Category: On the move

After grabbing my ice axe and spikes I text a trail angel whose number I got from Wolf.

“Hi Marlene would you be able to drive four hikers to Fenner Conservation Camp?”

“Yes I can, tomorrow morning 8AM” she responded.

That’s perfect. I wake up at 3:45AM, nervous for some reason. Like I haven’t done enough hiking at this point to not be nervous before hiking. Maybe I’m nervous about the hitch? I don’t know. The mind does some mental fuckery and I flip flop around in bed.

I play a Calm sleep story and no dice. I say fuck it I guess I’m up for the day. Time to rot my brain with some morning internet and then off to shower and start getting ready to go. With four of us today and one bathroom I will make sure to get in there before anyone else.

Marlene’s daughter arrives at 7:59AM. Right on time, I love it. It’s a 25 minute drive around the closure to Fenner Conservation Camp and I got shotgun. We arrive at the place and it looks like a fire head quarters. It’s actually a camp where they train inmates on how to fight forest fires. When we pulled up we saw them all walking outside and getting on the busses.

From Fenner it was about a 2 mile road walk up to the trail that reconnects us to the PCT. Today is a day of mostly uphill again and when I say mostly uphill. I mean 4,000 feet of elevation gain day.

Once we get up past the road walk I’m already sucking wind. At 6800’ elevation now and I know I’m going to 9,300’. I read a trail report earlier that said after 8 switch backs there is XYZ. I was counting the switch backs and after the 8th there was snow, and more switch backs.

I toss on my microspikes and debate taking out my ice axe. Right now I don’t think I need it but we’ll see. It’s more so laziness of not wanting to take off my bag and get my axe.

After another mile it’s time for the axe. Today for some reason I don’t feel it. On Jacinto I was at home, felt comfortable, positive, today I’m tired, I can’t breathe and I’m actually nervous.

The shoots are some steep shoots I do not want to self arrest on. By the time we get to them it’s almost mid day. My microspikes are slushy and sliding all over the place. The group in front of us isn’t even wearing any. They say what’s the point in slush?

I finally get to the summit and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s perfect blue skies, almost no wind and visually appealing as far as the eyes can see.

When I arrive everybody else is already there Wolf Slayer, Seven, Dallas, Kind Heart, Meatball and Sparks. What a ragtag group of characters we are but we summited and got the photo for proof.

After I left the summit it was another 5 miles and up and down along snow covered ridges. All in all everywhere above 7,500’ had snow and to me needed microspikes. I kept my axe away for most of the day but used it when it was smart too or dumb not too.

As I roll into the last water source I look at the time and say there’s no way Im making it another 5 miles before sunset. My body, mind, and desire to keep going on are just at their end for the day.

Instead of pushing for the five after two miles I stop at Islip trail head and make the decision to pitch my tent there. Wolf and Dallas come in after me and decide to stay also. Seven made it to that next camp solo.

I see a few cars here that have made the hour drive and gotten stuck. They ask me when the road will reopen but I have no answers either. I tell them I just literally walked from the other side of this highway closure. It took me all day to do so also.

As the suns setting a couple snowboarders come down the mountain. We chat for a bit and they give me a beer for the road. Appreciate it guys. That’s a breakfast beer. My body completely toast I climb into my tent and that’s a wrap for tonight. I fall asleep to a nice breeze.

Leaving McDonald’s I brought 20 nuggets, and 6 cheese burgers. The two fries didn’t make it to the trail. I camped maybe 2 miles after Cajon Pass just before the water cache and enjoyed a nice long quiet afternoon. I know Wrightwood is off the table for today but I also don’t want to get there too early tomorrow. I find you can’t hitchhike as easy in the early AM.

This meant I had 10-12 miles of maybe 2.500’ elevation gain going up towards Wrightwood leaving Cajon pass. I wake up at 4:30AM and just lay there. I stretch for a bit and then start packing up at 5. I expect the sun to be light enough to see around 6:00AM. At 5:30 I get out and stand outside just enjoying a perfect morning temperature. I take a few deep breaths. It feels good to breathe at a normal elevation again.

I hear Seven making noise over in his tent. He yells over “Mouse! Don’t leave without me I need your tape!” Ahhh yeah he’s still nursing that blister and is taping it up. One more day and you can heal it for the weekend.

“It’s a beautiful morning.” I tell him.

The alpenglow lights up the desert valley and Seven and I just stand there for a second. I look at him and say “Nice dry tent today. Perfect.”

I get a move on and he stays behind to tape up. Again I tell him “you’ll catch up. It’s up hill and I hate the up hill.” After a half mile I hit a water cache. Nice,

I only had a liter left and the uphill drains me. I was planning on rationing water all day, luckily my meal of McDonald’s didn’t need water last night. It’s always a battle of more water is more weight. But water is life and weight is manageable. Never pass up a clean drinking source. I top off knowing I’ll finish it as heading back up to 7,000’ will dehydrate me.

After the water cache it was endless switchbacks for roughly 10 miles. Within those ten miles were easy gradual rises where I would take in the scenery. Able to see the highway where we got McDonald’s the day before in the distance. Some jumping over downed trees, and some scrambling some rocky sections. Seven and I were on opposite ridges for most of it so I would yell random stuff over to him. He’d yell back he can’t hear me.

As I climbed to 6,800’ elevation I stop to wait for the others to catch up, I don’t want to miss the right turn to the road and I want to make sure we all take it together. I heard they are giving out 1,000$ fines for walking through the closure. I’m all set with that. That’s robbery.

