Month: April 2023

Sunday, April 30, 2023

I am sitting under an overpass with the Rocket Surgeons waiting for the temp to cool down a bit more before we head up the hill. There is a guy somewhere near the trail blasting out Van Halen and other such 80s metal on his guitar, serenading us.

We spent most of the day in Julian relaxing, resting our feet some more, and eating. Trying to stock up on calories and hydrate!

I then spent a good 30 minutes taping my feet with leukotape, blister bandages, and bandaids. I still feel the ones on the outsides of my heels, but I think they are starting to callous a bit. Faster please! We’ve all decided we can handle blisters for another week or so, but much longer than that and I’m afraid we’ll go mad.

A trail angel named Ghost drove us back to the trail from town and right after he left, another one, Bad Santa, showed up with beers, Gatorade, oranges, Rice Krispie treats, and red vines! I wisely didn’t partake in the beer, considering we have 14 miles uphill to the next water cache, but I grabbed a Gatorade, an orange, and some snacks.

We are about to take off, but figured I’d get in a quick post while I still have signal. Next resupply is Warner Springs in 32 miles where I pick up my ice axe and Microspikes for Mt San Jacinto, though that’s not for a while still. I’m going to carry them an extra 40 miles further than I really need to, as Paradise Valley Cafe is overrun with packages, so I’m trying to lighten their burden (and not get my package lost in the melee). Cold front coming tomorrow so we are preparing for chilly temperatures!

Saturday, April 29, 2023

We woke up at 5:30 and hit the trail at about 6:45, trying to be the first hikers to Scissors Crossing at mile 77 and hitch into Julian. Town day!

We had 4 miles to hike and thankfully it was mostly flat. The sun was still hot, even that early in the morning. I had my umbrella up quickly.

Oh, I also got a trail name: Hummingbird.

I was lamenting about how I was already getting tired of bars and that I wish I could just eat my ProBar energy gummies and electrolytes all the time, so I was dubbed with this moniker. I was just going to try it out for a bit, but a few hours later, an actual hummingbird flew up right next to me and hovered within a couple feet of my face before flying off. Hummingbird it is.

When we got to the road, we got our first taste of trail magic! Rayngel the Trail Angel was already waiting to pick us up! No hitch required!

He hiked 1000 miles of the trail in 2019 and takes hikers to and from town all day long. Super nice guy and he just loves helping out hikers.

We got into town 15 minutes later and went straight to the cafe for breakfast. I don’t quite have hiker hunger yet, but I did put a good dent in a very large plate of food. Also the first time I had coffee in 6 days. It was just ok, but I’m a bit of a coffee snob too.

After the Rocket Surgeons picked up their box at the post office, I went to the gear store for some odds and ends (tent stakes, blister bandages, ibuprofen) and they both got new, wider shoes, as their feet have swollen so much that their old ones don’t fit.

I think mine are still ok. I’m going to wear my La Sportivas until the next town (Idyllwild – 100 miles away) and see how they do.

We then went to the brewery and had drinks until we were able to check into our B&B at 3pm. It’s cute, but one of the draws for this particular place was supposed to be free laundry. That is no longer a thing apparently, nor is it a thing anywhere in Julian. Awesome. Sink laundry it is!

I’ve taken two showers and am about to go to breakfast. Afterwards I’m going to try and get a late checkout so I can organize my food for the next couple of days and pack up. We are going to try and get a ride back to the trail this afternoon and wait out the sun before we hike up into the hills this evening. We have a long section coming up and I probably won’t have good service, so I probably won’t get out a post for a few days.

Let’s keep going!

Friday, April 29, 2023

Sorry if those last two posts got transposed. Lack of service makes it tough to get these uploaded accurately. Anyway.

I camped off trail a bit last night, as there were a lot of hikers jockeying for positions. I did see a fox in my search for a site though. Very cool!

There were thoughts of getting all the way to the highway for the hitch to Julian today, but that would’ve been a LONG hike of almost 20 miles. I’m not ready for that yet. Feet still getting used to hiking day in and day out.

That said, I continued hiking with Christina and Nick, whom I have dubbed the Rocket Surgeons (both aerospace engineers), and we continued our trek towards Julian.

