15. Then, all of a sudden, I turned a corner just after some power lines and one of the most impressive vistas was unveiled before my eyes. I was up on the edge of a mountain-side with a panoramic view into the hills leading up to the San Bernardino Mountains with Mount Baldy and Mount Baden Powell. You could also see the San Andreas fault line cutting through creating a valley. I-15 was a small little sliver that snaked its way off into the high desert. I started making my way down and was so glad to find that it was nothing like the descent to I-10 where it took 15 miles to travel 4 miles. Instead, this trip took roughly 4 miles to travel 4 miles, and it was nice and breezy but not too bad and I kept getting new view. 

Took my breath away for sure.

Then, it ended by heading down into a small canyon and before I knew it I was right in front of the highway. Best of all, there was a McDonalds at the bottom which was a great way to beat the midday sun grab some lunch, and raid the dollar menu. I also timed out the section heading out of Cajon Pass into Wrightwood well by hiking the worst of it in the evening and the early morning and carrying extra water for this 22 mile dry stretch which many other hikers were not warned of before. The hardest part of this part of the trek was not stopping to take pictures every 5 minutes.