Eagle Rock and Warner Springs

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Today was easy peasy. I made a little over 8 miles in the morning to Warner Springs where I picked up my resupply that included my ice axe and Microspikes.

This is way earlier than I need them, but I was told by Yogi (legendary PCT hiker, trail angel, and gear shop owner) that I shouldn’t send them to Paradise Valley Cafe (40 miles further up trail). They are apparently inundated with hiker boxes and can’t handle the volume.

First though, I cruised solo from camp at Barrel Springs through easy fields to Eagle Rock. This is exactly what it sounds like. A big rock that looks like an eagle. Also sacred to the native peoples of the area, so it was treated with respect.

I continued on and just before Warner Springs, the trail goes through a beautiful string of huge oak trees (Coastal Live Oaks) along the creek for a nice change of scenery.

I got to the Warner Springs post office, a double wide trailer, and picked up my huge resupply box that we paid way too much to ship. But I needed my gear! I sorted through my food and mailed what I didn’t need ahead to Big Bear to pick up in a couple of weeks.

Once that was done, and having watched a YouTube video on how to properly attach my ice axe to my pack, I headed out again to get a few more miles in. The flat trail through beautiful meadows on the way out was to be a short lived luxury, compared to what was coming the next day.

I camped by myself at a site next to a beautiful, babbling brook (yo alliteration) and also a creepy shed that I’m pretty sure had something living in it that came to life at night and terrorized hikers, but I woke up unscathed.