Day 17 May 23, 2017

• Daily miles 22
• Total miles 304
• Hiked from 5:15 am to 6:00 pm with some substantial breaks

(When you are watching this or any other videos that I took, you may wonder what the annoying rattling noise is in the back ground.  Best as I can figure is that it is my trekking poles which I stuff under my left arm when I take a video.  I did not notice this until I got home and started watching the videos for the first time.)

Today I crossed 300 miles, met a rattler and sweltered in the heat.

Got up at my usual 4:45 am and was walking shortly thereafter.  Hard to really call it walking though as I just was not in a groove for the first couple of hours.  Such a shame because the trail was gently downhill and had a great track.  Some days are just like that.  I stopped and had second breakfast with a few other hikers at the main crossing of Holcomb Creek.  That seemed to perk me up a bit.  

Early morning hiking scenery 

I was cruising a bit better in the late morning, heading for Deep Creek Canyon and basically minding my own business.  Then, from about 5 feet behind me, I hear a telltale rattling sound.  I look back and not 12 inches off the trail, slightly hidden by a bush is a rattlesnake.  He had actually let me go past before issuing his iconic, very scary warning sound.  Well that got my head right back into the hike!

Rattler beside trail

Made it to the Deep Creek bridge just before noon.  Deep Creek is quite a substantial stream with lots of shady trees on its banks.  It had been very hot all morning (90F) so I took about an hour to cool down.  Then I headed out down the trail which hangs on the west side of quite a steep canyon.  Within 3 miles I was hot, very hot.  And I do not mean hot in the "Oh baby you are so hot" sense.  It was stinking hot out.  I reached an unexpected side trail back down to the creek and met up with four other hikers where we all waited out the heat for two hours.  I even had my first on trail nap.

 

Deep Creek bridge

Hot, dry canyon hiking

When we got going again, we passed the 300 mile mark on the trail.  Well, there was no marker, but we have now walked 300 miles in the SoCal desert.  Yippee.

Originally I was going to shoot for a set of hot springs that is up the trail a mile or so.  But there is no camping permitted there and I did not want to hike into the dusk trying to find an empty spot.  So when I came to a pretty little flat spot beside a side stream, I called it for the night.

Home for the night

Day 16 May 22, 2017

• Daily miles 19
• Total miles 282
• Hours hiked 9:30 am to 6:00 pm

Today featured breakfast with trail buddies, easy downhill trail and unusual trail magic.

Woke up early at the hotel and got a few minor chores done.  The plan in my mind had been to relax around the hotel until check out time and then head out to the trail.  Went in search of breakfast and heard my name (yes, the trail name, not the one my parents gave me) being called from Denny's.  It was the trail bubble I have been hanging around since pretty much day one.  Had a fun breakfast with them and then went back to the hotel to relax.  I think I have forgotten how.  Was out the door and hitching a ride by 9:00!

Me (Canada), Ben (France), Tyler (Kansas), Madison (Colorado), Max (Washington), Justin (New Zealand) and Neal (Australia)

I like to call the group that I am hiking with in the picture above four greyhounds, two whippets and an old silver fox.

Caught a ride with a really cool guy by the name of Vince.  Turns out the trail head was not anywhere near where he was going but he gave me the rise anyway.  That got me back onto the trail by 9:30.  Figured I would do a reasonably easy 15 miles or so due to the late start.  Then the trail turned into a walk in the park, so I let the ponies run and ended up at a pretty nice spot with about 15 other hikers.  About the only negative about the trail today was there sections where the tread was pretty bony.  But that is pretty minor.

Fast, easy trail

In the afternoon, the trail went through a very large old fire.  When California has a forest fire, there is nothing small about it.

Old fire section

We were all just sitting around relaxing when a hiker came strolling into camp from the north.  We all thought he had a kind of funky set up on his pack as he had some sort of sack hanging off the back, but who are we to judge.  Well, it turns out he (trail name Goaltech) is a section hiker who hands out north bound hikers a choice of a bag of chips, a Starbucks Via coffee pack or a third choice which I forget because he had me at chips.  I mean how cool was that.  Probably the best bag of Cool Ranch Doritos I have ever had.

Goaltech and his bag of hiker treats

The trail is pretty easy for the next two days as we slowly give back the climb that we made up Mission Creek a couple of days ago.

Home for the night

Day 15 May 21, 2017

• Daily mileage 9
• Total miles 263
• Hours hiked 5:00 am to 9:00 am

Today qualifies as a nero or near zero day.

