Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Big Bear to Wrightwood. 109 mi in 4 days

Sunday morning I woke up at the Big Bear Hostel, went to IHOP with Jim and Bojangles, then waited for our ride to he trail. We got picked up at 8 by a yellow World War II Soviet Union truck that sat 8 people. Here were 6 of us, headed to 3 different spots on he trail. The ride started thru town, then the highway, then when we got near the trail, we hit the dirt jeep roads. 4 wheelin' in the morning is my favorite. Bojangles and I were the last to be dropped off, so we got an hour and a half ride in the sweetest 4x4 truck ever. The driver I think was mostly trying to scare us all by driving across the steepest embankments he could find. It was a great off road journey, and I was laughing the whole time.




Bojangles and I got back to the trail at 9:30 and continued a very good morning. It was a little up and mostly gentle down for the whole hike. In the afternoon, there was a very dark cloud descending on us, so we were moving quickly to a trail head with a picnic shelter to sleep under. Turns out it made for a 32 mile day. We arrived after dark, cooked dinner, and the sky became perfectly clear.

Monday was a good except for my right shin hurt real bad all day. 10 miles put me at Deep Creek hotsprings, and a good soak seemed to help my body recover from the previous day. Another 8 or so miles got me to the end of the canyon and a strange dam with no water on either side. Just a small stream going right thru the middle turbine. The trail went right across the top of a huge spillway, then I had to ford the river directly above the turbine intake. What a weird spot it was. I soon got to a trailhead, and took a long break and a short nap. Soon Tooth Fairy and Hot Mess came along, and Bojangles right after. The wind was blowing very hard, and around 6 we found a sheltered place to cook dinner. After we ate the wind continued to gust, and we found a campsite off the hill within an hour. I got my tent up, crawled in, and the wind blew it over. So in the dark I got 6 of the biggest rocks I could mannage, and plopped them right on the tent pegs. Just as I was a moment from sleep, again I heard the sound of nylon violently ripping out of the ground. I opened my eyes to the clear night sky with no more tent. Once again I retrived my bits and this time I just staked the tent flat to the ground, and crawled under it like a sheet. In the morning I had a layer of ice on my bag, but I was cozy.



Tuesday was a nice 20 miles to Cajon Pass where there is a McDonalds .4 miles from the trail. I haven't had McDonalds for a very long time, but it seemed like a good idea. They have a list of nutrition facts on the back of the peice of paper that comes on your food tray. It has the calories of all the items on the menu. I'm not gonna say all of what I ate, cuz it makes me feel sick, but it added up to 6000 calories. Yummm!

After passing under the interstate in Cajon Pass, the pct is temporarily rerouted because of a fire from last year. Bojangles and I did the first seven miles of the reroute feeling very heavy and a little queazy. Then we ended at the Apple White Campground, where we did not cook dinner, and just went to bed.




Today was the rest of the reroute on paved and dirt roads for 8 miles then back on the trail. I felt great hiking today. It was a huge climb today, pretty much going up and up for 25 miles. I put on the iPod and listened to Yonder for most of the walk. With 8 miles to go for the day I hit lots and lots of snow. It really slowed me down, but I still ended up in town by 3. I found Furniture and Ishmel, and we went to the store and sat out front eating fruit and cookies and ice cream bars for a couple hours. Tonight I'm staying with some local trail angels, and we're watching Star Wars before bed.

I will only be going about 40 miles, then my friend Flop will pick me up for a zero day his house in Arcadia. I can say this last 110 mile section was my most comfortable and fun yet.

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