Bill and I didn’t get up till 6:30 this morning–for a thruhiker, that is totally lazy!  I made us a huge breakfast in the hostel kitchen–3 fried eggs each,  on top of raisin English muffins, and a whole orange each.  Other hikers wandered in and said, “Man, that looks good!”  (They were only getting coffee and planning to go out for breakfast.)  I should say that it’s been fun talking to the other hikers here.  Those who actually made it across Fuller Ridge are few and far between, and they are like us–really tired!

Then we packed up everything, and Bill very kindly redid the antibiotic ointment, bandages, etc. on my rear end.  It is still pretty sore.  Bill commented, “I think you left a fair amount of yourself up there on the ridge.”  This morning was clear, sunny and cold; after last night’s howling wind and racing dark clouds, it was very pleasant!

We could see lines of pelicans flying by over the lake, which is only a block away from the hostel. The locals said as soon as the ice is gone from the lake each year, the pelicans come back.    This winter, for the first time in many years, the ENTIRE lake froze over and was very slow about breaking up.  Even now, I think you could still ski on some of the ski runs at the two main ski resorts.

After one last try at phoning the chap in Erwin Lake, we gave up  and headed out for the Big Bear City post office to get our next resupply box.  We walked down the street to the bus stop and stuck out our thumbs, figuring “Maybe we can snag a ride before the bus comes.”  Another thruhiker soon joined us, and we all stood there hopefully.  Sure enough, a lady in a little ratty car full of junk offered us a ride, we all squeezed in, and she took us straight to the post office.  Big Bear is definitely a trail angel town!!

At the PO, our box was waiting, AND we got our pictures taken as part of  the “PCT hiker 2010 display”  on the post office wall.  It’s pretty awesome!  Each hiker photo is labelled with your trail name and your age.  Bill and I were proud that we are among the oldest hikers so far this year.  Go, geezers!   We carried our box outside, and it only took a few minutes to load it into our packs.  A number of other hikers were doing the same thing.  It is fun to see what kind of stuff people mail to themselves!

Since we hadn’t been able to contact the guy at Erwin Lake, we had to decide where to stay tonight.  We are still very tired, and we need a rest.  The hostel was OK, but not that cheap, actually, for two people.  We asked at the PO if there was anyplace nearby, and they said, “Sure–all the hikers go to a place down the street there.”   We had just started to head out of the post office parking lot when a guy pulled up next to us and said, “Where are you going?  I can give you a ride.”   And he gave us a lift straight to Nature’s Inn.  When we pulled in, there was Billy Goat–so we knew for sure we were at a hiker-friendly place!   When we thanked the guy for the ride, he said, “I love helping you hiker people.   You’re only in town for a couple of weeks, and I love every minute of it!”  Wow!

Well, all I can say is, “This is like heaven!”  Nature’s Inn is WAY better than the hostel, much cheaper (for two of us)  and totally homey and comfortable.  For $37,  we get a really nice room with a fireplace,  a hiker lounge with lots of comfortable couches and carefully sorted hiker boxes full of cool stuff.   I rummaged through the boxes and found the bottom half of a convertible pants leg–perfect for repairs on my poor torn pants.   The manager/owner, Ed, even gave me some thread and scissors to use.  It took quite a long time to finish the mending, since I was determined to make it really strong so that it will last all the way to Canada!  I also mended Bill’s torn shirt sleeve (a bush got him when he fell up on Fuller Ridge). 

Nature’s Inn has so much going for it!  Once I got done with mending,  I went back to the hiker lounge.  There’s free coffee,  fruit, etc.  There’s even a Christmas tree (!!), pool table,  old LP’s you can play, and various heat/massage devices for sore hiker muscles.    There’s even an exercise room with all sorts of equipment,  though the hikers don’t use it–we need REST!   Actually, the “gym” also serves as a sort of overflow place to sleep if the place gets too full.

We walked down the street to the grocery store, where I got some veges, then  made us a nice pasta primavera for dinner, using the gas grill provided by the Inn.   Bill and I are so comfortable and happy here that we decided to stay on for one more day.    So tonight we are lounging in front of a fire in the fireplace (it is a cold night;  the fire feels good!).  The Inn is full of hikers.  It really feels like home!

