Jacob got up early on Friday morning and met me at Kennedy Meadows North before 10 am. He had looked at the weather forecast and knew there were storms in our future starting that afternoon so as soon as he got there, we went for a quick hike. Not knowing the area very well, we hiked up the PCT for a few miles and I got a preview of what was in store for me. We had a picnic lunch on some rocks and could see the clouds moving in so we headed back. It started raining as we reached the car so we took a drive down the mountain, looking for a dry place to hang out. We drove to Angel’s camp, which was supposed to be hot and sunny but it was neither so after stopping in the city of Sonora, we headed back up the mountain and found a campground to stay at. We had great timing that day because we ate dinner and set up camp before it rained that night.
On Saturday we hiked around all morning and into the afternoon while it was sunny.

In the afternoon there was a huge thunderstorm and we huddled in the tent reading stories for several hours. The thunder really scared Bishop and he was shaking with each loud crack. But the storm passed and we were able to cook dinner before it started to rain again.
I had been feeling like I was losing momentum on the trail after so many days off so Jacob and I parted company early Sunday morning so I could get some miles in. It was a beautiful day and I started by hiking through several miles of snow. However, this was the last of the large snow sections because in a few miles I dropped below 10,000 feet and won’t reach that elevation for the rest of the hike.
During the day I passed quite a few hikers and it felt good to be regaining my place in the pack. I also saw a lot of southbound thru hikers who bypassed the Sierras and were heading back to where they left off. I saw a few people I had not seen since the first week on the trail and it was good to reconnect with them.
It was also incredibly beautiful and sunny and warm all day.

In the next few days I met a lot of new people and hiked with several of them for a day or two. Some of these people also took time off when the weather was bad in the sierras but others started a week after I did and missed the storms. I even met a kid (21 year old) who lives three blocks from me in Berkeley!! He walks pass my house to go to Bart all the time. What a small world!

On June 9 I got to Echo Lakes resort by mid morning and who do I see as I come down the trail? Horizon!! It had been weeks since I’d left him and Merkel at our snowy campsite just north of Muir pass and it was a joyous reunion. He had just spent a few days in Truckee with his dad and was just getting back on the trail. As we hiked through Desolation Wilderness, it was great catching up with him and hearing all of his adventures from the past few weeks. We also watched the skies as thunderclouds rolled in; a rare storm was coming up from Mexico and was predicted to bring a lot of rain to our area in the next two days. Listening to his stories and sharing my own made the time fly and before we knew it, we had covered 25 miles and caught up with Merkel and her mom!

It was so fantastic to be with Merkel and Horizon again! We had walked a lot of miles together and shared many adventures and I had been missing them in the previous two weeks. It was also wonderful to meet Mama Merkel, whom I had heard much about. Jacob had given her a ride from our house to Yosemite and it was nice to complete the circle of connections.
The four of us sat on some rocks and had dinner while we chatted and caught up. As it was getting dark, it started to rain and Horizon and I quickly set up our tents and we all dived into our shelters. We continued our conversation through the rain, not being able to see each other, until it was long past hiker midnight (I.e. 9 pm).
Everything was wet in the morning but it wasn’t actively raining which was nice. We had a leisurely morning then set off toward Truckee.
We hiked about ten miles as the fog and clouds rolled in. When we reached Barker pass, Horizon looked at the weather radar and we realized we were practically surrounded by the storm and it was only a matter of time until we got rained on. But we had an out: Merkel’s dad was meeting them in Truckee and they had access to a friend’s house from that night through the weekend. Horizon convinced us that we should walk from Barker pass to the road, then hitch from there to Truckee where we could get hot food and be warm and dry. After having a dance party underneath the outhouse awning, we agreed and set off.

We hiked down the road for several miles then caught a ride with a couple in a minivan for the last bit to the main road. From there we split into two groups to hitch to Truckee. We both got rides pretty quickly and within an hour we were eating Mexican food at a restaurant then grocery shopping. It hadn’t rained yet and we gave Horizon a hard time for being a wuss but the next day we talked to several hikers who got drenched in the same area so we were happy with our decision.
In the afternoon we hung out at the house, took showers, ate popcorn, and relaxed. Papa Merkel arrived in the evening and the five of us talked, ate pizza and watched part of a movie. It was a super fun and unexpected nero.

Jacob had to head home on Monday morning so I got an early start back on the trail on June 1. It was pretty flat leaving Tuolumne and I made good time. It was such easy going I ended up hiking 26 miles that day, including going over a 10,000′ pass.

I found a beautiful campsite next to a lake and enjoyed the solitude after a crowded weekend in the valley.

The next day I came upon Freedom Train, another thru hiker I have met several times. We hiked together for the next few days and he caught me up on the trail gossip and who was ahead of us and who was behind. After hiking by myself for so long, it was nice to have some company again.

There were so many river fords that getting your feet wet was unavoidable, but it was warm enough to wear shorts and our shoes dried quickly so it wasn’t so bad.

We also went through some gorgeous meadows that were like bogs. I have never experienced worse mosquitoes!! They were swarming around us and I spent more energy swatting them than hiking. It was awful for some time.

Away from the standing water, it was nice and easy going.

And on my two month anniversary of being on the trail, I passed the 1000 mile mark!!

It felt so great to know I had come so far. And then I realized that I still have 1,650 miles to go! I’m not even half way. I really need to pick up the pace, otherwise I’ll be on the trail until September.

