Trail notes based on a phone call Friday, 6/3, at about 10:30 at night from Cajon Pass. A and E arrived in Cajon Pass, in the afternoon, ate at McDonalds, bought a few supplies, and were sleeping at Best Western. They were planning to be back on the trail the next morning and hoped the McD opened early enough for breakfast.
A and E went to the PO in Big Bear City, retrieved their bounce box and headed out to the trail. They met a man at the PO who gave them a lift part way out. They started walking on the trail a little after 10 AM and met D, a real estate agent. He was going on a day hike and walked w/ them for 1 1/2 mi. before going off on a different trail. He's thinking about becoming a trail angel.
A and E did about 19 mi. They met two men, 77 and 67 years old, who were on a 4 day hike. They are interested in light weight hiking stuff and asked interesting questions.
After hiking 10 mi. A thought one of her chacos (sandals) was loose. She realized that the attachment strap that is buried in the sole had ripped out. She had something less than a flip flop. They were near Deep Creek Canyon. I'm not sure how they figured out where to go but decided they had to head off trail to Lake Arrowhead, past Cedar Glen where there was a shoe outlet.
They went 3 mi on a forest service rd. At about 1 mi outskirts of Cedar Glen they came upon an area that had had a huge fire 1 1/2 years ago. All the houses had burned. They walked past foundation after foundation. They could also see smoke coming from the town and a helicopter circling overhead. She said it was very eerie. Two houses were burning. This was completely unconnected w/ the huge fire but does point out just how fire is a constant threat.
A said she was upset about the broken sandal and losing 1/2 day of hiking, but walking past one of the houses where the mother was consoling one child after another, put her problem into perspective.
They walked 1 1/2 mi further to Lake Arrowhead. They bought a pair of Nike Brand Running shoes. They also called REI and REI is supposed to send a pair of Chacos to the hardware store in Wrightwood. REI may reimburse them and asked them to send the broken Chacos to them. They got to the PO just as it was closing and A managed to look woeful enough that the clerk opened up again and took the package. The Nikes are working, though are hotter, and A is getting blisters.
One good piece of fortune, was when they had gone 3 mi into Cedar Glen they came to a cross roads w/ a gas station, some other store and a MALT shop. She said they had GREAT MALTS. After the PO they got a couple of short rides but basically walked the 4 1/2 mi back to the trail. They did manage to hit the malt shop again.
Another highlight of the day was that on the way into Cedar Glen they saw their first huge rattlesnake. It was about 4 ft long and had a full rattle which it used. It was an even numbered calendar day (?), so E's day.
They did 23-25 mi on Thu. They expected it to be very hot because they were going thru an area that had burned so had no trees. They were on a ridge at about 3000 ft. On one side was the Mojave and usually there's hot air blowing off it, but there was cold air blowing rather fiercely.
They had a tough time camping. They came to some good camp sites but she said they got greedy and thought they could go further. They were on a contour trail and the hillside was steep. There was no flat ground. They found an area where a swath had been cut to made a fire break. They camped there. They were very close to low clouds. The cold winds were creating mist. E tried to put up the tarp but it was too windy. They tried "cowboy camping" (sleeping bags) and but became concerned that their bags would get soggy from the mist. E tried again and managed to pitch the tarp low and pin it to the ground all around. They were under it for 3 hrs like that but were getting condensation. A got up to "use the facilities" and realized the sky was clear. They spent the rest of the night under the stars.
They were 22 mi outside Cajon Pass and got a decent start. A said that often as they approach a town the scenery is not pretty, but they were walking thru Silver Wood Lake Recreation Area and it was very beautiful. They stopped at a bathrooms/picnic area.
A and E arrived in Cajon Pass in the afternoon. They were going between the San Bernadino and San Gabriel mtns. The alleuvial sand had created an interesting bad lands area w/ a gorgeous canyon. They met a trail maintainence person. A and E have a policy of talking to them because they are grateful for their work. He gave them some info re: next piece of trail.
In Cajon Pass they found the McDonalds and mini mart and bought a few supplies, and were spending the night at Best Western. They were planning to be back on the trail the next morning and hoped the McD opened early enough for breakfast.