Walk to Rivendell: Thickets along Great East Road

I think I should call this “trail angel day”–it was one trail angel experience after another.  We are awed and grateful.

Bill and I woke up to a very cold and VERY windy morning.  Once we got underway, we were pleased and surprised to find that it was only a quarter mile to the jeep road turnoff to Erwin Lake.  Bill had been in touch with a houseowner there who said we could stay in one of the homes on his property.  We turned off the PCT and headed into the wind for a very cold but beautiful walk along the road, through an “equestrian development”,  to the little community of Erwin Lake. But then we hit a problem–there were virtually no street signs.  We could not figure out where we were.  We were standing on a corner looking at our maps, while three large dogs in a nearby yard started barking furiously.  The owner came out to shush them, and seeing us looking at our maps, he figured we were thruhikers–and invited us in for coffee.  How could we say no?

It turned out that the house we’d been looking for was close by, but the owner was away, and no possibility of contacting him.  In the meantime, it turned out that our kind host was an 8th grade social studies teacher who LOVES history (he had history books, magazines, etc. everywhere) and we had a very lively, fun history discussion with him!   He gave us directions on how to take the local bus to town, and even insisted on giving us busfare!  Then he changed his mind and ended up giving us a ride into town and maps of the area!  Wonderful!

So we started walking down the main street of Big Bear City, looking for a church.  And hooray!   We found a church with an Awana banner out front.  Any church that has Awana has to be awesome!  We strolled in just in time for Sunday School and church service.

Note from Alexa: Bill & Monty are Awana commanders, see preparation posts for more information on that.

And it turned out that the church even has a permanent “offering can” for Jews For Jesus! Yes!  (I say that because I am a huge Jews for Jesus fan–we live not too awfully far from their HQ in San Francisco, and I often go out with them onto the streets of San Francisco, even though I’m a Gentile.  I get to wear a T-shirt that says, “Not JUST Jews for Jesus” or another one that says “Jesus Made Me Kosher.” ) 

After church, we hurried on, because fierce-looking clouds blowing in fast looked pretty ominous.  We decided  to get a room at the Hiker Hostel, and picked up some stuff for my sore rear end along the way.  At the hostel, we got a sunny little room all to ourselves, followed by laundry and showers.   Oh, man, does it feel good to be clean!  I rummaged the “open for grabs” shelves at the hostel for food and found that there basically wasn’t anything.   Too many thruhikers in town!  They ate it all!  So we said, “Oh, well” and walked a mile and a half down the road to the grocery store.

We’d just started walking back, and it was very cold–dark clouds covered all the mountaintops, and we said “Man, I’m glad I’m not up there on the PCT right now!”–when a kind couple stopped and offered us a ride.  More trail angels!   They were from Calvary Chapel, and normally we would have jumped at the chance to go to church with them, but we were very hungry, and opted to return to the hostel so I could cook us some dinner.  We sat and ate in the hostel dining room, looking out at clouds racing by and listening to the ever-increasing howl of the wind.  The forecast for tonight is a low of 21 degrees!    The locals are amazed.  All of them have been telling us that this is weird weather.  Normally on Mother’s Day (which is today), everybody is having picnics by the lake. Not this year!  The daffodils are blooming and there is still snow on every hillside..

 Tonight the wind is literally screaming around the snug hostel.  And the forecast was right–the temperature is 21 degrees.  We are so blessed to be here, and not up on the ridge like we were last night!  It has been a great day!

Walk to Rivendell: Thickets along Great East Road

We were so tired that we didn’t even wake up until after 6:00am, and it turned out to be a good thing— we ran into quite a lot of snow-covered trail. Nothing was as scary as Fuller Ridge, but I did use my ice axe a couple of times on some long traverses on steep hillsides.

From our very nice campsite, we continued the climb uphill alongside Mission Creek.  It was so nice to be out of the burn zone and back in the trees!   Finally the Creek and the PCT parted company, and we continued the climb into the mountains.  The scenery grew more  and more alpine and Sierra-ish.  All around us were snowcapped mountains.  And if you saw a little “whisk” of some scurrying creature near the trail up ahead,  it would turn out to be a chipmunk, not a lizard!   The trail crews hadn’t gotten round to this part of the PCT yet–there were several places where we had to climb over fallen trees.   But the views–wow!   We were joking about “Are we in Oregon already?  Sure looks like it!”   Of course, on every north-facing hillside, we’d have to deal with snowcovered trail, but nothing was anywhere near as bad as Fuller Ridge.    

