April 25

Leaving Hikertown.  The shaggy beard came off.  Wind from the west blew hard and cold on the left side while walking toward the L.A. Aqueduct.  I could see the water in the aqueduct until about a mile further when the trail turned north to follow a closed canal. Then moisture from miles west blown from dark clouds,  always threatening to overtake me, but never fulfilling its wet promise. Joshua trees along the trail to the wind farm. Very heavy winds from the wind farm to the area surrounding Tylerhorse Canyon.  Wormy already camped after the rain drenched him. The wild wind came from differing directions making a tarp set up impossible -- forced my return to a camp 1 mile back, where an attempt to set up the tarp resulted in a torn tarp and a decision to hike 17 miles to Tehachapi Willow Springs Rd. After passing Tylerhorse Canyon, I reconsidered and camped using a large juniper bush as a wind break.

April 22, 2015

April 21 Hiking out of Acton, I walked up toward one ravine where a crow flew out and landed on the trail where I could see him. He began to walk the trail looking at  me as he did to make sure I was watching. If he could talk, what would I have heard him say? "Look at me, I'm walking to Canada. What a stupid thing to do." 

Cruise control thought the terrain at mile 462 looked best for camping. 462 was on an exposed ridge with heavy winds from the south. It was impossible to set up the tarp for hammock camping, so I rigged it for a ground camp with two corners pinned low, two corners at waist level. Trekking pole placed under the middle of the tarp.
The window shrink wrap film of the tarp rattled all night in the wild wind and I fretted that the windward stake would fly out, letting the wind sweep away my gear. None of the gear failed.
The next morning, I saw Sidewinder's protected site only 50 yards further along the trail. More gorgeous sites abounded on the leeward side of the mountain. 

We arrived at San Francisquito Canyon Rd mile 478.6 hitched a ride to the Andersons, made taco salads , BS'D a bit then camped in their back yard.

April 19

To helipad at mile 427. Warm wake-up at mile 406--Kinetic (Pete Metcalfe) arrives with a shout. Passed Toast and Copenhagen.
I was running out of food.
Toured the fire station area and saw the monument to the 2 fallen firefighters. We came to the helipad and camped, bedding down well before hikers midnight. A beam of light soon shone on the pad from a security vehicle for an hour, then drove down the  mountain.
April 20. Acton KOA. At 6:45 we started up the old paved road bypassing the smelly poodle dog bush plagued trail. A wrong turn at the top of the hill took me 1/4 mile off the detour route--the guthooks app brought me back. Kinetic got out of camp an hour after us and caught us 10 miles out of Acton --a phenomenal athlete.  On arrival at the KOA,  I found that the pool was closed until May 1--I carried the Tyr & goggles 444 miles--aieeeee!

From Big Bear Lake

From Big Bear Lake to mile 281. GINGER Grouse started w/ me. I hammock  camped at 4 p.m. ~16 mi.in at a pretty knoll. Some trouble with heel pressure--over-inflated pad.
To Willow Creek, mile 305.7 I slept on a large rock, in camp too late to hammock.
To Silverwood Lake, mile 328.5. First the hot springs, mile 307.7 for an hour at 7 am. Then on down the Deep Creek Canyon. Many Jimson weed.@ Met Cut It & Bipolar. Hang poss @ Cleghorn picnic area. Ranger came by to  check--very friendly.
To 357.2.
Great walk to McDonald's--I ate a burger & fries, loaded up on water. Walked with Matt from near Swarthout Canyon Rd. hammock camped with underinflated air pad on top of hammock instead of between layers--nice. POLYCRO tarp set up to effectively block wind.
April 16 Mile 357.2 to Wrightwood, mile 369.7. Late rising. Matt becomes Nominal Toast after a short conver with Mud mouth who gushed about the trail. The  Mountain  Hardware  Store to pick up food box. Bought bars and called Jean Kerry out of their "trail angel" book. Stayed w Jean. Intown: Tortoise, Kinetic, Cruise Control, Camel
To Jimmy Spring Campground. A tough ascent to Mt Baden-Powell for lunch and a pretty hike to the spring and camp. Hammock camped with tarp set up before hammock. Air mattress underinflated  between layers then on top, then normally inflated on top.
To Jimmy Spring Campground. Water at the spring, then to the campground, picnic tables, outhouses, trees for hanging. Hammock camp. Boy scouts arriving about 10:30 p.m. making noises and shouting "bring me the light, awesome campsite!, etc." Noise only abated at midnight.
To mile 404. Broke camp, then to scout camp to discuss noise. Scout master exceptionally rude and threatening, "knock you on your ass." I recorded the conversation--will likely submit to Boy Scouts, CNN, PCTA.
Buckhorn Campground. Trail  Angel Ninja Tank show with beer,root beer, bananas etc.
Burkhardt Trail to Creek to fill water. Group of 15-20 hikes by, some with long knives sheathed, one with a 20" sword! We were too close to L.A.
Cowboy camped After one of the last crossingso of Hwy 2.