After Seven and Tardy catch up we eat a couple snacks and get moving again. We laugh about how Tardy brought 39 cookies and still had a bunch. He starts passing them out saying they’re 360 calories a cookie

After a pair of cookies I get moving again. Maybe no more than 900 feet up trail I step over a snoozing snake. Seven yells out “Mouse! You didn’t see that??!” Nope. Completely missed it. Walked right by it in the zone.

With that holy shit moment I’m ready to be on the down hill. Another half mile and I hang a right down towards the highway where we take Lytle creek road which is about a 2.5 mile downhill to the highway. We see a few Jeeps and a Bronco doing a little off roading on the way down. This is the last point I can walk to mile 362 and then after the closure I can restart the trail around 372-374.

We get down to the highway and see it’s a 5.5 mile road walk to town. Seven says screw it let’s go, as we start walking we try to hitch anyways. In 15 minutes we have no luck, another 5 minutes go by and Sevens way out front. I look at Tardy and see a big truck driving towards us. “Hey Tardy watch this”

I hike my short shorts all the way up and throw serious leg into the street. The guy beeps and pulls over a 1/8 mile up the road. We jump in and he goes “honestly man that was fucking funny” I laugh back and go buddy I didn’t think you’d stop so I said screw it why not have some fun.

He gives Tardy and I a ride to town. Seven didn’t want a ride and in the process he tells us about Baden Powel and the area. There’s tons of trail angels that will take care of us he says. He drops us off at the Mountain hardware store, Tardy, and I sign the PCT hiker logbook, and are given a free commemorative Pin. We rented a cabin from a local for the weekend and decide to enjoy some quiet time the four of us. Renaissance got dropped offed maybe 30 minutes after I got there.

Today was a short day, I probably needed it. I definitely enjoyed it. Tomorrow’s a zero day and Monday we get back after it as soon as the post office opens at 8:45AM.

I wake up around 5:30AM and say damn it’s much colder than I expected it to be. I slept great, quilt and liner kept me warm. Tents frozen as can be though. Dew point must’ve been high and with the temp dropping it’s a recipe for mean condensation.

As I am packing up my stuff I start laughing when I look over at Tardy who cowboy camped. His bags frozen solid. Luckily mine wasn’t that bad, my tent looked worse. He asks me what my plan is to dry it out. I tell him I’ll pitch it at McDonald’s.

It’s 6.5 miles to McDonald’s and I leave camp at 7AM sharp. No reason in particular I was just up and can’t sit around long ADHD problems. Seven and Tardy say they’ll be leaving within the hour.

I start off up the trail and my phone goes off. It only goes off when I have “good good service.” Let’s see what emails I have today. Oof Montbell denying my warranty claim for their rain jacket sleeve shearing off in the wind. Tough hit.

Time to find a new rain jacket. Will never buy another Montbell product again. This one didn’t even last 100 miles. This email however found me well. It motivated me, pushed me up the miles of elevation gain because I was honestly annoyed. Once I got to the top of the mountain I was golden again. They did say they would fix it for me. But “it would be expensive”

I thought the “we’ll fix it for you” was an opening to ask for I don’t know 5% maybe 10% off another 270$ jacket. But they weren’t having it. I’ll have to apply to this company after this hike and go make changes from the inside, run the place the way it should be. Like by actually manufacturing good sound products

After deleting these two useless emails I start to jog downhill. Let’s change the mindset, burn some leg power and absolutely burn off that steam, a little trail run on the ridge it is. I slowdown and stop for the wind when it picks up but I just kept the sun on my back and the wind on my shoulders. A nice momentum boost as songs flick through on my headphones. Especially the Elovators.

I comedown from the mountain through a rolling field into the valley and see a running stream. It’s a sight to see. The suns just poking over this one and it goes to show how much up and down I just did. I don’t need the water that’s here but I always like seeing it.

Another .2 and I finally come to the sign that says McDonalds .4 to the right and know I’ve made it to breakfast. All said and done I made great time getting here.

I get into the McDonald’s and grab a booth. I place my order on the kiosk and wait for it to be delivered to table 178. The place is absolutely packed, it takes a while but I’m in no rush, I have to wait till 10:30 anyways. A half hour goes by and Seven and Tardy walk in. I scooch over and let one of them slide in my side.

My food comes to the table and the girl says “I’m sorry we’re out of apple pies is that ok?”

I say yes that’s ok I understand but I will say that’s extremely disappointing. That’s two nos I’ve gotten so far today on things I wanted. (Hums you can’t always get what you want song)

Seven laughs during this interaction. I’ve been telling him for three full 20+ mile days how good the McDonald’s apple pies are and how badly I wanted to get 3 of them. That’s honestly the only thing I was looking forward to from McDonald’s. But like a good thru hiker I roll with the punches. The young girl sends out a couple strawberry pies and apologizes. I thank her and give them to Tardy, I’m not a strawberry guy.

I finish my food and grab a refill on my 6th Sprite. Tardy orders 39 cookies for his 2 days to Wrightwood. His plan is to eat 39 cookies for a total of 19,440 calories to get to Wrightwood. There’s really nothing else to say to that. At his age he can do that. I’d have a heart attack, and most likely shit my self before hand.

We wait until “lunch time” 10:30 so we can order burgers, nuggets, and a couple of mchickens. After stocking up and leaving McDonald’s I open up my tent and tyvek and let it dry out outside on the hot cement. It’s windy, it’ll be dry in 10 minutes. We run to the gas station next door to grab some additional snacks for our McDonald’s and then walk the .2 back to the trail. Tardy stays back to charge his devices and call home from the WiFi.

