I was the first hiker to wake but the residents of the house in Wrightwood were already having breakfast. Coleen made us breakfast burritos, showed us the washing machine and then left the house to us as she went off the the kids. We all did our town chores, Scatman spending a whopping $104 on food (energy bars add up) for 4.5 days and me replacing the crappy Sea-to-Summit spork that broke while scooping tuna out of a foil packet. Also got a letter from Bex, thank you!

The walk started easily enough from Inspiration Point but soon found a way to drop down to 6585 ft before starting the massive climb up Mount Baden-Powell. Named after the founder of the Scouts it’s 9400 ft high and steep, painfully steep. I thought my calf-muscles were tough before but they were cookie-dough. Now they’re carved out of wood. As I neared the spur trail to the top I was feeling good so I ran past Vortex and challenged him to a race to the summit, with packs (with 4 days of food and 3 litres of water). I got a 10-second head start but he sprinted by me only to slow to a wheezing crawl, as did I, before the top. I regained the lead but I wasn’t 10 seconds ahead at the end.

*Stupid bloody imperial system 2 miles ≠ 3000 feet. That’d be about 3000 yards

on top of Mount Baden-Powell Blue Sky, Vortex, Neptune, Mr Fusion, Scatman, SunWalker

Spectacular views of course, still affected by haze unfortunately. Mr Fusion and Neptune joined us and we got a great team photo at the top. On the way down I was in a pretty good mood. Singing and dancing along to Gnarles Barkley and then breaking into a proper run a few times, eventually covering the 6 miles to camp in 2 hours. Fester, Max (from Where the Wild Things Are), Wilderness Bob, Troll and Oblivious were already in residence and I arrived in time to see them hoist their food into the trees. There are two problem bears here so food must be put out of reach. Scatman and I did the same thing but it was a comedy of errors and ropes and rocks got caught, branches snapped and we eventually settled for a very poor hang. If the bears try hard enough they’ll get it.

I see Rachael has been providing a glossary so I’ll add to it here.
Bear-hanging: Hanging your food/smelly items out of reach of bears
Blaze: A mark on a tree to show where the trail goes. On the Appalachian Trail white blazes 2×6″ are painted on trees.
Yellow blazing: Hitching or road walking
Blue Blazing: Taking a side trail, often for water
Pink Blazing: Altering your hiking plans (speeding up or slowing down) to follow a girl
Gray Blazing: Slowing down (or speeding up) to walk with your parents
More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Wrightwood to Agua Dulce

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An early morning start and we found the missing cache just 100m or so after the place we turned back last night. I took a litre and it was really useful because climbing 5000 ft today was hard. There were some incredible views along the way. Cajon (pronounced “ca-hone”) Pass where I-15 lies was full of low lying cloud and as I went higher it slowly faded away. First revealing the huge power-line towers we went under yesterday, and then sadly revealing the yellowy smog that hangs there all the time.

Scatman is a fast walker and I mostly saw him as he packed up from taking rests along the way until we stopped together for lunch just before the road at the top of the ridge. From there we could see Wrightwood down the hill but it was still 8 miles by trail. As soon as Vortex and Sky Blue turned up we got moving to make sure we met our trail angel at Highway 2. A few years ago a major landslide took out a chunk of the highway so there is no longer any through traffic. We called ahead from I-15 to a very nice local lady called Carol who drove us down the 6 miles to town this evening.

Vortex and Scatman drinking from Guffy spring along the top before dropping down to WrightwoodThe afternoon was hard work. Even though we were on the top of the hill it kept going up and down. We walked down a ski run for a while. How nice skiing is when there are pine trees to weave between and beneath the snow is grass or mud rather than rocks.

After scoffing an entire pizza (12″ wide and lots of toppings) myself I joined the others at the phone boxes and we managed to find a local angel with a spare room. Not only that but she came and picked us up and is going to do our laundry in the morning!

Location: Wrightwood
More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

What did the fish say when it swam into a wall?

Dam!

Happy Feet
I was the first in the hotpool this morning. Eventually I got moving and started the first of the day’s long stretches between water. The trail is well up above Deep Creek and though it might seem easy to get down to, it’d probably be a one way trip. At Grass Valley Creek I actually managed to fall properly asleep during my siesta. The afternoon walking was easier when the heat had worn off, and we’re on the edge of the Mojave here, but it sure did drag on. I’ve made new trail friends that I should mention. Stamp Lady (an actual Postmistress) and Medicine Man are a nice American couple. Troll and his 12 year old son Oblivious who is set to be the youngest Triple-Crowner next year. It’s a really nice community feel here. I draw strength from those around me and it helps me move along. If a 12 year-old can do 21.7 miles in this heat then so can I. If others with terrible feet pain can carry on (though Ibuprofen does come into play here) then so can I. Vortex applies the same logic that if I can do it with my ridiculously heavy pack then so can he.