April 10

April 10  Unusually nature called twice In 6 hours for me to dig a hole before I was really ready to get out of that warm quilt.  Worse yet, the temp outside was only ~25 deg F at the Coon Creek Campground.

I got on the trail with a new operating system: start with a big meal, walk with a water bottle in hand, snacks in the pocket, hiking pole in active use. Take snacks on the move and lunch big.  I left at 7:50 arriving at Hwy 18 at 15:45. The eight hour interval included a quarter mile detour when I missed a turn, visiting with Smiley at trail side, a stop to fill/treat water, a few minutes to consider the sign/offer Papa Smurf left at mile 251 for a ride into Big Bear Lake and a short lunch break.

Trail angel Shauna/ picked me up at hwy 18. Very nice. I checked in at the hostel $31 per night.

Dinner at Nuevo Vallarta: pork tamale & chile relleno. Amazingly, I  had to "dig another hole" right after dinner. The human digestive system is not efficient.

Almost all the goodies arrived at the hostel: shoes, pack, sleeping bag, phone/case, food.

Now what do I want to re-invent? Pants with roll up legs instead of zip off legs (gets rid of the fuss putting away/retrieving/losing legs). A hiking pole with a t-grip or a palm grip maybe 130 cm, maybe with a forward bent tip, like XC pole tips 

April 9

 April 9 Hike to the Coon Creek Campground 16 mi. Mile #246. Really cold 

April 8

April 8 Leaving ZATB'S @0750, back on the PCT.  Fabulous views on the ridge at miles 22-24(?). Then into the Mission Creek area. Finally a desert trumpet. Following Barefoot and watching him walk.

Hammock camp @ mile 229.6 

April 6

 April 6

Up at 5am. Trail at  550. Dale surged ahead. I hot to mile 206 & the water spigot. Leslie arrived about 25 min later--I said "I've been here five minutes."

She laughed when I suggested "five Minutes" as her trail name. And when I suggested "Cruise control" for Anthony.

Zig 

Airport gave away a lot of her food

April 6

 April 6

Up at 5am. Trail at  5:50. Dale surged ahead. I got to mile 206 & the water spigot. Leslie arrived about 25 min later--I said "I've been here five minutes."

She laughed when I suggested "five Minutes" as her trail name. I suggested "Cruise control" for Anthony.

Five Minutes gave away a lot of her food before leaving. 

April 5

 April 5. Oops, I bounced the maps and notes for the segment to Big Bear along w the food. Nonetheless I found my way to the n Fork San jacinto . Beerdra just finished lunch and took off.  Parkay appeared, asked my trail name. Not for the first time, I thought Broccoli but remembered Goldilocks, then I said I probably should change that to Memory.

With 4 liters of water added to my load, I continued down the trail. I was surprised by a sudden pain in my left ankle, unrelated to an injury event. 

I hobbled along--Dale passed me and eventually I caught up to him and camped with him in some manzanita . Tortoise walked by then Leslie arrived & asked if she could camp--we talked-- she was unhappy about how the trail didn't meet her expectations, how she wasn't sleeping, her feet Hurt.

April 3

 April 3. Another early morning start in which we came upon three owls on the trail. The moon set as we walked. We arrived at another boulder camp, where Jamie & Leslie slept. At Mike Herrera's house, Paint had breakfast tacos waiting. Also present, Ryan, spouting the f-word, whether called for or not. We filled our bottles and walked--Ryan didn't follow. 

A warm walk to the 137 mi spring where we recuperated. Fewer wildflowers. 

Conversing with Leslie and Jamie at the 137 mi spring led to a decision not to hike the detour around the fire ravaged area. Both also thought Ryan had a few loose screws. We thought we'd make up things to ask Ryan about. And if he's hiking 35 miles a day, why the F&&$ isn't he lying to a whole new audience?

Leslie hiked to mile 140 with us so she could get an early start  to Paradise Valley Cafe/Idyllwild.

Per Nighthawk, the trails on the detour section suck. All of us cowboy camped.

Met David at PC Cafe, who's so jazzed about the trail he stopped to talk--then discovered his phone missing when he wanted to show vid of trail he took. Drove us to the campground, found his phone(yay!), then drove us to Idyllwild.