By the time I got to bed last night there must have been 20 other hikers sharing the site.  Because there were a couple of picnic tables available, it was a very pleasant social scene.  I am definitely the oldest in the bubble that I am hiking in but they are a good bunch of "kids" and I quite enjoy their company.

Got going pretty much at first light and made good time of the remaining 9 miles that would take me to the highway crossing and into Big Bear.  The trail was basically flat and fast.  I ran into a fellow that I have been leap frogging with for about a week by the name of Phil.  His girl friend (Tory) was picking him up at the trail head and he graciously offered me a ride to town with them.

Flat, fast trail

The first Joshua tree on the trail

When I got to the highway, there was trail magic awaiting!  A delightful gentleman who goes by the name of Diamond Dave (if I remember correctly) was waiting with his jeep packed full of fresh fruit and cold soda drinks.  Oh yeah.

Diamond Dave

Dave had recommended a hotel that is somewhat central to all the wants and needs of a hiker in town.  So I got dropped off at the Black Forest Lodge where not only did they have a room for the night, but they had one ready at 10:00 am so I could drop my stuff off rather than having to pack it around with me.  For any future hikers who may read this, do check out this hotel when you get to Big Bear.  Fairly central to a hikers needs, huge rooms and I thought pretty reasonable rates.

Next order of business was a real breakfast.  I had already had a couple of breakfast bars, but they just were not cutting it. The choice was a family run diner or Denny's, both right across the street.  I went with family run and a good choice it was.  The omelette I got could have fed a small village in Africa for a day, but hiker hunger has kicked in so it was vanquished in short order.

Town days for a through hiker seem to involve a whole lot of mundane tasks that all take time.  Next task for me was laundry.  I do not have a lot to do, but dear God it is pungent.  So I found a laundromat a couple of blocks away and started the wash. But what do you do for an entire wash cycle?  Well, there was a sports bar right next door.  So I went in and had a couple of really great, really cold beers.  I was starving again so I got some calamari which was only ok, but what was I thinking ordering seafood in the desert!   Had a great chat with the barkeep about marathons of all things.  I do not get why people say that doing laundry is not enjoyable!

So now, either tonight when it is cooler or tomorrow morning I will walk the mile or so to the grocery store to get some food for the next section to Cajun Pass.

Trail names are a thing on the PCT and other long trails.  Last we talked about one for me, I had been offered the name Silver Fox.  I guess it has stuck as folks on the trail are referring to me thus and I even signed a trail register with that name yesterday.  But one guy tried shortening it to Foxy.  I have been and will be many things in my life, but a person named "Foxy" will never be one of those things.  That one got nipped in the bud promptly.   

My very expansive but somewhat grandmotherly room for the night

Day 14 May 20, 2017

• Daily mileage 19
• Total miles 254
• Hiked from 5:00 am to 4:00 pm

Today featured a brute of a climb, failed trail magic, real trail magic and a great fund raising event.

Nobody else set up camp near me last night so I had a crazy great spot all to myself.  Got up just before dawn and was hiking at first light.  What looked on the profile to be a simple enough climb turned out to be a brute.  Very un-PCT like.  Plus, I just was not in a groove this morning.  Oh well, the hill got climbed, albeit slowly, very slowly.  Like three miles took two hours type slowly.  The hike up the hill was mainly in an area that burned a couple of years ago.  The PCT only recently reopened after the fire.     

Sunrise in Mission Creek

Recent forest fire     

Again, recent forest fire

The the trail returned to it's mild mannered self for the rest of the day.  I had mentioned in a post a couple of days ago that through hikers start drooling like Pavlov's dog when we see man made shade beside motor vehicles anywhere near the trail.  Well, sure enough at mid-morning, I crest a hill and there it all is.  So I hustle down there as quickly as my old legs would go, dreams of goodies dancing in my head.  Well, when I got there, it was one of the scariest collection of humans I have seen.  They were there on a camp out or team building as one guy described it.  I personally think it was a gathering of the SoCal Militia R'Us clan.  And they had no interest in what us hikers were up to.  I have a theory that had I stood up and said "Donald Trump is a great American and yes,every man, woman and child should own at least a dozen guns", then the beer coolers would have opened up and they would have thrown a rib eye on the BBQ for me.  But I did not say that, so I left without so much as an offer of a glass of water.