Oblivious, Troll and Stamp LadyAs part of this community I have now got a trailname. SunWalker, for my use of solar panels. It may change if I do something stupid or exceptional along the way but for now that is me. Davy suggested Walks With Sun and Miss Congeniality shortened it. When Dad comes out here in June to join in the hiking I think I’ll name him Walks With Son.

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

Scatman and Ultra Brite passed me and I slowly dragged myself out of my bag. When I saw them again they told me about bear tracks not five minutes from my spot, I missed them completely.

It was a hot dry morning and I just plugged on. At the Deep Creek bridge I found a bag of goodies from Meadow Ed and then Junkfood and Amir came along to top it up. It wasn’t until a couple of miles north of there that I found Ed himself coming south from visiting the prayer flags put up for his friend No-Way-Ray who sadly fell to his death from that spot last year.

Craig, at left, discusses the effects of prolonged sun exposure with a localThere were a few sketchy points today, going across steep grit slopes going down to rocks and the creek. At Willow creek, after a hotter drier afternoon, I tipped my head into the pool and it felt so good. I’d been rationing my water in case it was dry and I had to go all the way to the hot pools but luckily I could refill there and not from the stream that is down hill from all the people that use this valley.

I could tell I was getting close to the hot pools when a local came along the path. How did I know he was a local? Well he didn’t have a pack, or a shirt, or pants (of either type). There was more of this sort of behavior at the pools themselves, only some hikers got into the swing of things, mostly locals. The pools themselves have been formed around natural springs. Someone cemented a few rocks together, put a pipe into another section and generally made it an awesome hangout for us.

Now someone has handed out beer and whisky and at least one of us is making the most of it. See it’s not all about getting dirty and sleeping under the motorway, sometimes there are nudist colonies to interrupt too.

Oh yeah, the animal attack. I had stopped to get water and put my pack down next to a large rock. I filled my bottles and slung on my pack. Right then as I tightened the straps I felt a sudden pain near my stomach. I adjusted my belt again, crushing the ant in the process, and continued on the day.

What, you were expecting Jaws VI: In The Creek?

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

Today I did another thing I didn’t ever expect to. I helped in the building of Big Bear Prayer Park. The owner of Nature’s Inn is creating this park on the land by his house just down the road from the inn. In exchange for another night there, and $5 for some food, I pulled weeds, spread wood chips and transplanted a tree. I had planned to move on this morning but the lure of a Friday night in a town with other hikers, and there are lot of us, was too much. Those of us at the inn used the big grill out the front and cooked up a feast. I’m certainly not going hungry but I have lost a few kilos since Campo. My pack however is gaining weight. I resupplied here for the next 100+ miles to Wrightwood and it’s really crammed in there. Unsurprisingly it wasn’t my pack that got the attention but that of some girl who turned up after dark. She was carrying a lot, a 6 lb tent is crazy out here. So all the well intentioned “experts” selflessly volunteered to help her out. She was cute for sure but the guys swarming around her were just too funny to watch, so Paul (who did a stunning rendition of the Transformers theme) improvised new version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, with two lines from me,

(to the tune of Another Brick In The Wall part 2)

That pack needs some weight reduction
That pack needs Jardine control
No cotton t-shirts in your stuff sack
Hiker leave those books at home
Hey! Hiker! Leave those boots at home

All in all it’s just another pound on your back,
All in all it’s just another brick in your pack.

Hiker needs some education
Hiker needs some self-control
No dumping upstream of your water
Hiker take that paper home
Hey! Hiker! Take that paper home

All in all it’s just another ounce on your back,
All in all it’s a bit more shit in your pack.

I’ll try to work out the rest of the song when I can remember the original. I’m also reworking “Paris to Berlin” to be more PCT based.

Location: Nature’s Inn

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

Sleeping outdoors has its benefits. This morning on the hill top I got the sun on my face while still in my sleeping bag. Paul had used his mylar emergency blanket due to the cold but I hadn’t even used my bag liner which bodes well for the Sierras and further north.

Lucky Joe, Potential 178 and I got going well after 7 with intentions of stopping before the road and hitching in to Big Bear City in the morning. But at lunch time the talk turned to soft-serve ice-cream and all-you-can-eat buffets. So when the four of us left Arrastre Trail Camp (where the piped water is cool and clean) it was to complete the next 10 miles in time for a town dinner. I made it in 3 hours, a personal record while carrying this pack. Nature’s Inn was full so we made it to Motel 6 this evening and ran into a whole host of other hikers and went to to a Chinese BBQ buffet with a few. Thanks to a girl I met while on my O.E. I was able to thank the waitress in mandarin (“CheChe”) and I guess that the response meant “you’re welcome” but it was too quick for me to learn.
More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

Today I did the wake up call. Up so early we navigated by moonlight for a while until dawn took over. I crossed Mission Creek over a dozen times this morning, always just stepping across, the Sierras are where the real fords happen. There were a few times where fires or fallen trees obscured the path but I’d always relocate it quick enough.