Camping avail at St Park, $3/night

Hammock set up but as before I noted heel pressure and knee hyperextension--I reversed ends so feet were at the trekking pole end, then reducing the length of the pole to 30" with significant improvement.

April 4

 April 4.

Awake at 0445. Where was the moon? Broke camp and walked for 20' then A said "eclipse."  First lunar eclipse I've ever seen. 

Easter Bunny left trail magic @145: fresh fruits, snacks, sodas and custom printed post cards! 

Met David (did 10 years for shooting an intruder who'd already left his house) at PC Cafe, who's so jazzed about the trail he stopped to talk--then discovered his phone missing when he wanted to show vid of trail he took. Drove us to the campground, found his phone (yay!), then drove us to Idyllwild. Bushwhack, tortoise, kinetic, Nighthawk,

Camping at St Park, $3/night

Hammock set up but as before I noted heel pressure and knee hyperextension--I reversed ends so feet were at the trekking pole end, then reducing the length of the pole to 30" with significant improvement.

April 2

 April 2. Hiking on, we saw Ysidro Creek running, then came on great prairies marked by islands of Boulders. Bare foot prints appeared.
We came on John camped below Eagle Rock. He said he made the footprints.

Ryan wasn't on our minds when we walked into the Warner Springs Community Center. He saw us first and ran to greet us, saying "How did I pass you guys? I did 70 miles in 2 days." Blah x 3.

I ordered a new sleeping bag and pack to meet me at Big Bear Lake. An Ursack to meet me at Idyllwild.

We bought breakfast@ the WS CC.

We camped at mile 119. On the abandoned road. Charlie and dog Max hiked by our view to the west.

Cowboy camp.

April 1

 April 1 A long haul from the hills above the Warner Springs Rd to Barrel Spring where a group of hikers had arrived. Along the way rattlesnakes. More stories of Ryan: carrying a revolver and ammo, getting permits to carry thru CA OR WA and Canada. a hip belt with throwing knives. Throwing stars stuck in a tree. 

Ryan with his burst of sprints and exhaustion going up hills. Wayne with the booze. 

Hammock camp with a heavy dew fall.

March 31

Mar 31. Short walk (3.5 mi) to Scissors Crossing.  Just before the junction lady jumps of her Prius & shoves raisin cookies "without any sugar" at us. "Are you thr-hiking?  My husband's from Canada." "Me, too I was born in Saskatoon". "So was my husband."

Our thumbs went up. The first car out, a Chrysler 200, picked us up. Roz and Nicole, both Chinese (?) were on their 1.5 hr commute to San Diego. Roz, driving, turned her head away from the road to look at me when I said I was retired. 

Walk thru Julian, to Grannies for breakfast. Mmmmmm. Devices charged, on into town to buy groceries, seeing Carl again.

To the Catholic Church, where Father Cecilio didn't let us use the hose to clean up--he brought us in to use the shower and washed our dirty clothes.

To Mom's where we sat catching up a blog (Anthony) and I looked up zpack's site to replace my quilt with a down quilt weighing 18 oz.

I got the grocer to put out a hiker box, where I left the remainder of the SPF50 I bought.

At 3 p.m., return to the east side of town to hitch a ride back to the trail. Some short trip cars passed, one driver asked but was also a short tripper. Then Patrick, in dreadlocks, swung his car around after passing us and shouted "Fucking hippies!" 

I asked, "does that mean you wanna give us a ride?"

"Yeah, that's why I'm talkin' shit"

The town and environs have dried severely. Past wildfires include one caused by a lost hunter starting a signal fire that spread to the coast. Another began after a DEA chopper struck a power line. Apple orchards, which have burnished the town's reputation have declined. The changing climate had rendered oak trees susceptible to pests. Patrick, whose  work in tree cutting has been steady.

Back at the PCT, a cache of twenty gallons sat under the bridge. The easy graded hike up took us past barrel cacti, more giant asparagus, ocotillo for the first time, beaver tail, fan cacti, yucca & agave of several species and nearly all were in bloom.

Cowbow camped in a dry wash, heavy winds thru the night blew over us, but without taking any of our gear.

March 30

Mar 30. 4:25 am is none too early to answer nature's call when the Milky Way is turned on.

We're not in a big hurry to put on the miles--we're just lucky to tolerate rising at 5:00 a.m. to break camp and start hiking before 6. For all four full days on the trail I've taken 1-4 hour siestas during the heat of the day, before resuming the walk.

The beavertail cacti has started to bloom in line with all the other wildflowers in the Anza Borrego Desert.