Seven and I get back on at mid day. It’s literally all up hill from here to Wrightwood and a 14 mile water carry so I left McDonald’s with 2.5 liters. I filter the gross bridge water to round it up to 3. While walking the first few miles I still have good service. I book our cabin in Wrightwood through a trail angel. 120$ for the weekend and Rennaisance is going to meet us there to split it for the three of us. Nice, he’s 4 miles ahead of us. We have to hit the post office Monday AM.

As we get to the top of the afternoons first peak we sit and watch the train go by. Wonder where it’s going and what’s on it i think. While sitting there Seven and I both say eeh I don’t think there will be anywhere to camp later the way this terrain looks. We look on the FarOut map and realize there really isn’t. It’s either push on and crush another 20+ day or have a chill day and call it early at 14 miles.

.2 miles ahead I start to look around in this dry creek bed and say yes this is it. Home for the night, Renaissance texts me and confirms it. He’s finding nothing ahead too. We’ll crush the last 10 miles to Wrightwood tomorrow morning at a nice steady pace. Planning to be hitchhiking by 12PM, in town by 1PM and eating real burgers by 3:30PM.

I set my tent up and have plenty of time to relax. I read a little bit, eat another 10 nuggets and 2 cheese burgers, watch Sassy the Sasquatch on YouTube, and chill with Seven. We laugh at our hilarious shirt tans and talk about how we think Tardy will roll in around 7PM with melted cookies.

6:52PM rolls around and Tardy walks in with a big smile on his face, he says hello and chats for a bit about our plan for the fire closure ahead. After that I head off to my tent and get ready for bed. Looking forward to crushing tomorrow’s 10 and a day of good town food.

I wake up early and can hear the cars speeding down highway 174. Damn that’s loud, or maybe I am hungover. The suns coming up over the building and I plan to hang my sleeping bag out to dry. I have about an hour before I get a ride back to trail and it’s time for breakfast. Some gummy worms, peach rings, Thomas English muffin tops, little beef jerky and some electrolytes.

Alan shows up and says good morning, we say goodbye to Oden the lion slayer and Alan gives us a ride back to trail. We get to trail around 8:45AM. We both look at each other and say “today’s a write off.” Looking for a campsite 14-16 miles away. Something nice and easy, we feel sluggish, hungover, have trashed feet and are just tried. About a mile in Seven says “buddy, what do you got in that blister kit?” Me having gone through that expedition last week. I got you bro, I fully stocked up in Big Bear.

We break out the full kit on a rock and get him going again. Quick tire rotation 300+ miles in for the guy. Now with Sevens foot feeling good, it’s a short time till we get to a big dam. And I mean a big dam. We wonder what’s behind it not knowing there’s a lake there. The last three we’ve seen have been dry. From there It’s a little road walk around a power plant then we poke back into the woods.

The trail has been uneventful today in comparison but the’ve been “easy” miles so far. I filter some water and expect 2 liters to get me through till the next water source. If not it’s 10 miles to that lake. As soon as I get water the trail changes to some incline. Steep incline.

As we climb up we get to the lake and overlook it. It looks huge. I see 3 boats out in the water and that’s a nice site to see. It’s almost boating season back home too. Which reminds me that Winnisquam Marinas sent me 5 emails this season, I need to pay my own boat storage bill for the summer. Anyone want to buy a 2013 Centurion? We walk a few miles overlooking little coves and beaches. It look pristine from up here.

Another mile goes by and we drop down into the day camp on the beach to enjoy our lunch and air out our feet. This beach area was unfortunately trashed! Cans, bottles and just trash everywhere about.

It makes me say to Seven, “man as a taxpayer it’s upsetting to see a couple million dollars invested into a beautiful park to see that they NEVER take care of it. Why even build it? Why even waste the money?” They even put a full ADA handicapped ramp and bathroom at a “boat up only” location.

We pack up after lunch and get moving again we plan to hit the next water source and then set up camp after that. That leaves us 16 miles tomorrow to McDonald’s right now. We continue on through the meandering trail as it climbs and then falls and then climbs again. We look for a spot to camp and there’s just nothing. Another mile and we find a spot, pitch my tent and it starts getting covered in ants, ugh I pack up and it’s on to the next one.

Another mile and nothing and another nothing, finally at this point we’ve hit 23 miles for the day and we see a flatish piece of ground. It’s now 6PM and the sun will be setting behind the hill in 20 minutes.

I pitch my tent. The stakes arnt holding but I’m tired. I say screw it it’s time for dinner.

The usual combination of food goes into my stomach. As we sit there eating and talking Seven and I are both startled by another hiker charging through the bushes to say hi. It’s Tardy from Belgium, he was looking to push another mile or so but he saw us and decided to cowboy camp with us. I throw Tardy some extra food I have to lighten my pack and it’s a win win. I’m lighter and he’s fed, him being 18 maybe I am being a little big brotherly to him.

My opinion of this kid so far, he’s a well educated kid from Belgium who speaks 5 languages. Hes out here rawdogging the trail with no apps or map. His parents are both successful doctors, and he plans to go study physics and philosophy in college after this trip ends.

Definitely not a dumb kid, even my self at that age was very “smaht”. But you always have a lot to learn, I’ve even learned so much just the last month out here just from Seven. But brains aside I can’t watch this kid starve till McDonald’s though, so I toss him my Knorr buffalo Mac. With McDonalds tomorrow my stomach does not need the spice.

After dinner we all do our nightly routines, for me, brush my teeth, check for ticks, predig a hole, yoga, stretching, cork ball roll my feet, a smidge of weed , a couple minutes of a show (Entourage tonight-The Script and the Sherpa episode RIP Val Kilmer) and then I write my blog simply so I can remember the day better and unwind. If I don’t write notes at night the days just seem to combine them selves into one.