Just before noon, we met Bruce, a dayhiker, trying to find his friend who was section-hiking.  When he described his friend, we realized it was a man we’d met yesterday near the Whitewater River.  When we stopped at the river, he’d kept going, so we knew he was ahead of us.  So we really wondered why he and Bruce had not met.  (Turned out later that Bruce’s friend had been waiting for him at a place off the trail, and Bruce passed him without either of them knowing it.  They did connect later, though) Bruce got out his maps so we could show him where he was–a little bit south of Coon Creek Jumpoff, where we’d planned to stop for lunch.

At the Jumpoff (which well deserves its name–it’s an impressive cliff) we had a bit of a hard time figuring out where to sit and eat.  The shade was FREEZING cold, but the sun was way too hot.   Weird.  We finally settled on a somewhat shady spot and enjoyed a hot meal of tuna, rice and peas, with a dessert of cookie CRUMBS.  Just as we were packing up to leave, we heard a shout, and there was the hiker we’d met yesterday.  He was looking for his friend Bruce.  When we told him Bruce had headed south looking for him, he was very frustrated and took off down the trail.

After the Jumpoff, the PCT was very easy going, with only occasional “snow runs.”   We got to the “Lions & Tigers & Bears Oh My!” place, and were able to see all three, prowling about in their cages.  We met up with fellow thruhiker Transient again.  “What!” he said to Bill.  “Are you still following that woman around?”  Transient looked a bit bruised and scraped and battered.  “The mountain bit me,” was his comment.  “Me, too,” I told him.  “I have a whole collection of scrapes and cuts and bruises, and you notice I’m wearing shorts OVER my pants?  Well, let’s say I scraped up my rear end pretty badly on the snow.”  “Scars of honor” said Transient.  “I respect people who have scars of honor.”  I hadn’t thought of that, and what he said was really encouraging.  We talked a little more (mostly about how our tastes in food have strangely changed since starting the trail.  Transient said he’s lost his taste for chocolate, and gave away all his M & M’s.  I’ve lost my taste for instant mashed potatoes, and have to just choke them down, instead of enjoying them as I always did before. )  Then all of us got underway again.

 We reached Onyx Summit, which is one of the places where hikers hitch to town.  Transient headed off there.  Somebody (turned out it was the owner of Nature’s Inn) had left a little cache, which included a “watering place ” for mice, set up with a little “ladder” for the mice to get at the water.  (Turned out that if he didn’t do this, the mice chewed holes in the water jugs intended for hikers!)  We kept going, since we were headed for a house up ahead at Erwin Lake.  Around 4:30, we came to an amazing hiker cache. It had a couch! And coolers of fruit, drinks and cookies! And a large picture frame hanging between two trees, so if you stand in the right place, you can take a “pre-framed picture” of  snowclad Mt. San Gorgonio!

Bill and I doffed our packs and lounged on the couch, eating strawberries, bananas and oranges and drinking fruit juice.  We joked around about “Somebody should make another movie to counterbalance that hyped up “extreme” National Geographic film about the PCT.  We need a film to show all the oasis’, the trail angels, this couch, everything…and make it look like a thruhike is just a hobbit walking party!”  Just as we were about done, we were joined by a whole gang of hikers, including Bruce and his missing friend!   We all had a bit of a “jolly party” before Bill finally said “We’ve gotta go!”  He wanted to reach Erwin Lake, even though it would mean arriving 2 days early.  We were both hoping to make it to church tomorrow in Big Bear City. 

But the trail did not cooperate with our attempts to hike hard ‘n fast.  It turned very rocky, then it basically turned into a snowmelt creek.  We had many, many creek crossings, all way over their banks with snowmelt, so there was nothing else for it but to wade right in and ford them.  Finally we reached Arrastre Trail Camp, got some water and pushed on.  But I was really tired, and the trail just went up and up.  I did my best, but by 7:15 it was obvious that we were not going to make it to the road leading to Erwin Lake.