A long hike toward a camp overlooking hwy 78 (to Julian). I stopped on the trail and asked A to check our location. We were right at the camp. High winds blew over us off/on thru the night. Cowboy camp.

March 29

Mar 29 About 2 miles past the stream x we walked past a beautiful meadow with trees perfect for any kind of camping. Descending to Mt Laguna I noticed ponderosa Pines, confirmed by the up close smell of butterscotch. Very cold going down--so many microclimates.

I caught Anthony just short of Mt L. We went into a restaurant that served us food in styrofoam cups and plate with plastic dinnerware. Using the men's room, one walks to the door to find that one has to walk back around the bar to flick on the light switch just outside the women's room--the switch controls lights in both bathrooms. The gen store clerk was strangely neither friendly nor hostile--a cold fish.

I spent 30 min trying with Verizon to get my phone to receive text messages--fail. 

Bunch of people in a racing car enthusiast group came, drank coffee, made noise and left.

I found a nice pair of mitts.

We walked on. I pointed out the Ponderosa Pines to Anthony-- the smell delighted him. Temps dropped from th 28th but I still felt hot.

At Mt Laguna Campgrd we took showers and I started soaking my dinner. We returned to the trail.

We got to the trough, where a man said the water was too dirty to dunk my head in and practically forced me into his RV's shower. His wife was there to train for an event called the Zion Ragmar. He also gave us 3 quarts of water, before we began our walk to the boulder camp.

We got to the boulder camp about 30 min before sunset--just long enough to set up camp at shoot some sunset photos. Sweet.

Cowboy camp.

March 28

Mar 28.  I left Lake M at 6 am. Ryan from HI sat on a hilltop with 50 lb pack with $4,600 worth of Black Diamond gear. Said he built several campfires already. Dwayne, from Oklahoma, apologized to Anthony (Uncle Beardy) because he set off an M80 coming into Lake Morena campground. Anthony said Ryan broke a trekking pole within an hour after I passed him.

We took a 4 hour break at Cibbets Flat Campgrd. A trail angel in the site near us gave each of us a beer. Terry arrived after I'd given away the campsite where we took our siesta--I suggested Terry ask the trail angel if he could share her site. Terry came back with a beer.

I hiked out with A to Long Canyon Creek. We found the perfect camp for both a hammock and ground camp about 200 yd down from the stream crossing.

March 27

March 27. At 5am I got up and hit the trail.  The smell of the desert flora arose deliciously until the sun beat unrelenting under a cloudless sky. How do you record a smell for later "reading?" I saw one snake lying across the trail about 8:30. It didn't move as I stepped past--too cold maybe.

I put my fingers to the trail about 11am and guessed about hot tub warm 105 F. Already present at Hauser Canyon: Thelma and Louise, Hunter & Sleeper. Trail angels had left about 40 liters of water--a good thing, as Hauser Creek was dry. I waited in the shade about two hours, prepping myself for the hot 800' climb to Lake Morena. After topping out the trail leveled off but some sections of trail were steeply v shaped--where do you put your feet? 

I got to the campground where Hiker Terry had reserved a site away from that saved for PCT hikers. Hiker Anthony joined us.

Lake M: Cheeseburger! The campground bustled 'til 10pm then turned quiet. 

Campo Creek to Lake Morena was about an 18 mile walk. I cowboy camped (on the ground, no tent or tarp) at Lake Morena Campground.

March 26, 2015

March 26. Days inn seatac. Look for a quieter

Hotel w better  breakfas/swimmingt pool?

Mechanical issues delayed my flight to San Diego 2 hours. Trail angel Rob Roland drove me to the trailhead & weighed my pack before I left-- 26lb which included 1 liter of water and 6 lb of food and my bear can--yay. Rob gave me 4 liters, took some pictures and we parted.

I began hiking at 5:30, camped at Campo Creek near some bunches of white storage boxes. I could hear traffic, but I preferred it to the hotel. Small fixed loops made hanging the hammock possible. One end of hammock on trunk--other end on branch. Dog at a house nearby barked for five min. Wish I'd brought the 2nd spreader bar, b/c I hadn't the time to properly adapt the trekking pole. Definitely need to make camp before dark by at least an hour--ESP the first night to ensure hammock is hung right.  My hookup led to the setup dropping a notch an hour after I'd settled in. I got out to correct. 

I hadn't walked three miles today and laid awake hearing all the noises the night re-invents nightly. All night long the ranch dogs barked boundaries in three quadrants. Coyotes began a chorus and faded in minutes. traffic noises perseverated late. I could hear tires bouncing off the "wake up,asshole!" bumps.

Hammock camp.