On Thursday morning, with just 12 miles to go to Sonora pass, Freedom Train and I met another thru hiker named Seven (he has climbed all seven summits). Seven is also from Berkeley and we chatted a lot about the bay area while hiking. We climbed a series of switchbacks then hiked along a ridge going ever higher, until we were at nearly 11,000′. There the trail was covered and we spent some time route finding and picking our way along slowly.

Then suddenly we dropped down to the highway and were there. We got a ride in to Kennedy Meadows resort and arrived just before it started to rain. What good timing.

A south bound PCT hiker was there and he updated us on who was ahead and where. I had just missed Merkel and her mom who left that morning, but I’m sure I’ll catch up eventually.

I stayed the night in the dorm room as did Seven, but Freedom Train got back on the trail in the rain. Since it’s likely to thunderstorm every afternoon until Tuesday I’m sure I’ll get wet at some point, but if I can stay dry while waiting to meet Jacob, I will!

When I got to Tuolumne Meadows, I checked at the lodge to see if there were any rooms available in the valley that weekend. Jacob was meeting me on Friday night and I wanted to set up a place to stay. There were two rooms in all of the Yosemite valley lodging available for that night so I quickly booked one of them.

I walked down to the store next to pick up my resupply box and have a snack. I also found a park employee who was driving down to the valley and could give me a ride. We had a great conversation on the way down and swapped climbing and hiking stories.

The valley is like Disney world, compared to the remote places I had been. I was nearly overwhelmed by the number of people and cars.

Mostly, I desperately wanted a shower and to do laundry. I found some showers next to a pool and the towel attendant let me in for free, being a hiker himself and understanding the need to be clean. That was great. Next I made my way over to the laundry facility and washed all of my clothes. I felt way better and able to be in public then.

Once it for dark, I headed to the backpacker’s camp and shared a site with a couple from Canada biking up the west coast.

On Friday I had a relaxing day hanging out and people watching. I walked up to lower Yosemite falls and around the lodge area before checking into the room. It was a peaceful day and a great break after the High Sierras.

Jacob made it up that night, bringing with him bounty from our garden which we enjoyed for dinner sitting outside. It was lovely.

On Saturday Jacob and I hiked the Panorama trail, which starts at Happy Isles and goes by some waterfalls then up to glacier point for views of the valley then back down to the valley floor on the four mile trail. It’s about 16 miles long with a lot of climbing. We did this trail several years ago but both agreed that this time it was much easier. We even finished early enough to do a bit of climbing on a short wall near camp 4!

My feet have definitely expanded by half a shoe size because my climbing shoes were quite painful, but I managed to make it up a 5.8 and 5.10a which is pretty good considering it’s been months since I climbed. Jacob did the 10a and an 11a, which was super impressive.

We had planned on climbing one day but then I won the Half dome lottery, giving us permits to climb the cables on Sunday so we did that instead. Neither of us have ever climbed half dome and it was a great day hike. It’s 18 miles round trip with nearly 4,000′ of up, most of which is up the cables to the summit. Most of my pictures are on my camera, but here are a few.

It was an all day hike and after we got back, we had dinner in Curry village then drove up to Tuolumne Meadows where the campground had just opened the night before and we were able to get a spot.

It was absolutely the perfect weekend! Everything went our way and Lady Luck was on our side.

Something is wrong with this app and every time I write and save this post, it gets erased. This is the third time I’m writing this so it will be brief.

I left Merkel and Horizon and set off to find some hot springs that are just off the trail. First, I had to ford Evolution Creek which can be difficult but was only knee deep. But it was cold!! By the time I got to the other side, I felt like I had blocks of wood attached to my legs instead of feet. It took hours to feel my toes again.

Dropping into lower elevations means less snow but more water. Sometimes the trail and a river are indistinguishable.

I tried to find the hot springs by crossing a river on some logs then following a trail and cairns.

After searching for awhile I gave up and returned to the trail where I climbed a huge ridge and camped in the snow.

I went over several 11,000′ passes by myself which were easy by comparison to the other ones.

I got a lot of practice crossing rivers on narrow logs.

One day I stopped into Vermilion valley resort on Lake Edison, just to dry out my stuff and have a hot meal. The lake is extremely low.

I wished I was done with the snow but it wasn’t done with me. I still had several passes and lots of creek crossings.

A few days after VVR, I stopped into Red’s meadow just to see if they were open.

I had lunch at the restaurant where I chatted with a lovely couple about the trail. At the end of the meal, they bought me lunch, which was very sweet. I have met some of the most generous people on this journey.

The alpine lakes here are amazing and words can’t describe their beauty.

I saw a lot of JMT hikers in just a few days and it made me wish for more solitude.

I went over Donahue pass and entered Yosemite national park then walked down hill for 14 miles to Tuolumne Meadows.

After a week off the trail, I was back in Independence and ready to hike again. On Monday, May 18, Horizon, Merkel, and I got a ride up to the trailhead from the woman working at the motel. When we got up there it was cold and slightly hailing. But we put on our wet weather gear and set off. After a few minutes the hail stopped and we got to the top of Kearsarge pass in good time. We celebrated with hostess cupcakes. The fake orange flavor brought back some childhood memories.

We got down from Kearsarge and rejoined the PCT. In just two miles we had another 12,000′ pass to go over, Glen pass. The switchbacks leading up to the pass were all covered in snow but I broke trail for everyone. At the top, the clouds were really low and we could hardly see anything. Then the wind picked up and it started to hail on the way down.