So since we were at a nice camping spot (7,000 ft. elevation) we decided to call it quits for the day.  Bill was very disappointed that we hadn’t made it as far as we hoped, and I felt bad for not being able to hike faster.    As we set up camp, there was a beautiful sunset.  I was so tired that I was very glad to crawl into the sleeping bag.  It was cold, too, and it felt good to be in all that nice warm fluffy down!  My sore muscles are slowly getting better (less yelping today) but I am worried about my scraped up rear end.  It really hurts, and it sticks to my clothes.  I will be glad to reach Big Bear City and get antibiotic ointment and bandaids!  But foodwise, it’s been an awesome day!  Strawberries!  In the middle of nowhere!

Walk to Rivendell: Thickets along Great East Road

Last night in the middle of the night, a whole pack of coyotes went right by our camp, yipping and crying in their weird coyote voices.  We had our food bags right next to us, and both Bill and I reached out for our trek poles, ready to whomp on coyotes if we needed to.  Not necessary!  The coyotes just went right by us. 

We were up at dawn, eager to get to the Whitewater River to wash our poor filthy socks and have a nice breakfast I’d picked up in Cabazon. We hurried along, passing some spectacular, deep canyons.  I have decided that the “C” in Section C stands for “Canyons”, because you spend all your time walking along the tops of them, going down the sides of them, and trekking along the bottoms of them.   Finally we were close enough to the rim of the Whitewater River canyon to hear the roar of the river below.

Down we went, anticipating our first “real” river crossing.  We came to the trail junction for the Whitewater Preserve trout farm, which used to be a no-no for hikers.  Well, times sure have changed!  There was a sign INVITING hikers to come over to the Preserve.  We were headed on, but still, it was an improvement over 2005!   The bed of the river is quite wide and rocky.  There was a HUGE pole set up in a cairn of rocks to mark the PCT path.  Soon we were at the river ford, and it looked quite do-able, but tricky enough to warrant some caution.  So we faced the current and sidestepped across, rather than just splashing in. 

Then it was time for a great breakfast of stuff I picked up in Cabazon, and plenty of time to wash our socks, our clothes, and even ourselves.  Wow, did it feel good to be at least “slooshed off”!   We lounged around on the soft sand, eating and talking, with our laundry spread all over the rocks.  It was hard to finally say, “OK, time to hit the trail!”  but we finally pulled ourselves up from the river and began the climb up to the other side of the canyon.

As we had expected, the rest of the day was very tough. At first it was glorious—”knife-edge”  ridgetop walking with awesome views.  And the wildflower gardens along the trail were spectacular.  I was practically skipping along and singing, “This is what it’s all about!   This is why I hike the PCT!” 

But by midmorning, the trail had dropped down into Mission Creek canyon, and the rest of the day was a relentless climb  back up into the mountains again.  In 2005, it was lovely here— huge shady trees, flowers, lots of butterflies— now it is a burned over wasteland.  Bill and I were horrified at the change.   Instead of a lovely, green, wooded valley, the canyon was a dead, skeletonized forest fire zone.  Very depressing.

In the entire walk up the canyon, I only saw two butterflies…. and two snakes.  One was a rattler and the other we called the “mystery snake”, since we didn’t know what it was.  The snakes very obligingly posed for pictures–very nice of them!  Bill and I are both still feeling very tired and sore from our adventure across Fuller Ridge, and the relentless uphill with no shade on a very warm day was very wearing.  The PCT in Mission Creek canyon gets all ripped up every winter by flooding, so a lot of our time was taken up just trying to figure out where the trail went.  Basically, you can just follow the canyon, but there are other “side canyons” coming in, so you do have to be careful you are still on the correct route.  

One bonus on a hot day, though–you get to ford the creek over 20 times, so your feet do stay nice and cool!  We were also blessed to find one “green oasis” where we ate lunch.  It was one small tree which had managed to grow back a bit since the fire.  We crawled underneath it to cook and eat some lunch in the SHADE!   A little while after we got underway again, I noticed that the tip of one of my trek poles had come off.  Oh no!  Since we’d basically been just “bushwhacking” up the canyon,through the jumbled mess of rocks and logs,  there was no way I’d ever be able to find it.  But Bill gave me his trek pole tip–he said he didn’t need it, because his poles were basically so thrashed  from Fuller Ridge.

