Day 32: Mile 454- Hiker Heaven

Hello again everyone,

We are here in Aqua Dulce CA., writing to you from Hiker Heaven. You're probably all sick of hearing me blabber on about trail magic, but this place is sweet. It's home to the Saufly's a great couple who completely decked out their property for us. We're talking 10 big heavy duty tents with 4 cots in each, 2 campers, one with a kitchen and shower, they do our laundry, have about 20 loaner bikes to take into town and basically everything a hiker would want or need. So naturally we've spent much of yesterday and all of today hanging out here, catching up with the people we haven't seen for a while, restocking on supplies, getting some much needed R and R, and in our typical fashion... getting drunk.

But now let me try and recall all the events leading up to this point. We left Wrightwood and set out to conquer Mt. Baden Powell. The bad weather rolling in kept many hikers in town for another night, but being the bad ass mountain men we are, we pushed on. It was a pretty awesome climb though. There was a heavy fog and high winds from the minute we hit the trail head, but once we got to the top we were being blasted with 60 mph gusts of winds, trying to knock us off the path and bouncing chunks of ice off our faces. We missed out on what could have been a great view, but it was a much mroe thrilling experience climbing it when we did. We got down the other side, set up camp and tried to warm up around the fire before settling in for a cold icy night. The next day was a little better, the fog and wind settled down a bit and we set off again. This day wasn't too out of the ordinary, although I did accidentally send half my trekking pole down a hill trying to play pinecone baseball, and I had a bit of an accident with my alcohol stove and fuel bottle that ended up shooting a stream of flaming alcohol 10 feet and set the grass on fire. But I found my pole and we got the fire taken care of quickly. No harm no foul. We also met a cool couple in a camp ground we walked through, JR and Rose, who made us delicious PB&J's and promised next year thru-hikers some pasta dinner trail magic. Cool people.

Now it's time for some rest at the Saufly's before heading out to Casa de Luna, home of the Anderson's, and yet another place to not hike.

Greetings from Wrightwood, CA.

Mile 369 and goin strong.  After a day relaxing at the McDonalds at Cajon Pass and enjoying a couple too many iced coffees we hiked a short 5 miles and made camp right on the San Andreas fault.  Yesterday morning we rose early and started a 6000 ft climb up into the mountains on our way to Wrightwood.  Although at the time it seemed as though we'd be climbing forever we made some pretty stellar time and covered the 21 miles from our camp to town by 4 o clock in the afternoon.  Everyone seems to be getting their hikers legs under them and our pace is picking up without being too detrimental to our bodies. 

After hiking down the steep Acorn Trail into town we set about getting some candy, and cold drinks.  The hardware store had a list of Trail Angels who offer beds, laundry, internet, rides etc. etc.  Just as we were about to start making some calls to try and find a home for the night a gentleman pulled up to us in front of the grocery store, introduced himself as Jeff and offered us a roof for the night.  We promptly accepted and hopped in the car for a short mile ride down the highway to his place.  Jeff showed us to our quarters, a cosy little room above his garage, gave a tour of his house and told us to help ourselves to whatever.  We chatted a bit and shortly afterwards he took off for his sons graduation ceremony telling us as he left that the old white pickup in the driveway has the keys in it and feel free to take it into town should we need to.  I probably sound like a broken record but once again we were all blown away by his tremendous kindness.

Last night we met up with a bunch of other hikers at the Yodeler for some beer and eats.   A good dozen of us occupied the patio for a good majority of the evening.  Needless to say those of them that have seen us today cruising around in our sweet old Toyota are thoroughly jealous.

We plan to spend a good portion of the day enjoying all Wrightwood has to offer, and by that I mean the library and the grocery store.  Tonight around 6 we'll be meeting up with Bobby once again, and he'll be hiking a four-day section with us all the way to Aqua Dulce. 

I apologize to all of you who'd like to see more pictures, I have yet to find a computer that'll let me connect my camera and do some uploading.  Someday hopefully.