As I lay in my tent finished for the night it’s actually a loud campsite. I hear a train horn in the distance. A minute later loud planes overhead. I’m guessing LAX is either landing or taking off and their paths above us. I check the map and see I ended up 6.5 miles away from the El Cajon Pass McDonald’s. Hash browns for breakfast tomorrow and 100% a couple apple pies.. Probably 3. I haven’t had McDonald’s since I was in New Zealand… Man I wish I wrote about that trip, New Zealand was a life changing trip.

I wake up in Lake Arrowhead to an inch of snow. Seven and I walk to 7/11 and grab some last minute snacks. It’s a 5 mile road walk back to trail. We have our thumbs out the entire time and at the second mile a guy Charlie stops and picks us up in his truck.

Charlie tells us he’s a logger and only works 9 months a year, he takes the summers off to row and enjoy the lake. Sounds like my kind of guy. We offer him some cash for the hitch and he says no way. Enjoy your time on trail.

Once we make it back to the “3rd gate” it’s another mile and a half back to the actual PCT. As we pass splinters cabin we see a guy from the day before. He gave us decent directions of how to get to town. We were straight up lost yesterday trying to find the trail.

As we continue hiking the scenery is gorgeous, someone please send me some synonyms because I’m running out of how to describe this trip. We cross the creek a few times, stop for breakfast and realize we can make it to the hot springs by mid day. Looking at my watch, we’re moving at a 3mph pace as we pass the 300 mile marker.

When we turn into hot springs we see there’s only 4 other people there. Two people who we know and two woman day hiking. Uglystick and Arthur, Uglystick tells us he’s now named Arthur- Tardy because he’s always late. I guess he woke him up in his tent at 9:30…. For an 18 year old kid that tracks. Seven reminds me I am now TWICE his age, Jesus I’m now old.

We strip our clothes off and jump in for a nice soak, Sevens cautious of his bloody blisters so he hangs a foot out. A complete ab workout for the hour we are here.

Tardy entertains us with some cliff jumping and then we say see you guys later and we get moving again. We heard the Joshua Inn has beer and will let us crash in their yard. It’s 7 miles to the highway and that’s easily doable for today.

As we get closer to the end of our day it’s just single lane ledge the entire way, absolutely beautiful mountains on both sides with the creek in the middle and you can see the Army’s Mojave dam in the distance.

After crossing the dam it’s a small water crossing and a short walk up through lush green tunnels to the highway.

Theres a sign there that says call Alan hell pick you up.

Me- “Hi Alan are you available for a ride?”

Alan-“I’ll be there in ten minutes”

After he drops us off at the Joshua Inn we enjoy some popcorn, meet the owners dog who got attacked by a mountain lion across the street, and drink a hand full of beers.

After spending the evening eating, drinking and hanging out with the locals as they play pool we head out back and set up our stuff to cowboy camp on the main stage.

Overall, today was an awesome day, we met awesome people, had an awesome time and I had a smile on my face the entire time. Blisters? What blisters? Tomorrow’s a 15 mile day and then we push on to get to the El Cajon McDonald’s. Seven and I debate pressing it to get higher mileage in but also battle slowing down. We want to enjoy every minute of it. As I lay here looking at the stars I also stare at the disco ball above my head and just continue to smile.

Tim dropped us off at highway 18 outside Big Bear and we got back on trail. Late start today so we’re only looking to get 12-14 miles in.

It’s looking like a handful of miles of ascent followed by some pointless ups and downs before we get to camp. Sevens leading and he’s setting a fast pace. I see him in the distance, I don’t really track my miles per mile. His watch beeps every mile, I see him sip water every mile and that’s my mental note.

After two miles it’s a land slide of skree. Wobbly ankles across it and we’re back onto nice hard ground.

As we hit mile 5 I say hmm we have to be near some water by now. And boom, there it is. Delicious, cold, not rice flavored filtered spring water. With that, I also crushed a Lady Gala apple. I picked it up the day before at Vons. Shocking 1.83$.

After filling up 2.5 liters, we’re back on feet. Tonight will be a dry camp which means there is no water at the camp site. So I bring enough to boil pasta, drink, and waste some brushing my teeth.

We get to a flat spot that looks nice and set up shop. There’s a spot a little bit away but it’s on a slope. So we tuck in tight and make do.

There’s significant wind coming in tonight and we grab some rocks to make sure our stakes are sunk in good. We eat dinner, stretch, dig tomorrow’s mornings cat holes and then just shoot the shit. Tomorrow AM we push on to Cedar Glenn, we are planning on hitting the Malt Shop and Seven wants to do a light resupply before we hit Deep Creek Hot Springs.

We wake up at about 6AM, the wind ended up being normal wind. 25mph gusts. I wake n bake and crush breakfast. Two things I usually skip, but I need the energy today. I tell Seven “you hike fast bud, I’m leaving I’ll see ya in 20 minutes when you catch up.” He laughs and says “I’ll see you in 6 hours.” We mainly leap frog each other all day. He takes a break I pass him, I take a break he’ll pass me. Well stop for lunch and chat and then disappear again. It’s peaceful to be alone, but also sometimes sketchy.

I start walking through a beautiful pine forest, if I had a dollar for every time I say “wow this is beautiful” I’d be funding this trip first class. My phone bings, I have service. Time to text my dad, my sister and my friends.

Today is my sister’s birthday. Happy Birthday Danielle!

She’s a big inspiration for me hiking. I remember her going to do Mt Hood when I was like in college. Before I ever backpacked. Her and my brother in law have been tracking my location, catching me sometimes going the wrong way and texting me about it. She must’ve been busy yesterday because Seven and I hiked two miles in the wrong direction before we said “hmm why are we seeing day hikers? We haven’t seen anyone on trail in days.” We doubled back and realized hmmm we’re are stupid! We took a left instead of staying straight. We were looping back to Big Bear haha.

