DAY 33: AGUA DULCE TO 462.88

I woke up at 430am bc of my body clock now. No need to hike out so I wanted to be productive. I went and used the nice bathroom since no one was showering yet, so good. Then I ordered some things I needed and caught up on some errands.

I do errands in the morning while everyone sleeps.

By the time 6-7am rolls around, everyone is up and moving around. As usual, we were starving so we took the 730a shuttle to town for breakfast. I ordered a yummy eggs benny and went over to the store for resupply. Their grocery was set up so nice. Perfect for hikers and fun new snacks we haven't tried yet! Resupply is kind of fun now and I think I'm getting the hang of things. It's always fun to pick out new and exciting things bc most of the time, we just look forward to food. I feel like I need to budget more but it's hard and each grocery store has way different prices.

GB and Kristen being twins. I thought we should all order the same fleece and be twins on trail.

I came back to the house to organize my food. I finished some last things and packed up my stuff. With six days of food and 5 L of water, this is probably the heaviest carry out of town. We've been hiking out around 3-4p if we're leaving town and it seems to be working well. As usual, we start to get restless while waiting for the afternoon to come along. We all have a Kristen a big hug since she was heading out tomorrow. She seems really happy and in a great spirit. She is such a gem.

Finally we head out around four and one of the trail angels takes us to the trailhead. The climb out today was steep and we were weighed down pretty bad with our packs. My shoulders and ankles were hurting. Thankfully the weather was overcast and windy. It was quite chilly around the ridge. We were so tired. Once we reached the other side of the pass, the wind was much calmer and we tried looking for a site. It took awhile since nothing was flat. Lisa and Rusty went ahead to try and find a better spot and I'm camped under some trees and GB behind me a bit on the trail. I couldn't wait to pitch my tent and eat dinner. I was exhausted bc I had been up since 430a. I haven't camped alone in awhile, it's nice. I had tried blogging last night but literally passed out with my phone in my hand. They is also the first time to be sleeping cold in a long time, it feels really good. I can see my own breath in the tent. This next section should be interesting. Another detour, long water carries and hot flat stretches.

Reached the top of the ridge to such nice light.

DAY 32: MILE 443 TO AGUA DULCE

Today was 11 miles to town. We are happy to have a short day since we made most of our mileage the previous days. Once again, wake up was at 430. We walked one mile to the Acton KOA and ended up just using their restrooms and filled our bottles in the sink. Their bathrooms were SO nice, warm and clean. It's so weird when you run into places like that.

The climb out of Acton was pretty hot and steep, even at 6am. We walked for awhile trying to look for shade and finally found some at the tunnel under the freeway. Took out our damp sleeping bags to dry since we woke to tons of condensation everywhere. Then it was the final push into Agua Dulce. We would be crossing into Vasquez Rocks Park and that part was so awesome. I felt like we were on Mars for a bit. GB said that they had come out here to film old sci-fi films. We kept passing through a ton of rocks on various paths before finally spilling us out on a road. We then road walked straight into town and from there, it was another mile to Hiker Heaven aka the Saufley's. We ran into Lisa and Rusty and walked back with them to the house.

The Saufley's are trail angels in the town of Agua Dulce. I'm not really sure what goes on here but there's tons of giant homes, land and horses. We finally reached the end of the road to their property. As I walked in through the gate, there were five dogs, a laundry station, lawn chairs, trailers, port-a-potties and a million tents set up on the property of their back yard. It was so crazy. Someone gave us a little tour of the area and how to start our laundry and showers. I went ahead and set up my tent and gathered my dirty clothes to wash. They had a super organized system going on. There were loaner clothes that we could change into and mesh bags to put dirty things in. I stuck a post it with my number and bag number on and dropped it off.

Hiker Heaven, sooo many tents and backpacks everywhere.

There was a trailer off to the side that had a full living room with tv, a kitchen, table and bathroom. There is one shower for all the hikers so you sign up at the door and wait for your turn. By now it was close to 1pm and was starving. I had only eaten three snacks since the morning. We caught the shuttle into town and went to get Mexican. I ordered a big chicken fajita salad topped with avocado, olives, tomatoes and a hard boiled egg. It was so good. And shared some cheese nachos. I'm not sure what the deal is but I think my stomach is shrinking bc I can no longer eat as much I could before. I think it's because we just eat small snacks all day and eating a huge meal of real food is once every week. I couldn't finish the nachos so I took them to go.