Horizon was leading the way and I was only a few hundred feet behind and yet I could hardly see his footprints. We were all glad to get off the pass and for the wind to calm down. It even cleared up for a few hours and we could see a bit.

Around 10,000′ there was less snow which made walking a lot easier but there’s still a lot of water and many creek crossings.

The next day was nice and sunny, although cold. I got an earlier start than the others and made my way up to Pinchot pass pretty easily. There were some warm rocks at the top and I waited for Horizon and Merkel for an hour there.

Pinchot pass is also over 12,000′ but the angle of the pass left almost no snow on the south side and hardly any on the north side, making it the easiest one to go over. But there was still route finding and scrambling involved and after coming down none of us felt up to going over another pass that day.

Sadly, after Tuesday the foul weather came back and we had snow showers every afternoon. The mornings were usually sunny but by lunchtime the clouds would roll in and we would have to deal with the snow on the ground and from the sky.

On Wednesday, we went over Mather pass which was not too bad since we had stayed above 10,000′ the night before and only had to climb 1,500′.

On the north side of Mather, we dropped low enough to get back to the land of the living and we walked through a grove of amazingly tall trees. What a sight!

The next day we had the last big pass to go over, Muir pass. We had heard it has a long slow approach so we thought it would be easier. Boy, were we wrong! We slogged through the snow for hours, with Horizon and I taking turns breaking trail since there were only faint footprints to follow. It was slow and hard work. At times we were going less than one mile per hour and it felt like we were at a stand still. But when we made it to the pass we were welcomed by a nice stone hut built in the 1930s.

After a snack, we started heading down but the weather changed quickly and we retreated back to the hut for an hour to let the snow pass. As soon as the wind let up, we made a break for it and got down off the pass before it really started snowing in the afternoon.

The poor weather and constant cold, wet feet put quite a damper on our moods. It was much harder to get up in the mornings knowing that we might not see much and would be uncomfortable. Horizon was feeling especially down so I wasn’t too surprised the next day when he was still in his tent at 8 am. I had taken my time packing up that morning but I was ready to go by then so I set off on my own, thinking I would see them again that night. I haven’t seen Merkel or horizon since.

Fox Trot and I left Independence on Monday morning, getting a ride to the Onion Valley trailhead from the motel owner’s son. We didn’t start hiking until almost noon, but it wasn’t too hot. We had a five mile uphill climb to the top of Kearsage pass, gaining 2500′ in elevation. It took us two hours to get to the pass and it was way harder now that I was carrying food for ten days.

Shortly after rejoining the PCT, we encountered a hiker, Beer Bear, whom we had seen getting dropped off at the trailhead the day before. We asked him what he was doing and he said the trail over Glen pass looked too hard and that he was going back into town since a storm was moving in.

What he described made us start to rethink our plan, but we decided to check it out for ourselves. In just a few miles we got to the snow field on the steep hillside that he described and saw several sets of footprints going out halfway then turning back. We dropped our packs and scrambled around the snowfield to get a better idea of what was ahead. What we saw didn’t look great: we would have to scramble down a boulder field to get back to the small portion of the trail we could see, then hike through the snow, around a corner to see where the trail actually went. Since it was mid afternoon by that time, the snow was really soft and mushy and our progress would be slow. We spent a long time debating what we should do.

It wasn’t practical to try going over the pass that day, but we could camp near there and go over in the morning when the snow was no so soft. Then we looked at the maps to see what was coming up in the next few days. We had five 12,000′ passes and one 11,000′ pass in the next 85 miles before we got to the next resupply place. According to the weather forecast, a big storm was going to move in on Thursday and bring 12-18″ of snow to the elevations above 10,000′. We would be above 10,000′ that whole time.

The thought of getting stuck out in the Sierras in a snowstorm, days from any protection, sounded unappealing. At best, we would hole up in our tents, waiting the storm out and hoping we didn’t run out of food. At worst, one or both of us could get hypothermia or frostbite and be in a very serious situation. After much debate, we decided the risks were not worth it and we decided to turn around and head back into town.

We made it most of the way back to the pass when we both started feeling tired so we decided to make camp and finish hiking out in the morning.

As we finished setting up camp, another hiker came up and we started chatting with him, asking where he was going. He (Dante) was on day one of a three week section hike and was heading into the high Sierras. We told him about what we saw at Glen Pass and the storm that was coming in and he decided to turn around as well.

The three of us camped together that night and hiked out, back over the pass the next day. We got a ride into Independence, then a hitch to Bishop which is a cool hiker/climber town 40 miles north on US 395. We got beds at the hostel in town and saw E-Train, the hiker we went over Forester Pass with.

That evening the four of us went to the new brewery in town, then we made dinner at the hostel. It was nice to have some space to socialize in and hang out, although I still went to bed at 9 pm.

The next day, Fox Trot made us all breakfast! Excellent pancakes and scrambled eggs for all and plenty of it.

Fox Trot, Dante, and I decided to head up to South Lake Tahoe to avoid most of the snow and cold weather that was coming in and we got a ride up to Lee Vining from a German guy who was staying at the hostel. At Lee Vining we split up to make hitching easier and Fox Trot and I waited a while to get a ride. A nice lady picked us up and took us all the way there, which was slightly out of her way.

By the time we got to South Lake Tahoe we were all tired and hungry so we met up at the Applebee’s and got some food. The three of us shared a cheap motel room that night, where I slept on the floor and Fox Trot slept in the closet.