My friends text me telling me to shut up, I sent them a 3 minute snap chat video yesterday on how to poop in the woods. Arguably, I thought it was a solid video. They’re sick of me, I believe it too. I’m sick of my self sometimes. Maybe I’ll do a post about how to poop in the woods….hmm

Cedar Glenn is just about 21 miles away. Today’s a long day and I’m ready for it. Two Rice Krispies treats, a bag of beef jerky and the usual snickers bar in my pocket that need to get me till Little Bear Spring.

As I get to Little Bear Spring I say to my self. Damn what a time to not have to poop. It’s an outdoor privy or pit toilet with no roof and amazing views of the mountains.

It was probably one of the best smelling privys I’ve been in too. Smelt like clean mountain air, with a hint of poop. Now I know where Fabreeze gets their ideas.

I push on from mile 285 hoping to get to 298 shortly. From camp to here was roughly 8 miles, I have a ways to go. I stop in a mile and filter more water, I force my self to carry 2 liters at all times. I’m still working on staying hydrated and I am tryin for “prep” for long water carries in the desert.

We bump into an 18 year old Belgian hiker named Arthur filtering water. He’s here alone, left the southern terminus the day after we did and is trying to do the trail as cheap as possible. This kids an inspiration, can’t even legally drink here but he’s out crushing something us old guys dreamed about for years. Politics and bullshit, he didn’t care he was coming to crush the PCT. And the craziest thing he’s doing it like it’s 1990. He’s going off just the past water reports and not using the FarOut app. Wild.

We finally hit the wooden bridge. It’s quite the site to see, as we walk across I check the FarOut app to see if we go left or right. Rights to Canada, left is to Cedar Glenn via Splinters Cabin. We get to the junction and hang the left, Sevens craving a burger and I’m surly not against one. We say we’ll see ya tomorrow Arthur and let him know our next 2-3 day plans.

As we continue on up towards Splinters Cabin we realize it’s 1.6 miles up a brutal road walk. We really couldn’t even find the actual trail. So we road walked it, we finally get to Gate 3 and I call the Cedar Glenn Malt Shop. I ask the person who answers the phone if they’d be willing to pick us up at Gate 3 and we’d love to be patrons of their restaurant. The girl says sure let me see if someone’s free and then says give us 10 minutes.

Seven and I start the road walk and stop at a random house, I notice they have a Bridgeport outside and an old GTO. Dude can we be friends?

A minute later a Toyota Rav 4 pulls up. Driver says his English is minimal. Both Seven and I maybe speak Spanish shockingly, we jump right in and take the 5 minute drive to the malt shop.

We sit down, plug in our electronics and order burgers. I drink 4 sprites waiting and when it arrives I absolutely crush my burger. I personally think that was the best burger of the trip so far. Seven orders a second burger and a Caesar salad for the road.

It’s now 6PM and arguably too late to get back on trail after a resupply. Seven says his feet are killing him also. We start chatting with the lovely family in the booth next to us and they say they will give us a ride to the local motel when they finish dinner. The closest spot was the “Tree Top Lodge” 70$ a night.

We jump into Mike’s truck and he drives us to the Lodge and shows us the small town. There’s a 7/11 that looks nothing like a 7/11. I dig that. He tells us the family was originally from San Diego and moved to Austin TX a few years ago. After Covid shook up the world like most of us, they rethought where they wanted to be and moved to Lake Arrowhead. Mike said he was a tennis pro and ran the local tennis club. He honestly he looked like it. Tennis is a hell of a sport and will keep you in shape. I tell him about how I played inter-murals in college and lost 4 years in a row to the same kid. Ooof I’m still salty about that. After my hike I’ll have to come back and take a lesson with Mike.

We check into the lodge and get ready for bed. It’s a short stay and we’re back on trail 6AM tomorrow. We’re shooting for a noontime hot springs!

I jump a hitch to Big Bear Lake, the driver asks where do you want to go? I have no idea buddy just drop me off at the Big Bear Brewery and I’ll figure it out from there. I’m good at winging it at this point in my life.

I arrive around 10AM. They are closed, I walk around the corner and poke into the market/liquor store. I grab a fresh Gatorade and a snack and strike up a conversation with the guy behind the counter. Everyone’s been super friendly.

He says everything is within this small area, all the shops, restaurants etc. He says there is also a free mountain shuttle that will drive me the few miles up the road to Vons. I’ll grab a food resupply at Vons and a new isobutane can at the Big 5 tomorrow.

Across the street is the Robinhood Resort, I stumble in and speak to the gentleman at the front desk. “Hi sir I’m curious if you have any availability and what the rates are?”

Him- “Yes we have availability, where’s your accent from? Are you a thru hiker?”

Me- “Boston MA sir, and yessir I’m a thru hiker.”

Him- “I was going to go to college for my post grad in Boston but went to Penn instead.”

Me- “Right on sir, both are great schools.”

He was nice enough to give me a discount as a thru hiker and on top of that he gives me the lay of the land. There’s a polar plunge in support of the Special Olympics across the street. He asks if I’m down to participate, you know what. Why not, I’m not against a polar plunge, if I was home in Plymouth I’d be doing it daily anyways.

After checking in I drop my gear off and take a needed shower I head over to the post office to grab my package and get the run around from the guy behind the counter. “It’s not here yet.” it says delivered an hour ago to this post office but I can’t pick it up? It’s 11:30AM and they close at noon, come on.

It’s now noon thirty and I get a text from USPS I can now pick up my package. I sprint across the street, and they’re closed. Like posted they closed at noon. I’m here till Monday.

