Day 10 - Highs and Lows

Day 10 - Saturday, May 5
Tule Canyon (131.9) to Hwy 74 (151.3)
Miles today - 19.4

Last night was miserable. Not only was the wind blowing dirt all over everything and into my tent, it was also blowing my stakes out of the ground. My tent collapsed on me three times. Finally I put about 50 lbs of rocks onto the stake that kept pulling out. I was so irritated that if it happened one more time I was packing up and hiking through the night. Luckily my tent held up after that and I actually got a bit of sleep.

I woke up early and was on the trail at 5:30. Early morning is probably my favorite time of the day to hike. It's quiet and peaceful and I like getting some miles done before it gets hot. I didn't see anyone the first few hours, but I did see some wildlife. I saw three snakes, one of which was laying right on the trail and didn't want to move, so I walked around it.



Then I saw a fox while eating a snack at the bottom of a canyon. It came out of nowhere probably not knowing I was there, but then I think my stink scared it away.

I ran into Wampus Cat and her boyfriend Zen in the afternoon and hiked with them for stretches the rest of the day. Wampus Cat is one of the three other hikers I met at the airport in San Diego.



The sun was brutal today and every mile was a struggle. The water cache was empty so I really had to conserve my last 1.5 liters over the final eight miles. After what felt like forever we finally crested over the last hill and saw the road, and there were two big tents there. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I thought how great it would be if they had cold drinks. It was even better than I could have imagined. Tarzan and Little Steps are trail angeling here for the weekend and had all sorts of treats: water, veggies and dip, chips and salsa, Snickers, margaritas, and they were even cooking omelettes for everyone.



Dr. Sole was also there to take care of people's feet. A lot of people have blisters. I've been lucky so far. Charles now has the trail name Toenail after having one removed by Dr. Sole.

After recovering for a few hours I walked a mile down the road to Paradise Valley Cafe with Toenail, iPod, Spencer, Wampus, and Zen. I ordered the Jose burger, which had Swiss cheese, avacado, bacon, hot peppers, lettuce, tomato, and onions. It was incredible. Also got some sweet potato fries and my favorite beer, Green Flash West Coast IPA.



Today was one of the hardest days I've ever had and my feet hurt like hell, but it couldn't have ended better. Moments like this remind me how thankful I am to be out here.

Day 9 - Dirty

Day 9 - Friday, May 4
Agua Caliente Creek (115.1) to Tule Canyon (131.9)
Miles today - 16.8

I got off to a slow start and was the last person to leave camp. I just wasn't in the mood to pack everything up and put my funky hiking clothes back on. When I did finally get moving there was a long, hot climb waiting for me. It was a tough morning, physically and mentally.







In the afternoon I made it to trail angel Mike's house. He wasnt there, but he lets hikers fill up their water bottles and hang out in his yard where there's some shade. There were a lot of hikers there. I was surprised when Charles showed up. He was having problems with blisters and was moving really slow, so I wasn't sure if he'd catch up.

After resting for a couple hours I felt refreshed and ready to get in some more miles. The trail went up and over a ridge and suddenly there were great views of Mount San Jacinto in the distance.



I'll be going over it next week. I think it's the highest point in southern California but I'm not sure.

My campsite tonight is in a really dusty area. The wind is blowing and now all of my stuff is covered in dirt. This is the first night I've camped alone, although there are a few people camped a little ways down the trail. I watched the sunset from inside my tent.

Day 8 - Warner Springs

Day 8 - Thursday, May 3
Barrel Spring (101.4) to Agua Caliente Creek (115.1)
Miles today - 13.7

I was back at the RV for some more trail magic this morning. They had bagels, fruit, and coffee. After breakfast I made the eight mile hike to Warner Springs. The trail crossed a large grassy area where a lot of cows were grazing. They like to block the trail.



In this area I passed Eagle Rock.



Supposedly Warner Springs used to be a fun stop for hikers. There was a resort with a hot springs pool, but it was recently sold and is now closed. All that's really there now is a post office, so most hikers send a resupply box there. The community center started providing some services for hikers this year. They set up a makeshift store with hiker food, fuel, first aid supplies, etc. There were computers with internet, and you could buy a burger or hot dog for lunch. It's really awesome for the town to care about us hikers so much.

I hiked with Kim, Charles, and Three Bears in the afternoon. I got a great campsite near a creek. Kim and Three Bears pushed on a bit further, while Charles is camped a little ways downstream. Justin, Jim, Yankee Son, Hallmark, Joel, and Robin are camped here and we all hung out around a fire. Life on the trail just keeps getting better.