On Wednesday, Fox Trot and I left Dante and moved to the Mellow Mountain Hostel. I had talked to Jacob a few days before and made plans to meet him there on Friday evening so I had a few days to kill.

The big storm was supposed to come through on Thursday and Friday, bringing 2-6″ of snow to South Lake. I waited the whole day for it to storm and it only sprinkled a bit in the afternoon but did snow about an inch over night. It all melted the next day.

There’s not much to do in town when the weather’s bad and you don’t have a car, so I mostly hung out, read and talked to Sarah. Fox Trot and I went to see Mad Max one day, which was ridiculous.

We heard from Horizon and Merkel and it sounded like most hikers were getting out of the mountains, so we didn’t feel bad for bailing.

On Friday night Jacob made it up with Bishop and we got a motel room for two nights. We had perfect timing because we were able to celebrate our 5 year anniversary together, near where we got married!

Saturday dawned bright, but the clouds rolled in during the morning. It wasn’t enough to dissuade us from going for a hike, so Jacob, Bishop, and I hiked part of the PCT neat Echo Lakes. I said goodbye to Fox Trot that day when we dropped him off at the outfitters. I probably won’t see him again.

After our hike, Jacob and I went out to dinner at a fancy Hawaiian fusion restaurant just across the street and I had a wonderful fish dinner. It was delicious.

The snow and rain that was forecasted for Thursday and Friday ended up not being as bad as predicted, and checking the conditions on My. Whitney it seemed like there was only minimal snowfall and warmer temps than expected. Based on the new information and the fact that most of the hikers I know were in Bishop, I decided to go back there on Sunday and get back on the trail where I left off instead of skipping ahead to Echo Lakes and coming back to the high Sierras after I finished the rest of the trail in July/August.

Jacob, Bishop and I drove down to Bishop this morning and met up with the hiker crew here. We had lunch with Horizon and Merkel, then Jacob headed home with Bishop. It was so awesome to see him and hopefully we will meet up again in two weekends.

Right now I am still in Bishop, getting ready to go to dinner. After that we will hitch back to Independence ad spend the night there. And with good weather I’ll be back on the trail tomorrow morning, after six days off!

Even though I’ve been antsy to get back on the trail, I know I made the right decision originally, based on the information I had. And I’m still ahead of my original schedule so it’s no big deal that I’ve taken this time off.

It was hard to leave Jacob, but there was a lot more trail to hike and after resting for two days, it was nice to head off again. Horizon, Merkel, and I were a fellowship again and were ready for anything. We climbed several hills and started getting into interesting landscapes.

We also passed the 25% mark!

Things turned slightly less desert-like and slightly more forested.

We hiked 30 miles that day and camped in a beautiful campground that was completely empty.
The next day I got up early and headed out before the other two were up. I hiked the 20 miles to Kennedy Meadows alone and encountered two snakes along the way, one a rattle snake directly on the trail.

Just before I got to town, I passed the 700 mile mark.

Kennedy Meadows is a small community at the southern end of the Sierras, and is one of the major resupply spots since the mountains are colder and hikers have to carry bear cans for much of the next 350 miles.
After taking two days off, I wasn’t expecting to see any of the hikers that Jacob and I fed at Walker Pass, but as I approached the general store, I heard someone call my name and I saw the whole crew there: Magic Man, Jolly, Fox Trot, Bigfoot, Tin Tin, Camel, Magoo, Magee, Kinetic and some other hikers I only knew from the trail registers: Mr. White, Barefoot, Monk, Cruise Control and others
Kennedy Meadows is like a vortex for hikers. The set up is nice with free camping, showers, laundry, and a place to charge your phone and it is hard to leave that for the cold mountains. We even had a fire in the evening and roasted marshmallows.

I had already done my resupply and gear changes at walker pass so I was ready to head out the next day. Horizon was waiting for a package and Merkel decided to take a zero, so I headed off with a group of young guys into the Sierras.
Finally, we left the desert! In the 20 miles we hiked that day, we gained 4,000 feet of elevation and camped near 10,000 feet.

The next morning, I woke up early and was packed up before most of the others were awake so I headed off by myself, thinking they would catch up later.
After just one day and night in the mountains, I was so glad for the following gear changes:
1) my 15 degree sleeping bag. It is so awesome and I would not be sleeping as well without it.
2) my new tent, which actually touches the ground and has a zipper. It protects me from the elements better than the tarp I was using.
3) my trekking poles, which have already saved me from tripping over rocks.

I hiked by myself for a few hours in the most beautiful country I had seen so far.

Everywhere I looked seemed to be an amazing vista.

After a few hours, Fox Trot caught up with me and we sort of hiked together. By sort of, I mean that he hikes faster than me and that I would catch up with him when he stopped to rest.
In the mid afternoon, it started to snow lightly and by 4 pm it was pretty consistent so Fox Trot and I decided to set up camp before it got worse. The other guys never caught up that day. It snowed the rest of the day and most of the night.
When I awoke the next morning, there was 3-4 inches of fresh powder on the ground. It was a winter wonderland.

I had Christmas songs stuck in my head all day.
But snow also makes your feet cold and wet when you are just wearing trail running shoes. My feet were cold and wet all day. Sometimes my fingers were numb too, but that came and went. Despite this, it was the best day yet on the trail because Fox Trot broke trail for me all day and I just had to follow in his footsteps.