I'm sure there are plenty of details about the past weeks that I've left out and I'll leave it to Schmitty to pick up my slack in his post.

So long,
Jesse 

Rough times, fighting through

Hey hey,
Writing this post on the unfamiliar iPhone keypad so I'll keep it short and sweet. Climbing down off of San Jacinto and then back up into the San Bernadinos all within two days really played hell on an old knee injury from work. that compounded with drinking some questionable, not so potable water, upset the old stomach and I had a rough few days. A much needed zero day in Big Bear Lake got me back on my feet.
Currently sitting at McDonald's at Cajon Pass, roughly mile 342. We hiked a couple days along beautiful Deep Creek, and from up on the ridge gazing down into the crystal clear waters it wasn't hard to pick out the shadows of tons of rainbow trout and get me longing for the feel of my fly rod in my hands.
Wrightwood is a day away and hopefully I'll be able to write a more substantial post at that point.
I'll sign off with a shout out and a huge thank you to Megan Osbourne for purchasing and sending me a new set of trekking poles. Couldn't have kept going without them.

Until next time,
Jesse

Day 22: Mile 298- Cheesecake Friday

Today was a special day, which, in my eyes definitely warrants a special post that will be posted at a later date. Today my friends, was the inauguration of Cheesecake Friday, the day which will no doubt be the highlight of the week.

After leaving Ziggy and the Bear's, things have been awesome, don't get me wrong, but they've been fairly ordinary compared to what we've been dealing with lately. Theres been a lot of climbing mountains, going back down, wandering through thick forests and then back down to the heat of the desert. Today was cool though, we spent all day walking through a forest that had burnt down a few years ago. It's pretty neat looking across from one ridge to the next, seeing tall black trees with no foliage. All that was living was the undergrowth and the saplings and shrubs that were taking advantage of the available sun. It also made me very conscious of the fact that these forests are like tinderboxes and only I can prevent forest fires.

Anyways, we found a nice flatish spot to camp down by a stream and while Jesse, Waffles, Gator, Kaboos and I sat around our fire, Tyler was busy working away in the darkness, diligent at his craft, putting together the surprise he had been talking about for a week. I had never imagined getting trail cheesecake, let alone such amazing trail cheesecake. He made it from completely dry ingredients, powdered mix, powdered milk, he let it chill in the cold stream until it was perfect and oh was it ever perfect. You have to understand something, we dont eat well out here. It's a good day when you mix mashed potato flakes with your ramen noodles for dinner. So this was beyond imagination. I'm still not sure exactly how he did it, but I'm happy that he did. Now it's just 7 days until next cheesecake Friday. I'm pumped.

Happy Trails,
Mike

Ps Still don't think I can format pictures well from my phone, but here is a picture of Big Bear Lake, with Mt San Gorgonio in the background, and then one of the charred forest.

Day 17: Mile 210- Ziggy and the Bear

Yesterday we were on top of the world, prancing around atop the San Jacinto Mountains, traversing areas of snow, gazing through a canopy of towering pines and enjoying the cool satisfaction of the abundant mountain springs... That was just yesterday, a simpler time, a better time. Now we're back in the desert, and it's super hot.

We left Idyllwild and climbed back up the Devil's Slide Trail to get back into the mountains. It was a slow day after our first full zero day. We had planed on going only a meager 13 miles, but that was cut short once we again heard from our friend Bobby, who said he was in the area... and that he was hiking in beer. So we made it about 6 miles before setting up camp and having a few beers around a nice fire.

The next day we headed down. We had heard a lot of horror stories of Fuller Ridge, the first stage of our descent, where in high snow years people have gotten lost or even died. Lucky for us, its been a pretty tame year snow wise and we got down without a hitch. After that came a tedious 15 mile trek down 6000 feet to the base of the mountain and boy did the weather change quick. It wasn't long before the desert species started to appear again and the heat started kicking in. I'll say again, downhill is worse than uphill, especially when you're without water and the sun is baking you. But after a few run ins with a couple rattle snakes and being attacked by the swarm of bees who apparently ambushed many hikers like me, I finally made it to the water fountain waiting at the bottom. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. We spent the night there. It was a warm night and after the hard day we had I slept like a baby.

