Week Two: Everything Hurts
Week 2: May 13th through 19th
Day 6
18.3 trail miles / @ 101.3 on PCT
18.9 watch miles
2362 ft elevation gain
Woke up this morning with one goal in mind, make it to the road crossing for the Ranchita Bodega by 4PM. Ranchita Bodega was some sort of combination of lodging, resupply store, and in my mind, oasis in the middle of all this chaparral. I had just over 18 miles to go to get there, and they did their last pick up from the trail at 4PM. It was hot and exposed all day, but I kept plugging away at the miles with my goal in mind. My feet were killing me, both with blisters and deep aches in the arches, which I thought were probably from them being overworked from all the miles and also carrying extra pack weight.
As the day went on I limped more and more. I decided to take a lunch break at a spot designated in my FarOut app as a nice spot just off trail with shade. I sat down for a bit and took my shoes off while I rested and ate. Before long it was time to pack up and head out. After what felt like an eternity I could see the barrel springs (a water source) and just beyond that the road!
At the road was a man providing trail magic, with ice cold cokes, chips, cookies, and some fold out chairs. I had made it at 2:30PM, so plenty of time to take advantage of it and also call for a pick up from Ranchita Bodega. Soon enough myself, and a hiker from Switzerland named Claudio were picked up in a white SUV and driven to the Bodega. It was an interesting place, somewhat run down in the middle of nowhere, but with a great resupply. I rented a private room with a shared kitchen and bathroom, and headed off to take my first shower of the trip! It was heavenly. I also met a young trio of PCT hikers: RocketMan, EasyBake, and Boomer, who were currently trying to cast one of their Netflix accounts to the TV in the common room.
I made dinner, chatted with Claudio, RocketMan, EasyBake, and Boomer and also spent some time on the phone with Dave back home! Oh yeah, I also reached mile 100 on the trail! Some intrepid hiker had written 100 in rocks on the trail, so it was obligatory that I take a picture with it :)
Day 7
14.1 trail miles / @ 115.4 on PCT
14.56 watch miles
1729 ft elevation gain
After a restful night at the Bodega, I got a ride back to the trail with Claudio at 9AM. RocketMan, EasyBake, and Boomer had hitched back to trail earlier, wanting to get a start on the day. Claudio was having trouble with blisters and overall not enthused about the trail. He ended up turning around after about 1/2 mile of hiking and going back to Ranchita for a day off. I was feeling much improved by the shower and night in a bed and happy to keep hiking.
Eagle Rock is a natural rock formation that looks remarkably like an eagle! I happened to get there when a group of 15 women hikers from the local community were there, and they happily took my picture!
A little later in the day I came to the town of Warner Springs and ran into Andrew, a hiker I had met a few days prior. Warner Springs has a post office, gas station/convenience store, but is best known to hikers for their Community Resource Center. The Community Resource Center offers charging, sells cold drinks and snacks, and bucket laundry (which is what it sounds like - you wash your clothes in a bucket). I wanted the check out the Community Resource Center and see if they sold Neosporin because I had used all of mine on my dang blisters. They didn't open until 4 PM, so I had a few hours to wait. When they opened there was a line of 5 hikers waiting but I got in quickly and the man there sold me a tube of antibiotic ointment for $1! I also got a cold Pepsi which tasted divine.
I then kept hiking and walked through a golden field with happy cows and then came to a stream that I followed until dusk. I went to set up my tent on a sandy area near the stream bed and realized that I had lost my tent stake! I was able to use rocks to hold down the corners of my tent and set it up. I wouldn't be able to buy more until I made it to the next town of Idyllwild, a few days down the trail.
Day 8
21.6 trail miles / @ 137.0 on PCT
22.48 watch miles
3740 ft elevation gain
I started the hike one week ago today! This was my biggest day on trail to date and by the end of the day I could really feel it! It's starting to get dryer and I'm having to make sure to take note of where all of the water sources are up ahead and check the notes in the FarOut app to make sure seasonal streams are still running. There are also water caches, either maintained by landowners or trailangels. We hit one such cache at "Mike's Place" which was somewhat post-apocalyptic looking.
The sketchiest water source so far on trail was this rust colored water in a nearly dry streambed. There was a mason jar next to the stream to help hikers scoop up the colored water. I do run all of my water through a filter before drinking to make it safe to drink, so it was fine, just not super appetizing!
I camped up on top of a hill where there were many sheltered spots in a manzanita grove. There was space for lots of hikers, which was fun. While making dinner I met a man from Australia named Richard. He had to finish the trail by August 15th for work, and so was already hiking 25-30 mile days! I also ran into EasyBake again, it was nice to see a familiar face. There was good cell service on the hill so I spent the evening catching up with Dave :) My tent was wonky because I had to use rocks again instead of tent stakes, and it's hard to pull everything taut.
Day 9
14.8 trail miles / @ 151.8 on PCT
14.94 watch miles
2651 ft elevation gain
I woke up with a mission today. A mission to make it to a place called Paradise valley Cafe as early as possible so I could have a burger and get a ride into the town of Idyllwild. My feet were killing me this morning, probably as a result of doing my biggest day so far the day previously and lugging around my cursed laptop for the last 9 days. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention that I was carrying a laptop to finish up grading the two online classes I taught this spring. Once I made it to Idyllwild I could ship it home and drop 3 pounds from the weight in my backpack.