Later that day we entered Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park, through which we would hike for the next 100 miles.

It is stunning here and these pictures can’t even begin to describe the beauty, so I won’t even attempt it with words.
After walking through snow for most of the day, we dropped low enough to find a campsite that was dry, which was a super bonus.
The next day was more of the same amazing mountains, with a bit less snow.

The day after that though, was the big time: Forester pass, which at 13,100 feet is the highest point on the PCT.
Above about 12,000 feet everything was snow covered and Fox Trot and I lost the trail several times. We got nearly a mile off trail up an incorrect valley before we corrected ourselves. And when we saw the pass, we thought there was no way that could be the correct one. We couldn’t see the trail at all and it looked like an impossible approach. But once we scrambled over some rocks we found the trail and we able to follow the switchbacks up. We only lost about three hours being lost, but that is all part of the adventure.

We finally made it to the top of the pass and celebrated by figuring a way down the other side.

My phone ran out of batteries so I don’t have any more photos easily available, but suffice it to say we couldn’t see the trail on the north side of the pass at all and ended up going straight down the mountain, post holing along the way. We had orientated ourselves while up high and knew where we had to go approximately but ended up taking a different route from the trail.
Finally, we found the trail again and pretty easily followed it for another 8 miles snow free. In the last mile we climbed up 1,000 feet again and called it a day; both of us were exhausted with the climbing and route finding.
And finally, today we hiked 7.5 miles, up 1,200 feet, over Kearsage pass, then down nearly 3,000 feet to Onion Valley where we got a ride to Independence, California, a small town on the East side of the Sierras.
Tomorrow we’ll headed back into the mountains and my adventures will continue. I probably won’t be able to post again for a few weeks, but I’ll be out there, eating miles for breakfast.

I hiked 86 miles in three days in order to meet Jacob at Walker Pass on a Friday. Luckily I had a few hours to rest before he got there because I was tired!
When he pulled up and got out of the car, Bishop went crazy and could hardly contain himself. That and the hug from Jacob made the previous three days worth it.
We camped at the campground that night and heard some hikers come in pretty late.
The next morning, Jacob performed some trail magic for Bigfoot, Tin Tin, Magic Man, Camel and the Jolly Green Giant by making blueberry pancakes for everyone, including homemade peanut butter and strawberries. It was amazing and the guys were talking about it days later.
I spent most of the morning switching out gear for the mountains and reorganizing things. By the time I was done, it was too hot to hike so we drove the road to a picnic area on the Kern river and hung out in the water and shade for most of the day. The river was cooling to my feet and hanging out with Jacob and Bishop was good for my soul.
We ended up getting a hotel in the town of Lake Isabella for the night and going out for Mexican for dinner. I was able to take a shower and wash some of my clothes which improved the way I felt a lot.

On Saturday morning we drove back to Walker Pass, ready to hike. Then we found Horizon and Merkel, who got there the night before. After chatting and catching up, we gave up on the hike and we all piled into the car to head for breakfast then the river.

It was an awesome weekend of hanging out and the two zero days really refreshed me. But on Monday morning, I had to say goodbye to Jacob and Mr. B again, which was hard. Fortunately as I get further north, it will be easier for Jacob to meet me, so I’ll see him again soon.

Horizon caught up with Merkel and me in Tehachapi, but our reunion was short lived because they decided to spend the next day in town while I had to move on in order to meet Jacob in a few days.
I got a ride back to the trail from another hiker who was just driving people around for a few days. He picked me up at 4:45 am and I was hiking by 5. There was a lo g uphill section that I wanted to get done before it got too hot. Also, there was no reliable water for 36 miles so I was carrying 6 liters of water. My pack was the heaviest it had ever been.

I met up with another hiker, named Willow, and we walked together for most of the day. The landscape wasn’t the prettiest, but there were a few surprises, including a small forest.

And mushrooms growing out of trees.

Sunrises and sunsets are always pretty, like this one.

That day I hiked 36 miles, my longest day on the trail yet! By the time I got to the spring and camp, I was exhausted but proud of my accomplishment. Dinner has rarely tasted so good.
The next day I hiked 30 miles.

Much of the area looks like this:

I don’t have much to say about these days because they were mostly long and boring and I was getting tires of the desert.

On the third day I hiked 20 miles and got to Walker Pass in mid-afternoon. Willow was there, getting picked up by his grandma and uncle and they shared some fresh fruit and cold water with me. It was great.

After leaving Acton, we soon came to the town of Agua Dolce, where we had breakfast. The town is sprawling and we walked through it for a hour or more. That afternoon it rained hard for hours and we were soaked.

Then we found some amazing trail magic, just as the rain stopped.

We hiked 31 miles that day to get to a trail angel’s house, hoping to dry off. We got to the main road into town just as it was getting dark and we attempted to hitch a ride with out head lamps on. Just as I thought it was not going to happen, a truck pulled over and picked us up. He knew where the Anderson’s lived and drove us directly there.
As he pulled away, we approached the front door and saw the sign that said they were at kick off and wouldn’t be back for four days!! Someone was watching TV in the living room but wouldn’t answer our knocking. It was 9 pm, we were all tired, and didn’t know where to sleep. We walked half a mile to the gas station, but the attendant was unhelpful. Finally, we asked a customer if he could drive us back to the ranger station, which was next to the trail. He was nice enough to do that and we all went to sleep emotionally exhausted.