Since I am waiting on gear to be delivered, I have no agenda, no plans, and I guess I am here to just relax for a day, eat food and see the sites of Big Bear. If I wasn’t hiking, I’d go skiing, but I don’t have the proper clothes for that.

I walk the small neighborhood and debate what to get for lunch. Do I get noodles, pizza, Mexican, Indian or a burger? I seriously debate getting noodles and remember the last time I went to get noodles with someone. It was at a dinner where I decided to tell the person I was dating “hey I’m going to go MIA for 5 months and hike the PCT…” It went over as expected I guess. I will actually say, I give her credit it was the most mature I have seen someone act in probably 4-5 relationships to be honest. Overall, nothing but respect for that person. If you ever read this I hope you have an amazing time diving with whale sharks next month! Jealous. Ahh the one who got away.

I opted for a pizza instead. BBQ chicken it is and a side of spuds. I grab a seat at the bar and order a tall Sprite with it. The bartender asks if I want some Tito’s with it. No sir, just Sprite on the rocks.

Overall the waiters and waitresses are friendly, the vibes good and the foods good. I don’t need anything else. The fries come out first, they’re steak fries, wasn’t expecting that. Nice! It’s been a while since I’ve had some good steak fries. I also hear potato’s are high in potassium and other vitamins. I definitely need that for how much energy I’ve been burning.

After I finish my pizza it’s off to chill. I want to check out the bus schedule and see what the best time is to get to Vons, the Big 5 and somewhere to grab some post cards.

I really love sending post cards, I’ve always sent my self post cards from my world travels. They’re all in a collage frame randomly dumped in there in my bedroom. It probably goes back 20 years. If anyone wants one as I travel, send me your address and I’ll put you on the mailing list! Stacy from Banning, yours is in the mail! Thanks again for all your help!

I decide to skip the Big 5 today and just hit Vons. Which means I get on the Mountain Bus and take the 9 minute trip through Big Bear Lake. Vons is Vons like every other grocery store. People open mouth coughing, standing in the middle of the aisles in the way, cutting in line. Being completely normal in a miserable civilization. It makes me say grab your stuff and get back into the woods buddy. Natures scary as fuck, but it makes more sense on why.

After I check out with my stuff and head out for the bus stop. I wait maybe ten minutes and say screw it I’ll walk. It’s only 1.3 miles, as I walk the distance in 15$ sandals I stop at dollar tree, Walgreens, McDonalds for some salt and pepper packets and then Taco Bell for some sauces.

When I get back to my room I finish off a Caesar salad I grabbed on the way back also. It was a baffling display of a Caesar to be honest. They put tomato’s and pasta on a Caesar salad. Mad? Meeh, Confused? Absolutely.

I toss on some tv and get ready for bed. Tomorrow AM I finish up my errands and meet back up with Seven. He’s a day behind.

I wake up and skip the bus and walk the mile the Big 5. It says they open at 10 but it’s 9:15AM and I walked right in. The lights still semi off but I got my shopping done. Awesome! This is how it should always be. Smooooth sailing.

After the Big Five I meet Seven out front and it’s off for some lunch. For a tall skinny kid he can put some chow down. Since we’re still in SoCal I think, Mexican it is. Start it off with some chips and a do it your self salsa bar. Tacos and fajitas afterwards and a nice margarita to wash it down.

We do a 3 day resupply and discuss how we’re going to navigate the 100 miles of fire closures. Winging it is our plan. I jump on Facebook and start looking for someone to give us a ride back to trail. Tim responds and says I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Perfect for us.

As I leave Big Bear Lake the sign tells me “Well, come back!” And I don’t know when but I’ll definitely be back to Big Bear for sure. Maybe next time it’ll be to go skiing for a long weekend.

Seven and I wake up around 6AM and raid the breakfast downstairs. We originally planned to stick around until checkout time but were both up awake and ready to go.

One last shower, gear pack and make sure all my food fits inside my bag. We call an uber to drop us off back at the highway. It’s looking like a short day, we’re only shooting for 12 miles with the heat.

We get dropped off after a 15 minute uber ride. The driver thinks we are insane. “I ride dirt bikes out there, it’s hot as hell.” He says. Without even getting out of the car I believe him. As we get out of the car Seven snaps his hip belt strap. Ugh that’s bad luck, quick problem solving and there’s a solution to get us through this stretch.

We start walking through the rolling hills and make our way into the Mesa Wind Project. Looks like a pretty cool spot to work. Definitely beats a cubicle.

Warning signs everywhere for flying debri and electrical hazards. I plan on just walking, if something goes boom I’m going to keep on walking.

I look for water or any signs of life but there’s no one to be found. The water looks to be a 250 gallon drum of automatic transmission fluid. If I need transmission fluid I’ll ask my dad, guy owned the first transmission repair shop in New England for 50 something years. Transmission fluids a smell I’ll never forget. I’d pay big money for a gallon of Sprite right now though.

We head on, it’s 5 miles to Whitewater Preserve where we know there will be water. Seven pulls off ahead, maybe a mile, kids an absolute beast in the heat. The next 4 miles are uphill, I’m sucking wind, sweating and looking forward to the creek. Don’t want to get my feet wet but want to wet my head and shirt.

White water preserve was absolutely beautiful. It’s a .5 miles detour off of the PCT but so worth it.

I tried to submerge my sleep pad to locate a hole and couldn’t. I need a new one asap. It’s now 4 days I’ve been sleeping on hard ground or cold snow.

Once done we hit the creek bed again and we realize how popular of a day hike destination this is. We can smell the clean clothes and sunblock people have on. The water is colored blueish white and full of silt. I make my sleeve into a make shift pre filter to not clog my actual filter.