Usually I try and space out some breaks while I'm walking. Every couple of hours take off my shoes, take off my pack to rest and reset but I didn't want to spend the time doing that today and so as the morning went on everything got more and more painful. I hiked for a while back and forth with a couple of hikers and eventually hiked into Paradise valley Cafe with Boomer. We were both struggling. We opted to take the road to the cafe instead of the power line trail in the hopes that someone would give us a ride. But alas no one did so we walked the mile on the shoulder of the highway and in the distance we could see Paradise. When we finally reached the cafe the waitress immediately gave us cold ice water. I quickly ordered a giant burger with blue cheese on it and sweet potato fries and a giant ice-cold Coke. It was amazing.
The next step was figuring out how to get a ride to Idyllwild which was roughly 17 miles away but the Farout comments said that it was an easy place to get a ride to. The comments also mentioned a person named Vic and his number and that he gave rides. And while we were there ordering lo and behold Vic was there dropping off some hikers who were coming back to the trail. So we went over and I secured a ride for myself and Boomer and then a couple other hikers named Lilo and Stitch (a couple from Hawaii). Vic was an interesting fellow who goes back and forth quite often just driving hikers. We ended up each the four of us giving him $10 each so I think he makes a decent amount doing this during busy times. I checked into my room at the Idyllwild inn and took a shower and called Dave which was delightful. So good to see his face and get to catch up with him. I miss him so much. After that I tried to take care of all my town chores that I could which involved doing laundry at the laundromat, going to the grocery store, the post office to pick up my box and get in food for the night, then spent the night chilling in my room.
A dog named Max is the Mayor of Idyllwild (he is the golden retriever wearing a tie). His deputy mayor is the other retriever (did not catch his name).
Day 10
7.9 trail miles / @ 159.7 on PCT
8.66 watch miles
2293 ft elevation gain
I spent the morning at the Idyllwild Inn and called my parents at 7:00. It was great to chat with them and answer their questions about the trail and hear from home. Then I spent a couple of hours finishing up grading for my the classes I adjunct. Classes ended last Tuesday so I just needed to grade any any late assignments and submit final grades. Soon enough it was 11:00 a.m. and I had to check out the Idyllwild
Inn. The Inn was charming and had a lot of character. I dropped off some things in the hiker box ( a place where hikers can leave things they don't need for other hikers). I left an almost full bag of Epsom salt and a half full sunscreen and about 15 quarters that I mistakenly got from the laundromat and didn't need to use but they are too heavy to hike with. I went to a cute little coffee shop next door. Got myself an iced coffee and a scone and sat with my laptop doing my first blog for the trail which I then posted and filled out some postcards for family and friends. Made one more trip to the post office to mail everything out and then gave Vic a call for a ride back to the trail. Arrived back at trail like 1:30 p.m. started hiking with the goal of doing 10 miles before it got dark. I had to make a fairly long detour downhill to get water from a sketchy spring and then back up. Shortly before my goal of 10 miles I ran into my friends Bec and Mike who I had met on day 2. I hadn't seen them since before Julian! I chatted for them a bit and then set up camp nearby. It was good to see them again.
Day 11
21.2 trail miles / @ 180.9 on PCT
21.67 watch miles
7182 ft elevation gain
Today was a huge day of climbing as I was hiking up Mt San Jacinto. I spent a few hours hiking and chatting with Bec and Mike until we went our separate ways. This area of the trail had been closed for a number of years because a forest fire had devastated the area about 10 years ago. The burned trees were a danger for a long time, and it was only reopened in the past few years. Because of this the trail was not very maintained and we had to climb over dozens of huge downed trees covering the trail. Add in just over 7000 feet of elevation gain and it was a tough day. It was also incredibly beautiful with many wildflowers and views as we ascended up the mountain.
I decided to set up camp at the last campsite before the peak at mile 180.9 and decide in the morning if I was going to summit the mountain or follow the PCT, which stays below the peak. I didn't have my microspikes and there was still snow up there, so I was nervous about what to do. During the night the winds picked up and blew my tent over, so I just wrapped it around me and slept without it. It was my coldest night on trail so far, and there was some snow nearby.
Day 12
20.2 trail miles / @ 201.1 on the PCT
21.0 watch miles
2201 elevation gain
After a not so restful night of sleep I woke up late and everyone camped near me had already left to hike up to the peak. I decided to skip that and just hike the official PCT trail, which wound around the mountain and then descended through a really superfluous number of switchbacks to the valley floor. It was a stunning descent but really wearing on the legs and feet by the end of the day. As I descended I could see the mesa wind farm down below as well as more mountains across the flats and valley we would cross the next day. I camped just after mile 200 (yay!) almost all the way down the mountain. It was another windy night, but fortunately my tent stayed up.
What I'm Reading This Week on the PCT
I read Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home by Heather "Anish" Anderson. Anish is a very accomplished backpacker and member of the thru-hiking and ultra-running communities. This book chronicles her successful attempt at setting the self-supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Pacific Crest Trail. It was inspiring to read about her experience doing well over double the daily mileage I am, all without help from a crew. She went on to set the record in just over 60 days! It's a fun read, especially as I was moving through the same landscapes she mentioned in her book. Would recommend to any hiking, backpacking, or trail running enthusiast, or anyone who likes to read about people accomplishing big goals.