But a good night’s sleep fixes most things and the next day we were back on the trail. Or rather the road, because there was another trail closure due to fire. We walked 20 miles along several roads to get to Hiker Town, a privately owned place that is hiker friendly, for a price.

At Hiker Town, Merkel and I left Horizon, who was waiting for a package. The two of us met up with two other guys and hiked along the aqueduct and through several wind farms.

Two days out of Hiker Town, we made it to Tehachapi by getting a ride into town from a trail angel. There was a great German bakery that had a chalkboard wall for hikers to leave a message. We wrote a limerick.

Wrightwood is a small town, not too far from San Bernardino and LA. It has the reputation of being the most hiker friendly town and it has certainly lived up to it’s name. We met up with Cameron at the hardware store, which is in the middle of town, and the three of us headed to breakfast. After filling up on omelets, pancakes, and generally as much food as we could handle, we met up with Horizon and Merkel and the five of us went to pick up our packages at the hardware store and post office. While hanging outside of the hardware store, trying to figure out a plan for the day, a lady came up and asked us if we needed a place to stay for the night. She was willing to host all five of us, and we couldn’t say no. All she asked is that we help her move a few pieces of furniture and give her some time to clean things up a bit. Cameron had gotten a ride into town with a guy named Brett and he came to check on us during this exchange and he offered to drive us to the lady’s place whenever we wanted to. We had a few hours to kill so we went to the library for a bit, then in the mid-afternoon we got pizza.

True to his word, Brett drove us to Gail’s house when we called him. We ended up at a two story log cabin on the edge of town for the evening. Gail was very nice and had bought us snacks and drinks, although we were too full to eat much. We passed a nice evening hanging out, sorting through our food and doing some laundry. Although Gail was very nice, the situation was a little bit strange so the next morning (after sleeping in for the first time!), we all headed out and walked into town for breakfast.

The weather forecast was calling for rain in the afternoon so we delayed leaving town until we had a better idea of what would actually happen. While at breakfast, Brett stopped by and said we could hang out at his place during the day if we wanted to. When we heard a crack of thunder in the not too far distance, our decision was made: we were taking our first full zero in Wrightwood. (A “zero” is a day when you do not hike or make forward progress on the trail).

We ended up spending the day watching movies, hanging out at the library, and eating. Brett made us dinner and let us all spend the night at his house when it rained for a few hours in the afternoon. He is by far the nicest guy we have met on the trail. He even made breakfast for us the next day (at 5 am!) and drove the five of us back to the trail. He really went above and beyond the call of a trail angel and we’ll all remember him for it.

(I wrote this post a while ago but for some reason it is not syncing with my phone so I cannot add pictures at this time. I will try to fix this later if possible, but I don’t know if it will work.)

I left Big Bear City with Horizon and Merkel. Captain Deadweight decided to spend the night at the hostel in town so our group of four shrunk to three. Originally we were just going to hike a few miles down the trail and then camp, but Horizon wanted to go a bit further to a creek to spend the night so we ended up hiking through the twilight hours and into the time when a headlamp is needed to see. I thought Horizon was ahead of me, and after it was dark for some time I decided to set up camp near a dilapidated picnic table. A few text messages revealed that I had gotten ahead of him and Merkel when he pulled off the trail, so I camped alone for the first time and had a nice time chatting with Jacob then falling asleep watching the stars.

I awoke early the next morning and hiked by myself the entire day. I was feeling good and “ate some miles for breakfast” as we joke on the trail. I encountered my first Joshua trees on the PCT and also hiked across a huge rock slide that seemed like a ankle twister.

I passed through a horse camp with one lone hiker just breaking camp and I chatted with him for a while. He’s called Papa Bear and this is his third time hiking the trail. He’s retired and lives in Carson City, Nevada most of the year (when he’s not hiking). He said he was headed to the hot springs that day and asked me if I was headed there too. I thought it was a bit too far for one day, but said that I would see him there the day after.

The morning took me through some pine trees which were nice, but the afternoon brought me to an old fire zone which was bare and deserted.

I was feeling a bit lonely so when I came upon a small river, I hung out there for a few hours, thinking that one of my friends would catch up. It was lovely to wash my feet and legs in the cold mountain water and to get the dust out of my socks. I had lunch then read for nearly two hours but no one approached. Finally I decided to carry on alone and continued my hike.

I contoured along on the very narrow trail, several hundred feet above the valley floor. Looking down on the rocks along the river was very scenic, but could have given someone a sense of vertigo. It was a long way down and one misstep could result in a very long fall.

The long valley seemed never ending. I hiked up it for most of the afternoon and early evening. I didn’t see many good places to camp and it seemed too difficult to get down to the river where there were nice sandy sites so I continued on, knowing that the trail would provide a place to sleep when I needed it.

Just when I was on the verge of losing hope of finding a place during the day, and not wanting to hike on the narrow trail at night, I spied a small flat spot up a gully and made camp for the night.

In the past few days I have been much better about setting up my dinner to re-hydrate for an hour or more (instead of 15 minutes) and it has really made a difference in the quality of my meals. I also had a lot of wonderful goodies from my care package from Aunt Patty and Uncle Hank to enjoy and I gorged myself on several sweet things.

I was only four miles from the hot springs and made it there before breakfast. I was so glad that I didn’t push through to there the night before because shortly after I arrived, several park officials came through and ticketed everyone they saw in a sleeping bag. It’s illegal to sleep within a mile of the hot springs but a lot of people ignore that rule and camp out there anyway. Several of them were in for a rude awakening that day. I talked to a local guy who said that the patrol usually only comes out on the weekend (it was a Saturday) when it gets really crowded to prevent the place from getting too trashed.