In the early afternoon, I came to the junction of the trail and an access road, and there was real trail magic.  Cougar (PCT 2016 alumnus) and his family were giving away mandarin oranges which were still cold.  Man, since when did I get so excited about fruit?  Well, since I could not have any for two weeks.  

Good bye San Jacinto

Hello San Gorgonio

Then from there down to where I am camped tonight, there has been a procession of very tired looked people who have hiked 30 miles in support of the local Make a Wish Foundation.  I mean, how great is that to be here on the right day to see these people doing this.  There are 80 participants in the event and they raised $225,000.  Pretty impressive group of people.

So, in conclusion, I did not get shoot by the local militia types and I had a very good day.  I am all set up for a short day tomorrow to get into Big Bear as early as possible.

Home for the night

Day 13 May 19, 2017

• Daily mileage 18
• Total mileage 235
• Hiked from 6:30 am to 5:00 pm

 Today was about going uphill in the heat.

I started my day at the Whitewater Preaserve which was a really nice place.  I guess it started out as a trout farm but was eventually converted to a day use park.  Day use for everyone except PCT hikers because we are special.  And we promise to be packed up and out of sight by 8:00 am!

Legend was up and serving coffee and pancakes at first light.  It was nice to sit around for an hour or so just chatting with the folks in the new bubble that I am now in.

Then it was off to do my day job.  Even first thing, it was fairly warm already.  The trail wandered up the Whitewater drainage for a while, at an elevation of about 2,000 feet.  Then the long, very gradual climb began   I climbed up through the Mission Creek drainage, never at a really steep grade, but almost always going up.  As I sit here in camp (by myself so far, but it is early) the elevation is 6,600 feet.  So yeah, a long grinding uphill today.  My thermometer read around 85F all afternoon.  Surprisingly enough, I felt really good for the vast majority of the day.  I could have easily gone farther, but I am all set up to get into Big Bear mid-morning on Sunday, so tagging on extra miles today made no sense.  And this way I can finish the last 1,800 or so feet on this climb in the early morning cool.

Looking back at San Jacinto from the Whitewater valley

Dry, rugged Mission Creek

There are times when you look ahead and ask how does the trail get through that?

The trail and I had a minor parting of our ways this afternoon.  It went into a really swampy area and it obviously emerged from the swamp at a different point than I did.  I am embarrassed to say that it took me about 30 minutes to find the trail again.  It was obvious that it had to be in a space of about 150 yards across the bottom of the gulley, but it was up higher than I expected.  I felt better when I talked to other hikers and 100% of them lost the trail at the same place.

I did not see a ton of people on the trail again today.  It would seem that I am on a different hiking shift than most.  I like to get up as early as light will permit and get going.  It would seem that most other hikers like to sleep in and then hike longer into the afternoon/evening than I like to do.

   

Home for the night

Day 12 May 18, 2017

• Daily mileage. 25
• Total miles 217
• Hiked from 5:30 am to 6:30 pm

 Today was all about long downhills and Trail Angels.

I had late arrivals into my camping spot last night, so I had to pack up all stealth like.  I had a very steady downhill grade for 11 miles right out of the hopper this morning.  I thought the one litre of water I had would suffice, so I passed on the off trail water source.  It worked out, but just barely.  I went the last mile or so with no water left.  At the bottom of the hill/mountain is a drinking fountain of all things.  Way out in the middle of nowhere.  But it was a very welcome water fountain I am here to tell you.

    

Early morning

200 miles in the bag

Another prehistoric rock beast  

Water fountain in the middle of nowhere

It was obvious from early on that this was going to be a warm day.  Not terrible, just warmer than most other days have been.

After leaving the fountain, I had a bit of a flat trudge across the desert floor before passing under Interstate 10.  As I was schlepping along, I came up over a very slight rise and there was a van with a canopy extending out from it's side.  Now, I have been on this trail for less than two weeks, but I have learned that a vehicle with shade attached to can only mean one thing.  Trail magic!  And it was.  A very well known trail angel by the name of Coppertone was set and giving away donuts, fruit, pretzels, and greatest of all, root beer floats!  Greatest breakfast ever.

Coppertone

I sat in the shade with Coppertone for a bit and chatted.  What an amazing human.  He is very humble, but gives not only to the PCT hiking community (he will move north with the herd over the course of the summer) but gives in many other aspects of his life too.  He lives a nomadic life and seems very content with that.  I had heard of him on other PCT blogs and was really happy to meet him.