On we went, into a very hot afternoon.  The canyon twists and turns, so at every turn, I’d be looking up at the “new view” up ahead, for a first glimpse of the end of the canyon, with a green forest at the top.  At our 3:30 Snickers break, we sort of collapsed, and it was hard to get up and keep going after our 15 minutes of rest.  By 4:30 pm, I was feeling so wasted that I finally said, “Bill, I’m so tired–do you mind if we stop and rest again for a few minutes?”  I hated to ask, because I knew we needed to make miles, but I was totally wiped out.  Well, it turned out that Bill had been about to say the same thing!  We found a shade patch and collapsed for awhile.   I had to be careful about collapsing, though!  My snow-scraped rear end is really hurting,  and there is nothing I can do for it but try to keep it clean.  When Bill slipped and fell up on Fuller Ridge, he lost our “medicine kit”, so I have no antibiotic ointment, no bandaids, or anything.

Finally we dragged ourselves back to our feet, shouldered packs, and kept on going.  Fortunately, the trail at this point was up above the creek, and we weren’t climbing over rocks and logs.  At the last creek crossing, there was a whole encampment of thruhikers.  Everybody looked very tired!  They said they’d stopped because they heard there were no more campsites for many miles as the trail climbed out of the canyon.  They also warned of  fallen trees blocking the trail.  Bill and I wanted very much to get in some more miles, and since it was now a pleasant late afternoon/early evening, we decided to just push on.  After getting some water from the creek,  and figuring out a way to get around the fallen tree mess across the PCT, it took us another hour of hiking before we were out of the forest fire zone, the trail leveled out a bit and we found a beautiful campsite among pine and oak trees. 

The creek nearby was rushing happily along, it was a very pleasant evening, and we were glad to do a final collapse of the day into our sleeping bags!  We did see some snow just before reaching this campsite, and we are concerned about snow problems tomorrow.  It’s 28 more miles till our next resupply, and with a lot of snow on the trail,  I doubt we can make it in one day.  But for now,  it sure is nice to be in such a lovely place for tonight, and good to know that we made it through Mission Creek Canyon without getting lost!

Walk to Rivendell: Weathertop

Wow!  What a day!  Talk about varied!  We had a very chilly, howling-wind camp last night on the side of the San Jacintos.  I ached all over, but consoled myself with the fact that very few thruhikers even attempted Fuller Ridge this year, and some who did, had to be rescued because they were so overwhelmed by the difficulties.   So I guess we are in a fairly exclusive “club”.

Anyway, by 6:00 am we were on the trail for many more miles of downhill to Snow Creek. The early morning light was beautiful on Mt San Jacinto, and on the huge rocks of the “boulder garden” we were walking through.  I love looking at plants, and it was fun to watch the change in vegetation as we dropped lower and lower–but soon we were making our way through a rather overgrown trail.  (Once we reached Snow Creek, I figured it out that we’d spent about 50% of our time this morning pushing through plants!)  The vigorous plants were actually very pretty–many in bloom–but they really slowed us down.  And my quadriceps were so sore, that every time I had to take a long step down, I would say, “Yelp!” It hurt!

Part of  the way down, we were passed by Smile Train, who told us he’d had to help several ill-equipped hikers who were attempting to cross Fuller Ridge with no ice axe or trek poles or crampons or anything.  Wearing his Microspikes, Smile Train had  chopped steps for them and done whatever he could to assist.  He said that before catching up with the struggling hikers, he’d been just bopping right along.  Soon he took off down the trail–he usually does 30-plus mile days.

We then began to notice some smoke off to our left— found out later it was a brush fire that closed the PCT for a day. Had we been only a few hours later, we would have been stuck up on the Ridge for another 24 hours. Boy, are we glad we did NOT stop and camp early last night.  We appreciate God’s timing and strength!

Coming down, down, down (it is a LONG way!)  we  were also treated to some unique “insect experiences.”  A large swarm of BEES flew over us.  They were very loud and very impressive.  I had not realized how much noise a whole group of bees could make.  And ladybugs were everywhere.  I’m not sure what ladybugs find to eat around here, but they appeared to be thriving!