I enjoyed a short soak in a pool that had been made to collect the hot water, but with the hot sun shining down it soon became too warm. After an hour or so, Horizon, the Jolly Green Giant, and Merkel caught up and we were reunited again. It was great to see them and hear about their adventures from the past few days so I hiked with them the rest of the day and enjoyed the company.

After leaving the hot springs, we contoured down another valley with a large river flowing in the bottom and were amazed at the number of people we saw. I had forgotten that it was a Saturday and apparently we had discovered where everyone goes to cool off in the spring and summer. We saw entire families trudging uphill, carrying coolers, grills, babies, and all sorts of paraphernalia, ready to enjoy the day at the river where the cold water was free and the sun was blocked by the trees.

We avoided the hordes (i.e. any group of more than ten people) by continuing on past a large dam and stopping in the shade near a different creek for lunch.

While we were relaxing and letting our dusty socks air dry, another hiker came up and chatted with us for a bit. Cameron has been hiking for seven weeks and started in New Mexico then walked across Arizona and hooked up with the PCT in Big Bear City. He’s going to Canada then will hike to the northern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail and hike back to where he started. He’s already done the PCT 1.3 times and the AT as well. He’s 22. He was great to talk to, but left us after just a short break.

In the afternoon we had another strange sighting: a huge wall made of stone. It was so bizarre and out in the middle of nowhere that I was flabbergasted as to it’s purpose until a few hours later when we had hiked around to it’s other side and we discovered that it was a dam, creating a large lake.

The lake was a beautiful sight after so much dry and dusty ground. The trail didn’t actually take us down to the lake shore, but watching the wind create tiny white caps and seeing the fishermen along the shore was great.

That night the four of us (Horizon, Merkel, Jolly, and myself) camped in an actual campground where we could eat at a picnic table and use a restroom with flush toilets and running water. Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest difference.

The next day we started climbing up through the mountains and made it to Cajon pass, where there is a McDonald’s just 0.4 miles from the trail. We had made it to mile 342, which is half way through the desert!

When we got there we found Cameron, whom we had met the day before, and some other hikers. We all ordered food and the Jolly Green Giant got a triple cheese burger and 40 McNuggets. He already has the hiker hunger and eats a lot, although sometimes I suspect that he does things like this for the attention.

After Cajon pass there is a 25 mile section with no water and we had a long and dusty climb so we hung out at McDonald’s for several hours then hung out in the shade tree in the parking lot for a few more hours. Finally, around 4:30 pm when the worst of the heat was over, we headed off. We passed under I-15 (through a tube) then across a large valley filled with sandstone and small brush.

Once we reached the other side of the valley, we started to climb. Our goal was to hike another 12-14 miles, but it was consistent uphill the entire time and after hiking for an hour in the dark, we were all pretty tired. At 9 pm, Horizon, who was in the lead, found a place big enough for the four of us and we all happily stopped for the night. Our campsite was not the flattest place, but it was comfortable and we all slept hard until sunrise.

Even after over eight miles that afternoon and gaining several thousand feet of elevation, we had a long way up to climb. I got an early start the next day and hiked with Jolly throughout the morning as we hiked through switchback after switchback, slowly making our way through the mountains. We had almost 16 miles to go to get to Highway 2 and a hitch into the town of Wrightwood and the morning really dragged for me. The scenery was very pretty with the mountains in the distance and a cool wind blowing us on, but I needed some dance music to get me through some of it. We passed into the Angeles National forest and got to an elevation high enough for a few patches of snow to linger. Jolly and I left a message for Horizon and Merkel, who were behind us.

We also came to the edge of a ski run and hiked beneath one of the lifts. A blue run near there is called “the crest trail”.

When we finally got to the highway I wondered how difficult it would be to get a lift into town since we didn’t see any cars in either direction for five minutes, but then the first truck going our way stopped and picked us up. Jolly and I got a lift into Wrightwood from a very nice older man and his dog. By the end of this trip I will have a lot of karma to pay forward!

Its been a while since I’ve been able to write and a lot has happened. I can only cover the highlights now, with a lot of pictures. So here’s the recap: immediately after we left Wrightwood, we climbed up Mt. Baden-powell. There was a lot of fog in the valleys which was stunning. We climbed nearly 3000 feet in 4 miles. It was cold and windy at the summit and the clouds were moving in fast.

This super old tree was near the summit.

While we were coming down, it started to hail. Merkel, Jolly and I took cover under the awning of an outhouse. Horizon took a nap under a tree.

The next day we had to walk along the road because of the endangered species trail closure (there is an endangered frog in the area). Luckily the road sees very little traffic.

There were several foggy days and we even got a bit of rain.

There was also a lot of poodle dog bush, which can cause a rash worse than poison oak. In the pass there was a detour around the worst of it, but some volunteers cleared a lot of it out.

There are some stunning views along the trail.

And some crazy rock formations.

The Acton KOA is very close to the trail and we treated ourselves to some ice cream while we sorted out our resupply boxes. But it’s right next to a busy, loud road so we headed off into the woods to sleep.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to update my blog and some memories are already getting a bit confused so the accuracy of the following timeline is not very high.