The food on the trail was pretty good. They carried an onion w/ them and had some flavor (spice) packs. They are eating 2 cold meals a day which is working out. She said it not only takes time to set up the stoves but it can be hard to eat hot food when it's hot.
They do not believe they are having calorie issues.
This section was not as hot as the Banner Pass section. In the sun it was 90's. In Big Bear they bought gatorade powder. They don't want to gunk up their water bottles so they put it in zip locks w/ two straws. They add the water when they stop and rest. That is working and she didn't feel dehydrated.
They are intimate w/ the family of nuts and are chewing well.
The following notes are based on a phone call on Sun, June 5, from Wrightwood.
On Saturday June 4 they hiked the first 3 hrs w/o sitting down. They did stop and drink water, but E says that sitting down and getting back up takes an additional 15 minutes. In the middle of the day they took a 3 hr break, then they hiked on. They're also eating two of their meals as they walk.
They left Cajon Pass at 7:45 w/ heavy packs (water.) They finished walking around 6. I think they'd done 20+ miles. They thought about going further but A's feet were "killing her." She has 6 blisters from the Nikes. The blisters are not infected. The change of foot bed makes her feet ache and she was happy to rest them.
Saturday evening they passed Guffy Campground. They thought about camping there, but it was the weekend and there were about 6 cars of folks around. She said they like to go to bed around 7 PM and that's hard to do w/ weekend folks close by. She also said they are used to the privacy of the wilds. She said it's nice to run into people during the day, but they prefer not to camp near them.
It's really cold at night and A sleeps in long underwear.
A and E arrived in Wainwright around the middle of the day. The hardware store is hiker friendly and REI was shipping chacos there for A. The store is open 7 days/wk.
After they discovered that her shoes had not arrived they decided to stay overnight. REI traced the shipping and said it should be delivered on Monday morning. They were hoping to leave by noon.
The hardware store had print outs about John Donovan, the lost hiker.
A said they were not sorry to have a short rest. They're trying to get more miles in each day of hiking. Previously they had been doing breaks on the hour. but realized the breaks take 20 minutes, which is good in the heat. They feel that they're acclimatized now and the trail is not quite as hot.
A and E are headed to Agua Dulce and hope to get there by mid day Fri, June 10. She asked me to look for recent snow reports re: Mt. Baden-Powell. I found a report from 5/30 which said there was still lots of snow and the hikers had detoured. She thought there was a good chance they would detour also.
From Agua Dulce, they are going to Doug's and figure out how they're going to get to Canada to start going south.
The following notes are based on phone calls from A on Fri, June 10 and Sun, June 12. They were at Doug and Sara's near LA.
They picked up A's chackos at the hardware store and left Wrightwood around 10 AM. After reading snow reports re: Mt Baden-Powell they decided not to climb the mtn but to go via Highway 2. Baden-Powell is the highest mtn in S Cal and has gorgeous views, but has an extraordinary amt of snow this year. Highway 2 is actually closed because of avalanche damage.
A and E walked down the highway and had tremendous views. There had been attempts to plow the road so at places there were banks of snow 30 feet high. At other places there were boulders sitting on the road. A said they took lots of pictures. While they were sorry not to climb B-P, this was a once in a lifetime experience also.
On Monday they hiked about 20 mi total. The Highway 2 section was about 12 mi. They were up 7900 ft. They went thru Islip Saddle. This was just before Mt Williamson. They could see Islip Saddle from Dawson Saddle. They were under clear skies and could see clouds pouring thru Islip saddle.They walked along a ridge. On the right was clear sky and on the left was a blanket of clouds. It was about 6:30 pm and the light was beautiful. They were still on Highway 2 and went thru tunnels. This section was open to traffic but there was basically none.
After they passed Mt. Williamson they were going thru pine forest. They camped after the second tunnel. On their left was a lump of white sandrock. It was different than the rest of the terrain. They camped on the lump. It was cold. They haven't had a tarp up for days because there's no rain. About 11 PM a wind came up. E thinks it was a catabalic wind (related to heating and cooling in the mtns.) It was strong and they were concerned that some gear would blow away. They didn't sleep well.