We headed back to the house and the shower was almost ready. It was awesome. They had every hygiene thing we had ever needed. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, qtips, tweezers, floss, razors, lotion, powder, everything! I wanted to take my sweet time but knew there was a huge list of people after me. I also looked into a full size mirror for the first time. I'm not sure if the mirror was slimming but I was def looking like I was losing some weight. There was a scale as well but I feel like those are always off. I walked out of the shower onto the trailer porch and my fresh laundry was sitting out in the queue line in a hamper ready for me to grab. I immediately thought to myself, "Where am I?" I wore my baggy loaner t shirt for the remainder of the day, it was so comfy to wear cotton.

Rusty and Lisa made us some margaritas and I watched people play Twister. Watching hikers drink and play Twister is hilarious btw. Some other hikers had leftover spaghetti and meatballs and we all devoured it in 15 minutes. Then I brought out my leftover nachos to share. By the time we knew it, it was already evening. Jackie and mike who I met on day one was back! She just flew home to New York to graduate and got back to where they left off at. It was so good to catch up with them and hopefully we'll be closer in the same wave from here on out. We didn't really eat dinner since we just ate random leftovers but other people were grilling and doing food.

Petting horses by the port-a-potties. What is life.

We ended up going to the trailer to watch some Netflix. We watched some Portlandia and Documentary Now, so funny. I got super tired and it was really late so I headed to bed around 1030-11. This is very late in hiker time. I tried to sleep but you could hear many people that were still up late. And the guy next to me was snoring and farting SO loud. It's hard sleeping in a huge place with so many people.

DAY 31: MILE 421 TO 443

Dang, today we did 22 miles. And the two previous days at 21. Our bodies are going to hurt tomorrow. We made the push so we could get into Agua Dulce on a chill day so we only have to hike in 11 miles tomorrow! I'm so proud of us for being so productive these past five days. We woke again at 430am and headed out just as it was dim enough where we didn't need headlamps. We wanted to do this section in the daytime because poodle dog gets more intense.

Going through poodle dog all day today was so stressful and tense. I kept my poles clenched to my chest the whole time and it started making my shoulders hurt. You just have to be super focused because they pop out so randomly. This section was also filled with tons of tall grass and weeds aka allergy central. I started getting a super drippy nose and sneezing so much. It was pretty bad, along with trying to avoid touching poodle dog with my bare legs. I pushed myself to make it to 12 miles today before a break, but there was no shade to be found. I was starving so I threw all my stuff down and just ate in the bright sun. GB came and ate lunch too and we decided to go another three miles to the ranger station for water and a real siesta.

It was HOT. We are getting much lower in elevation and the heat is starting to radiate back to our bodies while we walk. I took a pretty junky nap. There were flies buzzing around my face the whole time and ants crawling everywhere. I couldn't get comfortable. Soon it was time to get moving again. My blister on my heel is starting to grow and hurt more. No me gusta. We ridge walked forever until we were finally out of poodle dog zone and found a nice camp spot a mile outside of Acton. We didn't want to pay and camp there since we'd be doing all the same things at Agua Dulce. The ground was super hard so we're cowboy camping. It's interesting how you know when you're totally down for it and when you're not. We were so tired and hungry. We did 22 miles today! It's crazy because it feels like we were just in Wrightwood yesterday. Time flies by so fast out here.

Triple back to back 21 mile days. We are proud.

The moon is super bright tonight and I can hear a million crickets outside and things buzzing around. I still hate bugs. I hope nothing crawls on me tonight.

DAY 30: MILE 399.42 to 422

Last night I slept so hard, so hard that I slept in till 5am. Our plan was to wake at 430, so I told GB to head out and I'd meet him at Glenwood Camp for water. I walk a little but before reaching the 400 mile mark and took a pic yay. Can't believe how far we've all gone since Campo. We find the spigot at the camp with a warning sign to not drink it and filter some pee water. I still question if it's safe to drink this yellow water but so far, I am ok.

I was very determined to make it ten miles before our lunch break and I wanted to book it on the flats. From here, I ran into my first poodle dog bush. You definitely know it when you see it and it smells like weed. It's a plant that causes similar reactions to poison oak and can form into blisters. There's a huge section here that have them all over so we have to careful on where we step. I was trying to go potty when I first saw them. Changing out my Diva Cup today wasn't as bad. I think once I figure out a good routine, the next month's cycle won't be as bad.