After leaving Mission Creek, the terrain became less interesting; we were mostly hiking through moderately sized hills that were covered with small scrub but occasionally the desert will surprise you with flowers, like the following:

During these sections, hikers sometimes get bored and decorate the trail in creative ways.

Along the way, I met “the Family”. They are parents and their two children who are through hiking the PCT. They are from far Northern California and this is their third attempt at the thru hike. Their daughter just finished high school and their son is 12. Three years ago, when the son was 9, they hiked 600 miles of the trail but had to stop for several reasons. It was absolutely amazing to talk to them and hear about how excited the kids are to be hiking for so many months. Very inspiring, but it also sounds incredibly difficult on so many levels.

There are some very strange sightings every once in a while. For instance, in one place there is a privately owned, large animal center, right on the trail. I heard various stories about the history of the place, but either the owner keeps the animals and rents them out to Hollywood when a movie needs them (think: tigers in Gladiator) or the owner takes in animals after they are no longer capable of working in the movies. Either way, the small cages that I saw were depressing, especially after I realized that a grizzly bear was in one of them.

But some other sights are absolutely amazing. For instance, one evening I was coming down a hill, wishing I was already in camp when I came upon a dumpster with awesome artwork on it and a couch! The dumpster was stocked with hiker fare: water, band-aids, toiletries, peanuts, and spaghetti (in case of emergency only) and was true tail magic. I sat alone on the couch for half an hour, enjoying some peanuts and looking up into the sky. It was a small slice of heaven.

After the couch, I made it to a camp that was filled with hikers. I had hiked most of my 27 miles that day alone and it was nice to have people to chat with while I stretched and ate dinner. I even discovered that the Jolly Green Giant, Magic Man and Fox Trot were camped there as well! We had caught up with them. Most of the other hikers had started a few days before us and it felt good to be catching up with them.

That night it was cold sleeping in the small valley. I had all of my layers on and woke several times during the night, shivering. In the morning I found my water bottles were frozen solid! It was by far the coldest night on the trail yet, but I survived and only needed to hike in my long underwear for an hour the next morning.

We weren’t too far from the towns of Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake and it was just a short (10 mile hike) to the road. We ended up as a group of six hikers on the highway, waiting for a ride, which can be very difficult to manage since no one wants to pick up that many people, but we got really lucky when a guy with a huge truck came by and managed to fit us all inside.

After a large breakfast at the Grizzly Manor Cafe in Big Bear Lake, we tried to run our errands and encountered some problems. The towns are five miles apart and very spread out so without a car, it is very difficult to get around. We ended up calling the trail angel who was holding my and Horizon’s resupply boxes and he was kind enough to pick us up and drive us to several places.

The vibe at Papa Smurf’s and Mountain Momma’s was a bit strange, although their son was very nice, and our original plan of spending the night there changed pretty quickly. Instead of hanging out for a while, we got our chores done as soon as possible and got back on the trail. I did, however, receive my first care package in addition to my own resupply box and was happy to have some extra goodies in my food supply for the next few days.

Immediately after Snow Creek, we had to cross a wide, hot valley then pass under I-10. Knowing how hot it got during the day, we decided to do this stretch early in the morning, so we set the alarm clocks for 4:30 am! We left Tracker and Lance’s place at 5:15 and hiked by headlamp for half an hour up a dry creek bed.

We passed under I-10 where there was a water, soda and beer cache as well as a trail register. We wrote the following limerick:

We walk under road and rail

hoping our legs don’t fail

too early for beer, but glad that it’s here

now time to get back on the trail!

After three miles we came to the well know trail angels Ziggy and the Bear. They have been hosting hikers for years and we stopped in for a few minutes to see what it was like. Although it was already 8:30, we were surprised at the number of hikers who were still there. I thought everyone would have gotten an early start like us, but I suppose everyone hikes their own hike. It was a bit of a strange scene, with a huge canopy in the backyard and carpets on the ground. There were tents set up and clothes drying while people ate breakfast and treated their feet. The Bear was a nice, older gentleman and thought we were going to spend the night there. He was surprised when we said we were moving on.

From there we climbed up through some pretty barren hills as the temperature slowly climbed higher and higher. The scenery wasn’t the most interesting to look at but we passed some wind farms which was pretty cool to see so up close.

Around noon I dropped down a huge hill and came to a wide, rocky wash with a small stream flowing through it. As the trail edged closer to the water, we came closer to vegetation and cooler temps. Finally, I rounded a corner and came upon some shade from a bluff and a few small trees. Finally, a wonderful rest stop!

Horizon, Merkel, and I hung out in the shade, resting for several hours after getting up so early and after a while three other guys came up the trail and rested with us as well. They were the Jolly Green Giant, Magic Man, and Fox Trot and they had met on the trail when they started on April 6. We had a three day head start on them, but they overtook us around mile 220. I thought we were moving quickly, but they made us seem slow! They had been hiking 25 mile days from the start, which explained how they caught us so quickly. Although they were the first hikers to pass us, I’m sure they won’t be the last. When they left our lunch spot before us, I thought we would never see them again, but I would later be proven wrong on that.

When we finally dragged ourselves away from our lovely lunch spot, we followed Mission Creek for the rest of the day which made the surroundings more interesting, but the hiking a bit more difficult since sometimes the trail and the creek coincided, necessitating some route finding. Considering this was the first major water source we had seen since the border, I wasn’t about to complain about any of it! We found a very comfortable campsite right next to the creek and set up camp early enough to enjoy a game of dice before going to sleep.