Day 7 - 100 Miles

Day 7 - Wednesday, May 2
Gully (82) to Barrel Spring (101.4)
Miles today- 19.4
The wind picked up again overnight and my tent was flapping all over the place. Just as I was about to pack up in the morning the wind ripped a couple of my stakes out of the sand even though I had them held down with rocks. The wind gusts were probably 50-60 mph during the morning hike, and the trail traversed steep slopes that you wouldn't want to fall down if you were blown off the trail.

I took a long break at the 3rd Gate water cache. There must have been at least 100 gallon jugs of water there, hauled up the trail on foot by a trail angel. Hikers probably empty this cache every couple of days.

From the cache to the next water source at Barrel Spring was 10 miles. The vegetation changed from cactus and prickly plants to greener, more friendly bushes as we crossed to the other side of the mountain.

My feet were really sore and I hobbled the last few miles down to the spring. My spirits were lifted when I started seeing signs posted on the trees about free food and drinks ahead. I came to an RV and they had chili dogs, salad, beer, sodas, chairs, and a bonfire. Trail magic! There are a lot of hikers camping here. They are serving breakfast in the morning.

I'm starting to see a lot of the same hikers every day and I'm finally starting to remember most of their names.
100 miles done already!

Day 6 - Mmm, Pie

Day 6 - Tuesday, May 1
Rodriguez Spur (68.4) to gully (82)
Miles today - 13.6

Charles and I were moving by 6:00 this morning and hiked nine miles through the desert down to the road at Scissors Crossing before it got too hot.



There are a lot of mean plants right along the trail that you wouldn't want to run into.



We hitched the 13 miles into the town of Julian, our first real town so far. Julian is a really small touristy town, but everybody there was super friendly. Mom's Pies had free lunch and pie with ice cream for thruhikers. The berry pie was amazing.



We spent most of the day just hanging out in town. There were quite a few other hikers there. We hitched back to the trail after 4:00 and got a ride from an awesome woman who had just read the book about the PCT called "Wild." I think she was more excited to give us a ride than we were to get one. She even gave us hugs after dropping us at the trail.

By the time we were hiking again the wind had really picked up and nearly blew me over a few times. I also almost lost my hat, but managed to catch it just as it was about to be blown off the mountain never to be seen again. The trail followed beautifully constructed switchbacks up and around the mountain, meandering through every gully. I saw three snakes today. Luckily none were rattlers because I nearly stepped on a couple of them.

We found a campsite just before we started losing daylight. We're in a sandy wash high up on the side of the mountain. It's pretty protected from the wind.

Day 5 - In the Sun

Day 5 - Monday, April 30
Pioneer Mail (52.7) to Rodriguez Spur (68.4)
Miles today - 15.7

I didn't sleep well last night. The dryness here makes my nose stuffy so I have to breathe through my mouth, but then my mouth gets bone dry in seconds. Also, I think I'm allergic to something here. I was sneezing all night. When I did actually get a little sleep I had one of the worst dreams I think I've ever had. I was happy when morning came around.

I hiked almost the entire day with Charles. He's in his 50's and from San Antonio. I think we're going to head into Julian tomorrow. It was warm and sunny all day again, and the only relief I had in the shade was when I took a break behind a water tank. No natural shade anywhere.







We didn't see many hikers on the trail, but there's a whole bunch of us camping together. When there aren't many water sources around, everybody seems to make them their destination for the day.

Day 4 - Mount Laguna

Day 4 - Sunday, April, 29
Long Canyon Creek (38) to Pioneer Mail Picnic Area (52.7)
Miles today - 14.7

Today picked up where yesterday left off - going uphill. The trail climbed into a nice line forest which provided some shade.



At the top of the climb I stopped at the Mount Laguna store for some snacks and a Gatorade.



There were a few other hikers there. The owner said there could be 50 hikers there at one time tomorrow, so it's nice to be ahead of the herd for now. It's like we're fighting for resources and campsites the first few weeks until everybody spreads out a bit.

The hiking this afternoon was awesome. There were great views of the Anza Borrego Desert thousands of feet below. Looks hot down there.



I spent most of the afternoon leapfrogging with Lester, Charles, Doug, and Kip. We hiked together a little, but mostly just stopped for breaks at the same spots. We're all camped in a picnic area along with Andrea, Bert and his daughter, Samwise who I met at the airport and also stayed at Scout and Frodo's, Fall Risk who I met at kickoff, as well as a few others.