I've been missing all my kids these last few days. I keep wondering what they're up to right now and how they've grown. The other day I sent the Shafers a little video message and Stella told me how the girls watched it twice and were glued to the screen haha. Especially Lucy! I miss them so much and our weekly after school hangs and bedtime stories. I can't wait to see all the kids when I'm back. I also miss seeing my niece Caitlyn. She's getting sooo tall and they just all went to Disneyland last week. She's going to be a big sis so soon!!

Today's elevation was like ten times easier than yesterday. I was just flying today because it was mainly flat and rolling. I felt super good. I reached 410 for my break. My goal was to make it to mile ten without a break and so I did. If I make these mental goals in my head, I tend to stick with it. I waited for GB there but we decided to hike on to maybe the spring bc it was super windy. At the spring, I saw this older couple I met on day one! I thought I never run into them again. It was fun to see them three weeks later. The spring was literally a slow trickle so we hiked on since we had carried water from the first source. Never have I ever been so thankful for the pee water we had carried out from the morning to. We found some flat space by a tree for siesta time.

We had about eight miles to the next water source at the fire station so we booked it down there and saw that couple again. We didn't run into many thru hikers today either. It's like they're all hiding somewhere. It was such a nice spot with clean picnic tables, a cold spigot and trash cans. Hung out for a little and rinsed some things and headed off with 4L for the next 17 mile no water stretch. My goal was to make it to 420 so we went for it but like most days, we are stuck on a ridge with no tent sites. We finally found one before the road at 421 and set up. Then the clouds started rolling in and looked so nice. We had a great view all around us. It seems like the most scenic spots so far have been right off the road. It started sprinkling a bit when we were eating dinner but we were rewarded with the best sunset. What a great way to end a 21 mile day!

The other day we were talking about bad days on the trail and neither of us have yet. We've had some hard days but those are not necessarily bad. I think in every situation, we really have to make the best of it. It's all part of the journey. I've been having so much fun out here and days seem to just fly by even though we walk all day. It's so insane. I still can't really fathom that I am thru hiking but it's definitely real. Tomorrow I will try to not sleep in but we don't want to walk through poodle dog in the dark so wake up time is 430.

DAY 29: HOLCOMB CANYON CREEK TO MILE 399.42

Today was one of my longest days at around 21 miles and I felt great! It was also the beginning of something I had dreaded but know that day will have to come someday. Sorry male readers you can skip ahead, but my monthly visitor came overnight. I had leaked all over my underwear and running shorts (I wear my hiking shorts to bed usually). It was quite traumatic to wake up to this. Like most ladies, I planned on using the Diva Cup on trail. I was able to rinse my things before I left so that was good. I switched into my town compression shorts to hike in until my normal shorts dried. Thankfully I had a second pair, though they are not my most favorite to hike in because they are so tiny.

GB said he would wake up at 4am with me and he did! I am so proud of him for waking up so early. He waited patiently for me while I frantically packed up my things after a horrid morning trying to clean myself up. We headed out in the dark to an immediate steep incline up a ridge. I was so thankful to be doing this at night and not late afternoon yesterday. We both succumbed to Pop Tarts for breakfast even though we told ourselves we wouldn't do it. But they have SO many calories in such a small form. Normally I would go through four snacks in the morning and now the Pop Tarts can last at least 2-3 hours for me. It wasn't long before we didn't need the headlamp anymore. The ridge during sunrise was oh so beautiful. It's always my favorite thing to see in the mornings. The sunrises have been so pink/grapefruit because we're so close to Los Angeles' smog.

We reached the junction to Devils Punchbowl and ran into three older men who do a mile hike every morning before work, they were precious. They told us the Punchbowl was really cool so we were excited to see it. When we reached the visitors center, I needed to find a restroom ASAP. There was just a gross smelly pit toilet but I used it anyways. I guess my period was heavy or something bc I had to empty the cup already. As I stood there hovered over the smelly toilet, horrified with all the blood on my hands, I had no clue how I should rinse it. So I grabbed my water bottle and rinsed what I could out with it. It's so sad that I have to use my precious water for this. I wiped what I could with a wet wipe and just wanted out of there. I finally finished and used hand sanitizer at least five times. I also grabbed a bunch of TP to take with me.