Finally the end was in sight–the faucet at Snow Creek, and the big rock we rested by in 2005.  This time, there was one more addition–a hopeful-looking Smile Train!   Turned out he waited for us because he was hoping we’d hitch into Cabazon with him. He said he’d had a hard time getting rides before, because people were reluctant to pick up a single scruffy-looking guy.  So we agreed, since we were a bit short on food.  After rinsing out our socks (boy, did they need it!) the three of us headed out against the wind in the pass.  It was tough going–soft sand underfoot and a fierce headwind.  At least it wasn’t 115 degrees plus this time–the temperature was only 85 degrees.   While we walked, I told Smile Train about the PCT term, “ride bride.”  He was correct in observing that single guys have a harder time getting a ride than guys with a GIRL.  So it’s not unusual for a PCT hiker to ask a fellow GIRL hiker if she would be his “ride bride.”

In return, Smile Train taught us an Appalachian Trail term:  “Idiot check”, which basically means that every time you are about to head out from a rest break, you carefully check to be SURE you didn’t leave any of your stuff behind.  So the 4 mile walk through blowing sand and wind went quickly and when we reached the shelter of the freeway/railroad underpass, we were all delighted to find a wonderful hiker cache with plenty of sodas and water, snacks and a hiker register.  It felt so good to be out of the wind!  We all ate and drank, signed and read the register, then headed for the nearest freeway onramp headed for Cabazon.

It took about 15 minutes of standing by the onramp holding out my PCT bandana with the words “Hiker to Town” prominantly displayed before a small pickup truck with two guys in it pulled over.  “Where are you you headed?”  they asked and when we told them “Just to Cabazon”, they said, “We can take you, but you’ll all have to lie down flat in the back of the truck so the Highway Patrol can’t see you.”   We all piled in, flattened ourselves like pancakes, and had a crazy 5 mile ride into town!    The guys dropped us off at the first Cabazon exit, and we thanked them VERY gratefully!

Turned out that the big attraction at this exit was a DINOSAUR park, with lifesize dinos!  Very awesome!   And there was a Burger King, so we all made straight for it and ate and ate and ate.   Next to do was find a place to get some extra trail food and some water.   The nearest ordinary store was on the other side of the freeway, so we went over and got food for our packs.  Water was still a problem, and also how to get back to the trail.  I spotted a little post office and said, “Hey, let’s check there!  Maybe there will be a hiker register and list of trail angels.” 

But the post office had just closed, five minutes before we got there!  We stood in front of it, discussing what to do next, when a man hailed us from across the street.  “Are you PCT hikers?”  Turned out he was a trail angel, who really had missed helping hikers.  Since the PCT was re-routed,  hardly any PCT’ers  go to Cabazon anymore.     He invited us over to his house to get water.  Well, actually, what he did was invite us into what he called his “man cave.”  What an interesting place!   He’s a man of many skills, but his favorite is painting, and his house had several of his paintings, which he framed himself.  The frames alone are works of art.   The house was full of various items relating to his many interests.    “I’m glad my kids are grown and out , so I have the place to myself,” he said.  “And they are a real responsible, hardworking bunch, so I’m not stuck with raising my grandkids like a lot of other guys my age.”

The “Artist Trail Angel” gave us a ride back to the PCT,  and we were off again into the desert, with the windmills singing their thumping, humming song overhead, and the wind blowing.   Smile Train took off –he is very fast–and we began the climb back into the mountains.   It was a wonderful afternoon–the flowers were in full bloom, the wind felt good, and it had only taken 2 hours for our whole “Cabazon adventure.”  The only problem I had was my terribly sore quads and arms and shoulders, and all the desert grit in my poor filthy socks.  The rinse we gave them at Snow Canyon helped a little, but they REALLY need soap and hot water! 

As we were walking along, a guy on a dune buggy came zooming along on a dirt road nearby.  “Welcome to Section C!” he hailed us.  “Y’all headed for Canada?”  “Yes, we sure are!”  we shouted back.  He wished us well and roared off.  Eventually we stopped for a brief snack and tried to shake some of the grit out of our shoes.  Not much luck–there’s still plenty left.

By sundown we were at Teutang Canyon.  It’s a very impressive, deep, dramatic gorge, but we found a nice little side gully and made a comfortable cowboy camp.  The crickets are singing, and it’s a beautiful evening.  I did take some Motrin, though, or I probably won’t get much sleep due to VERY sore muscles!   Battling the snow is a lot different from just plain ol’ hiking!

Walk to Rivendell: Flat country on way to Weather Hills