The waters nice and cold, not as cold as at icy San Jacinto but not warm. I filter 3 liters and we enjoy a quick break. After getting water we both say the next flat suitable campsite we’re calling it a night. Ridiculously early.

We arrive, I pitch my tent and have a seat.

Seven breaks his tent poles when setting up his tent. He got a pre release Durston X-Dome, it’s actually a really nice tent. Dan Durston the owner told everyone who pre bought that their carbon poles are possibly defective. Problems with the manufacturing. As a manufacturing director, I know that shit happens. How Dan handled it was impressive and the correct way. He reached out to Seven and told him he may have problems. He shipped out a new set of poles to him at Big Bear and expedited shipping knowing he was on the PCT. Dan’s hiked the PCT so he knows exactly what we’re dealing with. A hiker first business second.

That is absolutely amazing customer service. I’ve been debating swapping my Duplex for a X Mid 1 and that type of care will probably make me. As much as I love my Duplex, I’m 5’8” and don’t “need” a 2 person tent. Being able to drop a smaller platform and weight is appealing to me.

If you’re looking for your first tent. Look into the X Dome or X Mid.

http://www.durstongear.com

Dan any chances you want to send an X Mid my way? I’ll put it to damn good use.

After an hour of problem solving, we want to wait for the carbon fiber to “cool down.” So he pitches his tent with trekking poles. I give him endless credit, this kid can wing it, and I think that’s one reason why him and I get along great. Problem solvers, no reason to cry, huff or puff, figure it out… If you have to let off steam sure let the expletives fly. I’ll drop some with ya. But then think it through, clear and rationally. Especially on a night that’s forecasted 50MPH wind gusts.

We had no problems at all. It was a tough day on our gear but being handy helps. The next few days are rolling fields and of course some more uphill as we enter Big Bear area. I’ll be heading to Big Bear Lake. That’s where I’ll be taking a few days off to wait for some new gear to get delivered and my feet to heal up. Huge thanks to my parents for dealing with USPS in Medford and keeping their cool. The post office in Medford square is literally the worst one I’ve ever dealt with.

I decide to take a zero day today and enjoy some down time. As much as I want to keep moving today I need to prioritize rest and recovery. I am old and washed up after all. Body wise I feel pretty good, my muscles are in shape. Feet wise blisters are a problem. The sand gets in everywhere and just rubs me raw. I definitely need to pick up some gaiters soon.

I start my day off by sleeping in and waking up around 6:15AM and going downstairs to do my laundry, there’s no one there. Perfect!

As I dump my laundry into the washer and just run everything on cold I head over to the continental breakfast in my boxer shorts and raincoat to enjoy some eggs, sausage, bacon and 2 cinnamon buns. I’m the second person here, BP beat me to the breakfast.

I raid the kitchen for some salt and pepper packets and come up empty, honey, grape jam and peanut butter is there in excess though. This stuff will come in handy tomorrow morning back on trail. I envision a nice breakfast tortilla with jam honey and pb. Mmm some good fresh Mexican tortillas have been all over my radar lately, and with how many I’ve eaten in 2025 it makes me think of someone back home who actually makes them.

Best of luck with your marathon next month!

I finish my breakfast and head up stairs to shower and get ready to go run errands. Town days go by fast, I need to go to the Big 5 and get a new gas can, sandals and to see if they have anything to patch my air pad. I’ve been sleeping on the hard frozen snow for 3 nights now as my pads been deflating. I initially popped my pad 3 years ago on my first trip to Havasupai. I patched it then and it’s held since, even though I felt I did a good job. It’s clear a temporary patch won’t/didn’t last forever. I might swap it for something more insulated in Big Bear. We will see.

At 10 AM we head out, first it’s Big 5, it’s only 7 minutes away, I grab sandals and hand warmers for 15$ and head out, I shipped my crocs home from CLEEF because I didn’t want to carry them. My blisters really don’t want to be inside my shoes, so sandals for camp it is. Definitely not ultralight.

My next stop Walmart. At home, uuuuuggggh I absolutely hate Walmart. After years of going to the Tilton NH Walmart I’d rather shop anywhere else even though they do have everything you need. So almost a full resupply of food while I’m here and I get more stuff for my blister. Tape, gauze, and neosporin, the bare minimum. It’s just skin.

After Walmart Bp as pilot and me navigating it’s a maze of a parking lot to drive over to Taco Bell for lunch. I haven’t had Taco Bell in literally over 15 years, I just wanted to get some sauce packets to maybe spice up my ramen noodles on trail. But while I’m there I smash some tacos and some other trash. I also got a frozen Baja blast and crushed it. Me gusta.

Taco Bell actually hit the spot, the Baja blast was even better. It’s 3 miles to the green store to pick up that resupply, it had the weirdest parking lot design I’ve ever seen, and then back to the hotel to pop my blisters and chill.

After some poking and popping I head out to the parking lot to lay out my tyvek and dry it out. I scroll FarOut and semi plan my next 5 days of walking. I thought they’d be easy miles coming up but I guess not. Uphill let’s go!

I hit the US post office anyways with Seven and we both mail our ice axes forward to Wrightwood. I also shipped home my Doomswell hat. I grabbed my Melin from my shoe package in PVC because it’s “water resistant.” After over a decade of wearing this bad boy it’s time to retire it. I should throw it out but for the 6$ it can head back home and wait for me to get there.

If anyone needs a quality surfboard check em out.

http://www.doomswell.com

After the post office it’s off to the liquor store and the market across from the hotel. They have an amazing Hispanic food selection and I’ve been in love with all the choices since I’ve been in so cal. Tajin peach rings? Who knew…And the tacos. Ooooh the tacos.