After dunking my shirt in the last decent stream crossing I hit the climb at the end of the valley and though it was steep and barren I got through it just by thinking of the lunch break up ahead at Mission Creek Trail Camp. It’s just a flat area with a few fire pits and a hidden spring but it was enough to gather a bunch of us there.

A few hours later I moved a few more miles meeting Lucky Joe at a confusing saddle where someone with a bulldozer had turned the trail/jeep road into a wasteland. We used the maps and compass to figure out what was going on and made it to the next flat area before dark. It sure is cold up here with the wind nipping over the ridge. It was colder on San Jacinto but I was in a tent that night.

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

Tough day for such low mileage. After finishing up in town Squatch drove Beef Stew and I up to the trailhead. On the 2.4 mile climb back to the PCT I overtook a few day hikers and the section hikers I first met a day north of Warner Springs. I was feeling pretty good after that, but cold if I stopped moving. Chiggers was already there and Beef Stew + Lisa were not far behind. Next came another 1000 ft gain and the clouds were moving in. It was cold all day so we rarely stopped.

I spent a while walking and talking with Chiggers and we came across Davy who had come up Deer Spring Trail with the others who I didn’t catch until camp. Fuller’s Ridge was amazing, and amazingly hard. Views northeast to San Bernardino across the desert, the wind farms and I10. Every now and again Palm Springs was in view.

To the west were densely wooded canyons. Miles and miles of all sorts of pines and firs. The switchbacks were the hard part. Winding down in and out of rocks only to go back up and then down the other side of the ridge. Chiggers and I walked into the Fuller Ridge Remote Campsite around 7 pm, 14 miles from our start that day. Paul (Potential 178), George (Vortex) and Caitlin (Blue Sky) were already set up, Lisa + Beef Stew came along to make a party. Paul got a fire going and tonight we’ve all shared the heat and our food. Peanut brittle, cashew brittle, stuffing, carrots (mmmm veggies are rare here) and stewed apple and cinnamon. Davy turned up after dark, beer in hand and now we’ve all retired to our tents to wait out a cold night on the mountain.

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Idyllwild to Wrightwood

A big jump in distance today but the real change was the elevation gain. Up and down and up, up again.

The night was noisy but my tent was out of the wind so it stayed in one place. I got up and moving and passed George and Caitlin just a few hundred yards down the trail. I was certainly glad to see they had the sense not to go too far last night. I happily knocked off the miles and found a few people heading back the other way after hitching into Idyllwild and walking this stretch north to south.

Squatch was deep into his iPod when I jumped out from behind a rock. The poor guy couldn’t talk for a while there, but he was smiling so I think he saw the funny side. Next time I’ll need to have an ape mask ready to really freak him out.

The vegetation and landscape sure changed with the altitude. This afternoon has been so much what I was hoping for. The soaring granite peaks. Thick pine forest with giant cones and a bed of soft needles just off the path, and all the smells that go with it. There have been oak patches where the acorns and leaves cover the trail inches deep and small clumps of snow after passing Red Tahquitz. I just couldn’t stop taking photos, especially of the clouds rolling over the passes below me. There were some scary places along here. Steep rock on the left, 1 foot of shale path, huge drop off to the right.

The climb before Apache Peak was a killer. Really tough, so I had lunch at the top and felt like a new man. 8 more miles this afternoon and though tired I feel great.

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Warner to Idyllwild

Mist rolled in and out during the night, it looked very spooky amongst the bushes. I packed up and headed north, passing George and Caitlin then Chigger and Lisa all still in the tents/tarps. The air was still cool and the path was good so less than 2 hours later I was at the highway walking towards the legendary Paradise Cafe.

Paul was already there and since it didn’t open until 11 am I had a few hours to wash my shirt and socks (in that order) in the bucket they leave out for us smelly hikers. There were 8 of us there when they opened but Lisa made a quick exit after some interaction with the younger waitress. I don’t know the full story but she left still smiling just saying it wasn’t for her. Soon we got to the business of food. We all had plenty, I’ll just detail mine. “The Pounder” has two 1/2 pound patties, sweet-potato fries, onion, lettuce, “toe-may-toe” and a whole avocado sliced in there too. I washed that down with a few glasses of pink lemonade and after Davy turned up I’d gotten hungry enough to squeeze in an ice-cream sundae. Many thanks to Paul who paid for my burger after I completed the challenge of eating a wasabi cashew nut.

I thought I must be in a dream When she asked me if I wanted cream. Said, Baby, you look good to me tonight                    John Denver

Thanks to Caitlin for this shot of Craig about to have dessert in the desert.

It was after 3 when four of us rolled out of there into the San Jacinto Wilderness. A pleasant afternoon turned into a stormy evening as we climbed higher and the wind speeds did too. George and Caitlin went on towards Cedar Springs but Paul and I have found spots just before a menacing saddle. The trees are howling above me but down here in the hollow the air is still. Ear plugs tonight.

More photos of this day’s journey can be found at Warner to Idyllwild