This morning we set out early with the plan to walk 5 miles to the home of trail angels Ziggy and the Bear, where Jesse would pick up a package he had waiting and then we'd continue on. We are at Ziggy and the Bear's now, we got here a little before 10am and its now after 3pm and there is no sign of movement. That's because holy shit is it ever hot. The idea of walking through the desert in 40 degree heat isn't so appealing when you're sitting in a comfy chair under a shade tent getting a complimentary foot bath enjoying cold drinks and abundant snacks. Plus we aren't alone, there are about 25 of us who've been bumming around all day. We are going to try and drag ourselves away once it gets cooler, if that ever happens. But until then we are going to keep enjoying the company of our fellow hikers, the shade of our tent and the generosity of Ziggy and the Bear. Now I'll actually talk to you in Big Bear.

Happy Trails,
Mike

Day 15: Mile 178- A Well Deserved Break

Walking takes longer than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed.

-Edward Abbey

We're back, hope you didn't miss us too much.

I first just wanted to thank you all. It seems like a lot of people are getting behind us here. It seems like every time I talk to family or friends from home, they tell me about someone else they know who are reading the blog and getting excited about what we're doing. We've been getting a lot of positive feedback and it's nice to know that we have so many people backing us. So thank you all! Keep checking back and we'll try to always have something for you to read about. You guys are sweet.

Let's catch back up where we left off, which I believe was Warner Springs. Warner springs was a nice little stop off. The make shift hiker/ refugee camp that was set up for us was a great place to take a load off, reevaluate gear and catch up with friends who we fell behind on the trail. We had planned on leaving the next day and making some decent miles, but as we were about to leave we got a call from Bobby, a local section hiker we met at the kick off, who said we was on his way to Warner Springs. It was Cinco de Mayo, and the night of supermoon, the brightest moon of the year. Even if you don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo, you don't not celebrate supermoon. So our plans of making progress on the trail turned to driving back into town for Mexican food and beer and stocking up for the night to come. We ended up only 5 miles or so up on the trail, in a nice sandy clearing in the woods, where our roaring fire and our make-shift stream beer cooler caught the attention of fellow hikers and before we knew it we had a crew of about 12, bathing in the radiant glow of supermoon... And endless shots of whiskey and tequila. I definitely didn't think we'd be partying on the trail like we partied at home, but supermoon is capable of great things.

The next day, after a slow start, we parted ways with Bobby and made for the San Jacinto mountains. We hiked up ridges and back down, going through phases of chaparral shrubland and oak and pine forests, which is really one of the coolest parts of this section. Every time we change elevation the environment around us changes, seeing the different communities of plants and animals is really neat. It definitely keeps things interesting.

This wouldn't be a PCT story without trail magic, and about 18 miles past Warner Springs a gracious Trail Angel opened his house to us and put out a great spread of food and enough beers to get everyone on the trail feeling loose. Then we hiked up. Up and up and up. The beginning of the San Jacinto mountains are some of the steepest parts of the PCT and at times it really took a toll on us. I definitely cursed the trail a few times when we were hiking uphill for hours, going up hundreds of feet in elevation, getting dehydrated and tired. But rehydrating wasn't as simple as just stopping to fill up at a stream. There was just a few springs on the mountain and they were all 1/4 to a full mile off the trail and at least 500 feet lower in elevation... A royal pain in the ass. Eventually we made it to the top where all the hardships paid off. It was gorgeous up there. Huge granite peaks and patches of snow amid the giant hardwoods gave us some of the best scenery of the trail so far, a nice preview of what the Sierras have in store for us and a surprisingly breathtaking nighttime view of Palm Springs lit up like a Christmas tree. It was also here where we discovered trundling, the act of rolling large stones down mountainsides... Yes there is actually a word for it, I couldn't believe it either. But being able to throw a rock down the slope and hear it roll for 30 seconds before getting out of earshot was a really. Oil experience and gave us a sense of how high up we were.