This was a beautiful day but they were very tired. They got to Glenwood Camp, a Boy Scout Camp. No one was there. They took a 40 minute nap and then felt better. They hiked 3 more miles and managed 20 mi total. They descended into some chaparrel and looked for a campground. It was very brushy and hard to find a spot. About 1/4 mi off the trail they camped by a pine. That night they had 10 hours of sleep.
They were worried that it would be hot. After about 4 mi they ran into D, a 62 year old who was having trouble w/ blisters. They walked 5 mi together then A/E stopped and cooked. 4 mi later they passed D who was cooking. At 20 mi D passed them again. A had a hard time eating dinner. They rested and after eating she felt better. They hiked on and did 25.5 mi total. They felt good afterward.
That night they had a bad site. There was a dirt road near a flat spot. Because of the road access there were beer cans and trash, but they stayed there and fortunately had no company other than two owls that were calling. It got dewy overnight.
They were 20 mi outside of Agua Dulce. They stopped at the N Fork Ranger Station. Near by was an RV park w/ picnic tables and a soda machine. They had a lunch of pepperoni and cheese, onion, soda. Clouds were pouring into the valley. Often as they are nearing civilization there starts to be trash and is less scenic. There was beautiful scenery going into AD. The Soledad Canyon Recreation Area has lots of red rocks and lots of conglomerate rocks.
On their way into AD they met a 60 yr old man who asked them about their hike. He picked a pink rose and gave it to A. They went to the supermarket which had a banner across the front saying PCT Hikers Welcome. They left their packs under the banner and were picking out food when another hiker stopped in.
He was staying at the Saufley's. Donna and Jess Saufley are a legendary couple who welcome thru hikers. They have two cars that hikers can borrow to go to LA and resupply (REI). This hiker had one of the cars and was on his way back from LA. He came by the supermarket to see if there were any hikers to pick up. They arrived at the Saufley's around 5 pm.
A, said that the Saufley's is just as wonderful as the reports. There is a garage, a trailer, an RV, and 2 tents for the hikers. The garage has a sign that said Start Here. There are notebooks w/ trail info, printouts from the web of recent reports, information about borrowing the cars. There was a basket of clean t shirts and shorts. You take an outfit, go to the trailer, take a shower, put your clothes in a laundry basket w/ your name and Donna does the wash and brings you your clean clothes. A said the place is immaculate and well organized. There are 2 computers w/ internet for hikers and a phone. (They called Doug.) There's a refrig, microwave, etc. There's a place to sign up for beds in the tents and trailers.
About 8 people were there when A/E were. When the pack comes thru 40 people can be there overnight.
Doug arrived around 10 and picked up the cleaned up version of the hikers.
Their plan is to go to WA, but not sprint up there. On Monday June 13 they will fly SW Airlines to Seattle, spend the day at REI (E calls it the Mothership) and stay overnight. Tuesday they will bus to Manning Park in Canada. The airlines and bus schedules didn't mesh for a faster connection and they really wanted to stop at the original REI.
They are feeling stronger than ever. A again mentioned how helpful their winter/spring weekend long-hikes were. She said the last 10 days were their longest time w/o significant breaks. They can walk 3 hours w/o stopping as long as the weather is not super hot. They are concerned about completing the trip by Oct.1. They told the Saufley's they would by back in Oct and Donna said they will be looking for them.
The weekend was busy. They enjoyed being w/ Doug and Sara, but for A being in LA was a bit of a culture shock. E/A went to the grocery store and bought dinner and lunches for the next month. On Sunday they went back and bought snack food. They bought 200 zip lock bags and some boxes at UPS. Sunday evening D and S were going out and A/E were taking over the apt and sorting food and gear into bounce boxes. She said the grocery shopping was definitely easier w/ a car.
They went to REI and Sport Chalet and bought socks, freeze dried dinners, long sleeve shirts that are not mesh because they expect black flies in WA.