We then went and did the Devils Punchbowl loop. It was pretty cool to see all the rocks and different layers shifted from the earthquake. We climbed down and then all the way out and it got hot fast. This added an additional 2.6 miles to our day. As we headed back to the PCT, the slow steady incline was pretty tough in the heat. We ran into "Ghost" at the junction. He's this section hiker we saw yesterday who came to us and disappeared into the woods, but then he'd show up again out of nowhere. We headed back on the trail and was looking forward to our next water source. We had to stock up here because there is a hot climb out of the creek. The climb was up to Burkhart Saddle. Man, we were dying and slugging along. It was so long and exposed the whole l way. Once again, we saw no thru hikers on detour. I finally reached the top of the saddle and could not wait to lay down. GB had found the only tree with shade up here and I plopped all my things down and laid down as fast I could. I was also starving so bad but was too tired to get anything out. We took a good long siesta here and Ghost also came up. We decided that we should be optimistic and try to make it to mile 400 today since we've been slacking the previous days a little.

We went all the way down to the next creek for water and Ghost shows up again, which is also the last time we saw him. We were finally back on the PCT again! So nice to see tracks and pole marks. We also ran into Kristen and Heartbreaker. I was so glad she caught up already. The next few miles were just slow and steady. We kept telling ourselves we can make it to 400. The temperature was way cooler and not bad at all so this was like luxury. We pushed it all the way to 399.42 and set up camp. GB's feet were hurting pretty bad so I didn't want to make him go all the way. We set up camp and plan on seeing the mile marker tomorrow in the morning. 'Twas a very long and productive day.

DAY 28: MILE 377 TO MT. BADEN-POWELL TO HOLCOMB CANYON CREEK

I woke at 4am and started packing out, I wanted to watch the sunrise at the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell. I could hear lots of intense wind from above last night, I had a feeling it'll be windy at the summit. There were some parts up that were covered in snow but there were nice foot steps on it so it wasn't too bad. A bit icy but I prefer that over slush. There was a part where you can look over the ridge and it was above the clouds!! My favorite thing to see. I followed it all the way up to the summit. There was a little monument for Mt. B-P and box full of notes people have left. I walked over to the back of the summit to have the view of the clouds. I watched the sun rise over the horizon and it was so wonderful. It was pretty chilly and windy but not too bad. My toes were a bit frozen. GB reached the summit shortly after the sunrise.

I started heading down to connect back on the PCT when I got too cold. I passed Joe and Tori packing up their tent. They summited last night and actually saw Lisa and Rusty too. All day, I was following Lisa's tracks but never saw them! There were a ton of day hikers all day today. I finally made it to the Islip Saddle for lunch. There is a section of the PCT that is closed to protect the Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog so there is an endangered species detour you can do that takes you 20.5 miles around to connect back on. GB and I discussed some plans since I didn't exactly pack an extra day of food but I didn't want to do the road walk detour. I decided to just follow him through the detour since I don't trust myself with the navigation. I feel bad for tagging along but we are always leap frogging each other and walk similar paces. Every time I get ahead, he catches up quickly bc I'm taking pics and whenever he walks ahead, I always pass him at a poop break or he stops to do something. But it's ok, I think we are good hiking buddies so far.

Watched the clouds hover for most of the trail this day.

The first five miles of the alternate was moderately exposed on a ridge with steep drop offs. It wasn't too bad since it was mainly flat. We descended down to Big Rock Creek and took a break. My lower back was starting to hurt pretty bad. We laid down since we were both pretty tired for some reason. Maybe because the sun was back or because of the early morning. There were some sketchy people who were down by the creek and graffiti on a bunch of rocks. We decided it was probably time to go. I was wondering if there was a road close by because all these random people just kept coming by. Soon we passed this group of kids partying with a cooler of beer in the creek. As we walked on, there were broken glass everywhere and just really trashy looking. I wanted out of this area ASAP! It was a little confusing following the junction but we made it back on the right path.

We hiked over the ridge and back down to the campsite at Holcomb Creek. Even though it was a short day, I don't think there are many camp options from here on out so we decided to stay here and have an early start tomorrow so we can go to Punchbowl. The alternate so far has been interesting. Everything is so unknown and I feel like we have no clue where we're going. We have not seen a single PCT hiker! I'm not sure why everyone decided to skip this but guess we'll find out. We set up camp by the creek so there are a ton of mosquitoes. I already got bit seven times on my legs. I quickly got some water for tomorrow and hid in my tent for dinner. I am pooped, I think I need to catch up on sleep ever since that 3am morning a few days ago!