After I left Coppertone's shade, I finished the hot slog to I10.  The PCT passes under the freeway via a bridge.  Personally, I think they could have set a crossing monitor, but that is just me.  Anyway, as a few of us were sitting in the shade of the bridge (yeah, dreams are made of this PCT life style), a lady (Deb) parks her car nearby and wanders down to us to offer us peaches.  Oh yeah, and if anybody needs a ride to the nearest town (Cabazon), that would be fine too.  Now there is an In n Out Burger in Cabazon, so her car filled immediately.  I did not partake because I knew that somewhere near the burger joint there would be a Best Western that would suck me in for the night.  I am that weak.

So off into the heat of the afternoon I went.  This included the only significant climb of the day at about 2,000 feet.  Part way up the climb, there is a wind farm and corresponding office that the trail goes right past.  The company has set up a shady area for hikers and offered us bottled water.  Is there any end to the trail magic today?  But wait, there is more.

Mesa Windfarm

Camping spots are a bit thin in this area, so I had targeted a preserve area that allows hikers to use their facilities, including the lawn to camp on.  Well, set up in the picnic area is another rather famous Trail Angel by the name of Legend.  And he is making spaghetti for all of us.  Really.  I shit you not.  Sorry Legend, I forgot to snap a pic of you.

Whitewater Preserve

So, all in all, it was a very long, warm day (25 miles is my new personal best) that featured the absolute best in people.  That is right up until I had set up my tent and went to the washrooms (with running water, that is how good today was) to get ready for bed.  Now, you have to understand that this grassy field is easily the size of a football field.  And there may be 10 of us with tents spread out around it.  Well, an old boy who I have not met before was just about to set up his tent probably 5 feet from mine.  So I shooed him away to a more civilized space between our tents (his feelings may have been hurt, but really).

Home for the night

 

Day 11 May 17, 2017

• Daily mileage. 15 plus 5 miles off trail
• Total miles. 192
• Hours hiked 4:45 am to 3:30 pm

Once again today, where is everyone.  I thought this was supposed to be a crowded trail!

I had my alarm set for 4:45, but I woke up at 4 and said to heck with more sleep.  Got all packed up and headed out in the dark with my new headlamp in use.  In order to get to the PCT, I had to road walk 2.6 miles with a pretty significant grade.  Then I had the Devil's Slide Trail to conquor which was another 2.6 quite steep miles.  So before I even stepped foot on the PCT, I had logged over 5 miles along with a lot of vertical.  I was offered a ride to the trail head (at a more reasonable time) by the hotel staff, but I feel sullied enough for skipping 8 miles of road walk into Idyllwild.  Let's not get into a habit of this.

The PCT at this point is up on a mountain and is vegetated with subalpine forest.  It made for great hiking.  Really pretty trail.  It was a bit lumpy up and down trail and was hovering between 8 & 9,000 feet.  That, along with my early start left me feeling a bit sluggish most of the day.  Shakras just not lined up properly.

Interesting rock formation 

And then there was the great mystery of the day.  Where is everyone.  I saw a total of three through hikers, two day hikers and two trail runners.  I also saw three tents along the route, obviously with hikers sleeping in.  Funny one was I had just gone off trail a fair ways and was about to dig a cat hole for you know what when I happened to glimpse two tents about 50 feet away.  That could have been a bit embarrassing.  "Hey, good morning to you.  Look what my dog taught me to do!"

Looking back at Tahquitz Rock 

Lots of great views and pretty trail today.  Because I was so far up in elevation, it never got really warm.  Now I am all set up in camp and the wind is kicking up.  When I look down in the valley below me, there are a ton of wind farms down there, so I guess that makes sense.  I have this really nice campsite all to myself, or do far at least.  

A lot of effort was put into building this trail

Interesting Jurassic era beast     

Looking ahead to the next mountain to come on the PCT Mt San Gorgonio

I went across the infamous Fullers Ridge today.  For weeks and months leading up to my starting the trail, this section of the trail, which is the first to be exposed to significant snow has been the talk of the PCT FB group.  The general consensus has been the micro spikes were essential, with some advocating for an ice ax as well.  So, rather than mail my micro spikes ahead, I have been carrying them since Campo.  Not a big deal, just an additional two pounds of gear in the pack.  So when I got to Idyllwild and checked FB again, totally different story.  All the snow has melted, leaving minimal small patches to cross.  Doh!  So I mailed home the micro spikes and today crossed the section of trail in question with only a rare glimpse of snow.

Backside of San Jacinto

Home for the night