Now we are in Idyllwild. A great little mountain town. We've spent the last day and a half relaxing in a nice little cabin we rented, watching movies, eating pizza and enjoying chairs again... Never underestimate a comfortable back rest. You'll miss it when it's gone.

Well I think that pretty much sums up our last few days. I know it's a little long-winded, but we won't have Internet again for another 6 days or so, so you'll have plenty of time to read it before our next post.

See you in Big Bear,

Happy Trails,
Mike



... Here are a few pictures from this last section. Im writing this from my phone and can't figure out how to format them or add captions. I'll learn. But at least this is better than nothing!

Day 8: Mile 109- "I believe of magic"

Trail Angel (noun): A kind hearted individual who goes out of their way to perform trail magic; unprecedented good deeds, usually in the form of items of luxury or necessity, to hikers on the trail.

Well yesterday we passed 2 great milestones, we did our first 20+ mile day, as we hiked 21 miles from Scissors Crossing to Barrow Springs and we also surpased the 100 mile mark.

But more important than that, I think, are the things we are learning on the trail.  I had heard before we came out here that hiking the PCT will restore your faith in humanity and already I can see that it's true. I'm talking about trail magic, people. It's real. Believe it.

I know Jesse touched on this in his post, but I really wanted to get this point across. Despite what you may think, there are great people out there. People who see others with seemingly unatainable goals, walking from Mexico to Canada and instead of calling them crazy, they do whatever they can to help them accomplish it. The last few days have been full of magic. We had to do nothing more than walk to the side of the road before a nice lady pulled over and drove us into town where we were welcomed with open arms by the locals and given free lunch followed by LITERALLY the best apple pie I've ever had. Then, after an unnecessary 5 dollar discount on the price of my new monocular (after leaving my binoculars under a tree about 30 miles earlier), we were again picked up at the side of the road without even having time to put out our thumb.

Once we got back to the trail we hiked another few miles of a 28 mile "waterless stretch" to find 50 gallons of fresh water waiting in a cache for us. Water unnamed heroes had hiked all the way in there and left for us, not even expecting a thank you. You would think that would have to be the end of the magic right? Think again, as we pushed on to Barrow Springs we began seeing signs on the trees, motivating us to go on with the promise of cold beer and oh did they deliver. We got there to find RVs set up around a roaring fire, hotdogs, chilli and ice cold beers basically being forced on us. It nearly brought a tear to my eye. This morning, once we woke up we were welcomed back to the RVs for some fruit, bagels and coffee before we graciously thanked these great souls and hit the trail again.

And now we're in Warner Springs, where the community centre has opened it's doors to us, setting up a resupply shop for us, giving us access to showers, computers, cooking us burgers and allowing us a place to stay the night. I'd say I don't want to leave this place, but I've heard rumors of a Cinco de Mayo party being held for us 18 miles up the path.

So, folks, what I'm getting at here is take a lesson from the great trail angels of the PCT. Be good to the people around you, no matter who they are, because it feels good to be kind and it feels even better at the recieving end.  If the real world could be as close knit and caring as the PCT and the trial community, it would be a much more pleasant place to be. Trust me on this.

Happy Trails,
Mike


Also, me and Jesse are going to ocme up with a better system for our posts to avoid redundancy posting things twice. So stay tuned for that.

Greetings from Warner Springs, CA

May 4/12

Mike, Tyler, Wannes and I strolled into Warner Springs today around noon.  Last night we broke the 100 mile mark and are all pretty stoked about it.  Coming into camp last night around 7:30 at Boulder Springs we were in for a pleasant surprise as we had our first experience with "trail magic."  A few older couples had set quite the reception for us. Two RV's, and a trailer, with a fire pit, chilli dogs, desserts, cold beer, and chairs! I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to sit in one.  This morning they also provided us with an awesome bagel breakfast, with fresh fruit and hot coffee.  Again we can't all help but be blown away by the generosity and kindness we've received from complete strangers.  Not to mention the  loads of information I got from a couple of the old men about the tremendous fishing that I'm going to be in for when we reach Kennedy Meadows, CA and the Sierra Nevadas.  I cannot wait.