DAY 27: WRIGHTWOOD TO MILE 377

I wanted to sleep in today but couldn't. I am always restless by 5am. I looked at some maps and things and ran to the grocery to get some cash and veggies. The others started waking up and we reminisced on last night's cheeseburger pizza. We talked about plans for the day, hitching out in the afternoon and maybe camping at the base of Mt. Baden-Powell. Some of the others went to get coffee and Kristen and I stayed back to finish packing and sorting things.

I was happy that most of the errands were done. I was starving so I wanted some real food. I don't really like the thought of eating trail food when I'm not hiking. I also wanted to make a stop at the library to fix my squarespace. It sent me an email that there was an error with my mailing list so I wanted to check it out. It was so strange to use a computer. For the past month, I've been doing everything by phone on the tiny screen and fingers. It felt so good to type on a keyboard. I saw Sita at the library and turns out she's staying another day. She's got a few pains and health concerns going on. I hope she can get back on soon.

I then went to the coffee shop and ordered a blt chicken grilled cheese sandwich and a lemon poppyseed muffin. I was starving by now. All I had eaten so far were some fruit and broccoli. I walked back to the cabin to eat and take a nap. GB was there doing the same. We decided to hitch out around 230p. We got picked up by this weird Asian guy driving his mom's minivan. He had these pig plushies on the seat head rests, super azn. He just seemed unsure of things on where we were going and was driving a little crazy. I was a bit terrified and would be worried if I were alone. We finally got dropped back off at the trailhead and I was so relieved to make it there alive.

We met sooo many day hikers today! It was so fun to talk to them. I think because it's a Saturday and the trail is popular. There were also a lot of dogs. We stopped and talked to a lady named Christine who used to be a park ranger in the area but was laid off in 2000. She had these two 10 year old rescue dogs that were so cute. She told us about all the trees and plants in the area and how they have changed over the years. She had a really interesting story. We made it to the base of Mt. B-P which was a parking lot for the trail. There was nowhere to camp so we hiked on.

The trail here reminded me soooo much of home! Lots of incline and back to back switchbacks. But it was gradual. I kinda like that. Our packs were heavy though. We were in the trees most of the time so the heat was no problem. It was actually pretty chilly. There would've been no way we would've made it that far up of we were in the heat exposed. We passed a bunch more hikers coming down from the summit. Like usual, we hoped to find a flat spot for camp somewhere up the mountain. Halfway up, we got a text from Kristen saying she wasn't able to hitch out tonight so I am bummed but am confident she will catch up in no time.

We made it to 377 and found a place to camp, just a mile before the summit. We are back at high elevation so it's going to be a chilly night. I am trying to sleep but there's this owl or something howling. It's so loud and annoying. Tomorrow morning will be awesome since we're so close already. Hopefully I will wake to see the sunrise at the summit!

DAY 26: MILE 364 TO WRIGHTWOOD

The hike out to town this morning was only five miles. The sunrise was so nice, I even saw three deer! I arrived at the highway around 8am and saw Kristen. She said she hadn't seen a car drive by since she got there and was going to walk into town. I was a little worried since there was no shoulder. As more hikers filled in, we sat in a queue hoping to get a hitch. The morning is just slow and no one really drives by. We finally saw a car come up and drop off a few hikers, golden opportunity for us. We walked over and asked if we could get a ride into town. His name was Tom and was so nice!

We passed by Kristen who had already walked more than halfway into town and Tom let her know that he would come pick her up after he dropped us off in town. I first went to post office to pick up my package from Zpacks and mail a memory card to Jenny. We then headed to Evergreen Cafe for breakfast. I ordered a breakfast burrito and a side of hash browns. For some reason, I didn't have a huge appetite even though I was hungry. I ate half of the burrito and took the rest to go.

After breakfast, I walked over to Jensen's for resupply. I think I might be getting the hang of it. Everything in the store was expensive though, like a whole dollar more than at normal places. We did a little organizing outside and then loitered around town till our cabin was ready. We got this cute little 3 bedroom place in the neighborhood. I was not expecting this at all. We had a whole house to ourselves! Janet, the lady arranging everything came over to greet us. She was also doing laundry for us. So amazing. We all got into our long underwear and tossed everything we could in the laundry basket. Everyone took their showers and as always, it felt so good. It still takes like four washes to get all the dirt off.