Today was really hard. We all struggled, but made it through. I think we have decided to start getting up earlier, take a siesta during the midday, then hike again in the evening. Just too hot. We found camp around 5pm about four miles before Scissors Crossing among some boulders that offered some shade and shelter.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Just ate an entire bag of chocolate chip cookies. Hiker hunger already?

I got packed up and ate the rest of my bbq sandwich for breakfast in my motel room in Mt Laguna and got on trail around 9am. I figured the bubble I was with the day before had started way earlier and wondered if I would see them again.

After a couple of miles, I ran into Christina and Nick (sister and brother from Southern California) admiring a view. I joined them and looked out and saw a snow capped mountain. Holy shit, it was San Jacinto! The first 10,000 foot peak of the trail that we are due to traverse in a couple of weeks. I couldn’t believe we could see it this early.

This would be one of many vast desert views we would have today.

We hiked 11 miles to Pioneer Mail Picnic Area, which was our first water source. At first, it was…not ideal.

Then we read the sign that said to use the top faucet and it ran clear. We still filtered it of course.

We also passed the 50 mile mark! First big milestone and definitely the longest I’ve ever hiked.

We ate lunch and the bubble from yesterday slowly trickled in behind us. They had stayed up too late partying last night and got an even later start than me! I also discovered that peanut butter and jelly tortillas are DELICIOUS.

The spacing of water sources and campsites in this section is not great, so we had to have either a big day today or tomorrow to get to Julian on Saturday. We chose to push today, though my blister on my heel definitely isn’t happy and I had to do more surgery tonight. I’m going to let it air out overnight and see if it heals a bit.

We have another 13 or so tomorrow to get us close to Scissors Crossing, where we make our first hitch into Julian on Saturday morning.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Today was so much better. I woke up around 6:30 and broke camp and immediately climbed 1000 feet out of Hauser Canyon up to Lake Morena. There’s a campground there with a civilized toilet and a malt shop where I hung with some other hikers and got a late breakfast of a turkey sandwich. I’m still not super hungry, but ate half of it then and half tonight for dinner.

I then hiked on and soon met up with a couple from Washington who are around my age and did the northern half of the PCT last year and are finishing it up this year. They were so great to talk to about my bad first day and helped calm my fears immensely.

I used my umbrella most of the day. Today was a long, HOT hike of 13.6 miles with a big climb at the end, but had an amazing payoff.

Just below our campsite tonight, down a pretty steep path, is a waterfall and pool that we bathed and swam in for easily a half hour.

I’ll try to remember to upload the video tomorrow in Mt Laguna where I should have wifi, but here’s some pics.

I’m now in my tent up on the ridge above Interstate 8, listening to the frogs and insects chirping away. It’s a clear, beautiful night and I’m glad today was a different experience entirely.

14 miles (uphill) to Mt. Laguna tomorrow where my lovely wife booked me a cabin! I get to sleep in a real bed only 3 days in!

Goodnight from mile 28.6!

Monday, April 24, 2023

This post is going to start rough, but it gets better at the end.

I am camped in Hauser Canyon right now with a bunch of other hikers. Honestly, I feel sick.

I don’t know if I’m having an anxiety attack or what, but this isn’t fun on day one. I was recently diagnosed with obsessive compulsive personality disorder and I think it is rearing it’s ugly head right now.

I don’t want to worry anyone with this post, but basically I’ve been sick to my stomach since lunch, save the last 3–4 miles where I hiked down to the canyon with a really nice couple from the Netherlands.

I forced myself to eat a bit of a freeze dried dinner, but a lot of it is left in my trash bag for now.

I’m now back in my tent and feeling a lot better after some meditation, talking to my amazing wife on my sat beacon, and holding my little stuffed Biffer that I brought along.

What a crazy day. I’m going to hike up to Morena in the morning (5 miles away, the first two being straight up) and see how I feel. Might spend the night there. Not sure.

Pics from today:

I finally calmed down and got some decent sleep. Not great, but decent. I woke up around 6:30, broke camp, stretched, and headed up the 1000 foot climb out of the canyon. This actually went ok and had some great views.

I’m now at Lake Morena at the malt shop with a bunch of other stinky hikers, waiting on a turkey sandwich for breakfast. I still am not hungry, but I’m going to try and get some calories.

Hoping to get to Cibbets campground tonight, but that’s about 13 more miles, so I may end up calling it a bit earlier.