The day before last we made our first try at hitch-hiking, and am pleased to report we had some great success. We made our way into and out of a little town called Julian, CA and altogether hitch-hiked for less than 30 seconds.  This town was something else.  I felt like I had walked into the old west.  The tiny little town has a main drag that seems as though its been unchanged since the town was founded.  Famous for apple pie, we couldn't leave town without trying a slice, and luckily there was one fine establishment owned by a fellow hiker that was offering free lunch, with pie and ice cream. Amazing!

Instead of continuing on and leaving nothing for Mike to write about I'm going to cut myself off here and hopefully I haven't used up all the relevant blogging info.  From now on I think we'll take turns posting in an attempt to lessen the overlap and still give you all a complete and concise account of our time.

Wed, May 2/12

Hey everybody.

It's only been a week and a day since we left home and this is our first opportunity to use the internet and get an update here for you folks.  Already so much has happened I hardly know where to begin.  Condensing a week on the PCT into a blog post that wont take you too long to read seems like a daunting task at this point but I'm going to give it a shot anyway.

Let's take it back to San Diego.  Turns out a couple other guys in our hostel were PCT hikers as well.  Tyler from North Dakota and Wanna from Bruges, Belgium.  Naturally Mike and I hooked up with them as soon as we found out that they were in the same boat as us.  Our last night at the hostel was also a hostel pub-crawl night, and although the weather was rainy and we only "crawled" to one pub, it was a good night anyway. 

The next morning Tyler, Wannes, Mike and I headed out together and caught a trolley across San Diego to a transit station from which we hopped a bus to Campo, CA and the Mexican border.  They're pretty serious down here and I can't even count how many border patrol jeeps, cars, ATVs and officers we saw in that first evening alone.  From the border we hiked a few hours, and roughly 5 miles into the dessert before camping.  The last few hours before setting up camp we hiked in the dark, headlamps lighting the way and we had already learned one effective strategy for making progress while avoiding the daytime heat of the dessert.  Leaving our first nights camp on Friday morning we covered a cool 16 miles to Lake Morena and the kickoff party by 2 o clock in the afternoon.  While there attended a couple talks on PCT flora and fauna, and watched bunch of documentaries made by previous hikers.  Mostly though, we focussed on partying with the other hikers and getting to know them.  As we headed North to Lake Morena from the border we crossed paths with a southbound hiker finishing up the 20 miles between Lake Morena and the border that he hadnt walked last year.  His name is Bobby and we met up with him again at the kickoff.  The kickoff was a good time to iron out any last minute gear kinks, and it's a good thing we took the opportunity to do so.  I realized that I was missing a key component to my stove, and Mike realized that he had purchased the wrong fuel for his.  We had pretty well come to terms with the fact that we wouldn't be eating any hot meals until our next opportunity to purchase what we needed and right our wrongs.  Soon after this realization we said goodbye to Bobby and made plans to meet up in Kennedy Meadows later in the summer to hike the Sierras together.  After getting home to San Deigo and showering Bobby was restless and decided to return to the kickoff party, and wouldn't you know it, brought with him an extra stove for Mike and I to share.  I know I speak for Mike as well when I say that I was blown away by this unprompted act of kindness.  Gratitude was coupled with relief that we wouldn't have to go four days without a hot meal.  At our next resupply stop in Mt. Laguna I buy my missing fuel bottle, and Mike his missing fuel, and then we mail Bobby back his stove.

I could go on all day describing everything that's happened to us, but that would get redundant.  Not to mention the fact that there's probably a serious amount of overlap between mine and Mike's posts.  So I'll leave you with some final perspective on our journey thus far.