After grabbing some new snacks inside for the trail and some tacos outside off the truck. Tres por favor. it’s back to the hotel to pack it all up, in my food bag and my stomach.

As Im packing up my belongings Seven’s playing chess on his phone, he says he wants to order Chinese food. Google search says the place in town is called “Wall Chinese Food.” Alright then let’s send it. We order up the usual, chicken fried rice, sweet and sour pork, lo mein and some spring rolls.

After dinner it’s one last double pack and then off to bed early. My plan tomorrow is to stay till 10AM when I need to check out, say good bye to my trail friends here as they all go separate ways for a bit and then take an easy day on trail. Starting in the mid day heat and wind as I move through the Mesa wind farm. It’s looking like a few days to Big Bear and the weather is looking variable.

Instead of getting up at 3AM, I wake up at 6:30AM, take my time getting ready. Today’s goal is to get to the I-10 highway underpass. It’s an area where there is usually water caches, a nice wall to sign and then I can grab a hitch hike into either Cabazon or Banning.

I’m currently at mile 190 and I-10 is mile 209.5. Im going to have to hustle to get there. If the terrain is like the last few days I’m not sure it’ll happen.

I start off up and down up and down on small little detours around trees and bushes. I come up to the first ridge, it’s still covered in snow. Microspikes still on, I get stomping. I first kick to see the ice pack, my foot sinks straight in. Ok, now I know what I’m dealing with.

The elevation gain is mostly downhill today from the map. I’ll be starting at around 9,000’ elevation and dropping down to 1,800 by the time I’m done. My body feels good, mind ready for the day and my desire to hit Mexican food later tonight strong.

After today this breaks up my trail family, Wolf Slayers taking a week off to hit Joshua tree with their girlfriend. They are staying at a SICK air b n b. The night sky is something I want to see from there. Seven and I are both jealous of that.

Blueprints leaving California and heading home to prep for their hike. Seven wants to push on and get through the desert this week. He’s planning on taking time off in a few weeks to hike with his friend Sprite who starts their thru hike at the end of March.

I plan on taking a zero day in Banning and healing up my blister and sitting out todays heat. It’s currently 92°F. That’s really the only issue or need I have right now.

Craig went home to Venice beach to heal up and will be back to get to Big Bear. He’s got a cabin there near the lake and we hear it’s pretty fresh. Dirk and Anita (Feather) that I met in Julian, and Renaissance who I cowboy camped in the chicken coup at Little Bears are now 3 or 4 days ahead of me. (Hopefully I can get reliable status reports on water info now)

It’s a sad time. The people I’ve been hiking with for 15 days going our separate ways. Ultimately I think it’s good thing. As much as we all have loved the time together and become super tight we all also want some more alone time. We want the solo struggle for a bit, don’t get me wrong San Jacinto was a team sport. But now that’s we’re past that it’s time to gain some self confidence on less tough terrain before we get to the sierras. And the sierras will definitely be a team sport again.

Anyways the downhill today’s 19 miles, two water sources one of which is reliable at mile 15. The snow luckily ends after the first two miles and it’s back to smooth sailing on dirt path.

My feet, shoes and socks all soaked. Today’s a day I’m going to wreck my feet even worse. I remember my buddies Dobbins advice. No matter what I ask him about. Dude my girlfriend dumped me, dude I have the flu, dude I missed my flight…. Change your socks, drink water, ibuprofen.

I set an alarm for noon, I shall take a break and change my socks no matter what. Also drink some water.

Before noon I hit the mile 200 post. This one wasn’t as exciting to me as 100 for some reason. At 100 I was electric, tears in my eyes as I passed it. The 200 sign was knocked down and I almost missed that it even said 200 on the side.

Noon comes and my phone goes off as I’m at the water source. I spend 20 minutes cleaning my water filter that taste like rice water and decide I’m too antsy to stay there. It’s a town day, clean it there I say. And it’s in the direct sunlight with bees everywhere. Honey bees, but still annoying flying around me buzzing.

I say I’m going to push on for shade. I walk another mile up the trail and don’t find any, I say screw it up and post up on a rock. I take my shoes and socks off and air out my feet. It’s too late at this point they were toast yesterday. With 4ish miles left to go I make my self some lunch, enjoy some sun on my shoulders and since I have cell service for the first time in days I text my friends back home. Most of them just asking “You alive?”

As I’m packing up to leave Seven walks the corner. “What are you doing bud?” Chilling, burning time and just smoldering in the sun. Let’s get a move on and get to i10.

The rest of the trail down was smooth sailing but just hot. Hotter than I’d like. My water was hard to swallow as it tasted so badly. I loaded it up with flavoring and it’s still gross. We came down from 9000’ where the air was crisp and cool, now into the dry dusty hot desert. We follow along a rusty irrigation pipe knowing at the end of it is our last source of water. Multiple signs saying non potable. My rule of thumb, filter everything. We fill up and filter and start the two mile road walk towards the highway.

As we get half way there we see what is probably my favorite house so far. So unique. Cant even see it.

After that quick break we reach the highway underpass we sign the board and scratch our names and dates on it. From the underpass we jump a ride with our buddy Bp to Banning where we checked into the Holiday Inn. They treat me like a king here being an IHG platinum member, I’ve been burning points for town days as I still have some from when I traveled a ton. It feels good to fully dry everything out, and shower. At 6:30 we go to diner for some amazing Mexican food and everyone else drinks huge margaritas!

Tomorrow we do a full resupply at Walmart, hit a gear store to see if I can get some patches for my sleeping pad and then get back onto the trail into the wind farms.