The scenery down here, the dessert, the mountains are like nothing I have ever seen before.  It seems every corner you come around there is something new and amazing to see.  Dessert wildlife abounds, and I've lost count of how many snakes, lizards, horn toads, birds, ground squirrels, and rabbits that we've crossed paths with.  I can confidently say that the most memorable was nearly stepping on a rattle snake that was sunbathing in the middle of the trail two days ago.  I was leading our little hiking party and literally got within two strides before his well camoflaged body caught my eye, at which point I stopped dead, he gave a little rattle, and slithered his way off the trail. Close one to say the least haha.

What is striking me more at this point than the inexplicable beauty of the landscape through which we walk, is where my mind has gone during the long hours of walking.  I've been surprised at how few things my mind continuously goes back to, and it makes me think that those must be the most important.  Apart from some choice food items, there aren't many material things about life back home that I find myself missing very much if at all.  My family and friends are constantly on my mind.  What they're doing, how they're doing etc. etc.

It's one hell of a long way back to Canada, but knowing that every step that I take is one that brings me closer to seeing all the important people in my life again is a notion that keeps me motivated.  Love you all, and thanks.

Our next opportunity to access the internet is a mystery at this point, so stay tuned for new posts whenever they may be coming. 

Mile 77

I'm sure you all have been at the edge of your seats, checking back hourly, eagerly waiting another post to let you know how we are. Well the wait is over! We have been without internet for a while. Strangly, the mountains don't have very good WiFi. But we just hitched into a little town called Julian, which luckily had a library we could use. Because we haven't really posted anything about our trip yet, we are going to do something a little different and Jesse and I are both going to just write about our experience so far, so there may be some overlap, but that's just something you'll have to deal with.

I guess I'll start where we left off, at the hostel. We ended up being able to go to the zoo, it turned out to be a beautiful day to spend at a beautiful zoo. It was deffinitely a world class place. They also happened to sell big goofy straw hats, exactly the hiking hat I wanted. So I am now hiking in style.

When we got back to the hostel we met 2 fellow PCT hikers, Wannes and Tyler, both awesome guys who have been hiking with us since and hopefully will be for some time to come... But we will get to the actual hike soon. That night was one for the books. We set off for a pubcrawl put on by the hostel, which ended up being just a bunch of us going to the bar downstairs, but it was still great. We ended up at some local guys house. A guy too strange to even put into words, but after playing with his giant hamster wheel for his cats, watching the spy movie trailers he put together about them and learning about his crippling poor history with women, we had a night we will never be able to fully describe, but will never forget.

The next day we set out for Campo, the beginning of the trail, it looked like a war zone with the high metal fences, barbed wire and army of border gaurds trying to keep Mexico in Mexico and America in America. But we treked on. After a few hours of night hiking and a few hours the next day, we made it to the kick off party that gets thrown for the hikers each year. It was amazing, hundreds of hikers to talk to, things to learn and free food to eat. Plus alcohol is cheap here in America, and with a store just a few minutes away, it made for a good weekend of campground camping.

Since then we've walked another 57 miles or so over the past few days. The sights we've been seeing are amazing, the scenery seems to change every time we climb a pass or around a ridge. The living is simple. It's amazing to go from a life full of gadgets and time wasting to having nothing to do but walk. Nothing to do but make it as far as you can, making sure to take a few hours around lunch to sleep in the sun, or have conversations with the people you meet. But then its back to walking, climbing up mountains then climbing back down (which is much, much worse than climbing up) taking it all in as you go.

Because everyone set off around the kick off at the same time, there is a realatively large pack of people all heading north around the same time. So we've had a lot of opportunities to meet new people from all over the place and they've all been pretty great. Our main crew is Jesse and I with our new friends Wannes, from Belgium and Tyler who says he's from North Dakota but seems to travel so much it'd be hard for him to call one place home. On top of our main crew there is a group of about 20 or so who we regularly see on the trail or camp with at night. As time goes on the pack will split up I'm sure. But for now I'm really enjoying the comradery of the experience.

I should probably stop here, it's hard to describe everything we've been seeing and doing. But with this novel I've been writing and Jesse's on top of it, you'll have a lot to read. I'm not sure when we'll be able to update this again, but stay tuned.

Happy Trails,
Mike