What hikers look like in town bc of laundry duties.

I was getting some errands done and met the others at the Mexican place for margaritas. We hung out there for a bit and then checked out the farmer's market. I got a peach, nectarine, orange and apricots. My sciatica was hurting pretty bad in town, as per usual and our house was further out a bit. We came back home and chilled for a bit. I finished organizing my food and we all headed out to the Raccoon Saloon and then there was a live band playing at the Yodeler. I was pretty tired so I left around 830 to finish fixing my tent. I needed to tie new guylines on the frayed pieces. I'm hoping to catch up on some sleep tonight. I haven't slept very much these last few days since I've been waking up so early but also having long days. I'm so happy we have this cabin tonight and I have my own bedroom! Wrightwood is awesome.

DAY 25: MILE 347 TO 364

This morning I woke around 3am and started packing up and headed out around 330-45. I was surprised how long it took me to pack since I didn't even have my tent pitched. I slept SO warm last night but didn't want to unzip my bag too much in case bugs came in. It was hard falling asleep because I kept looking up at the stars and moon. We also heard gun shots and cars. Even though I went night hiking, it was still pretty hot. I hiked in the dark for about two hours before I turned my head lamp off and saw the sun rise.

My goal today was to do ten miles before 10am. I didn't take too many breaks but I was definitely starting to feel it the last few miles. I just really wanted to make it to ten before I took my long break. I got to a road at 9am marked at ten miles! I was done for awhile and planned on waiting for the group there. I did a bunch of organizing and filtering water. My blister on my heel I got last night was hurting. I waited for around three hours and then saw Rusty. I was feeling pretty good so I got up and started hiking, assuming the group was not far behind him. I ended up hiking up to 361, just before the Mt. Baldy trail. I took another good break there since I just hiked through the hot sun. Soon, I finally saw everyone that I hadn't seen all day. They all came over to rest with me.

We were still planning on doing Mt. Baldy so we figured out all of our waters and headed there. We took everything out of our bags except food and water and left them with Lisa who was staying behind. So it was me, Heartbreaker, GB, Rusty and Kristen who came. As soon as we started walking, the "trail" went straight down then up and down and up. All on steep scree. We all could foresee it being sketch coming down. Kristen ended up turning back early on which was a very wise decision. I think we made it up about a mile till we finally caught up to Rusty who said it started to get snowy and extra sketchy. We finally decided to turn around. I don't think I've sweat that much or had my legs burn that bad since I've been on the trail. So insane. I was soaked in sweat and smelled SO bad. The climb back up the hill was just as bad, but it was a fun extra work out for the day!

We then hiked to Guffy CG to sleep. I walked by so many views of the city lights from above, so pretty against the sunset colors. We arrived to the campsite in the dark and set up another night for cowboy camping, I think I can get used to this.

DAY 24: MILE 332 TO MCD'S TO 347

Dunno what came over us to be so excited for this place.

The wind finally calmed down around midnight last night and we were able to get a good rest. We all woke up excited to go to McDonald's. It was ten miles away. It's funny but we all know about each other's poop schedules by now. We already knew it was gonna be a hot day. The last four miles was super pretty coming down the steep ridge then came into a canyon that led to the highway. We turned right and saw the two golden arches. Rusty had already made it and was drinking a McFlurry.

All of us at McDonald's taken by @kukud83.

The restaurant was taken over by 80% hikers. We all found a booth and put down our packs to make an order. I ordered a sausage mcmuffin, two hash browns and an Oreo McFlurry. It was pretty good. I wasn't super stuffed or anything. Some people go crazy and order like ten Big Macs. Have no clue why they do that because you're just going to feel like crap before you hike. We headed next door to the Chevron to buy snacks for the next 2 days, we were all pretty much out of food and we plan on climbing Mt. Baldy. The gas station was surprisingly clean and well stocked.

After McDonald's, we have about a 30 mile water carry and we heard it's all uphill and hot. I planned on filling all of my water capacity so I took 7L. GB is always extra safe so he took 8, insane I know. All of our packs were SO heavy, probably the heaviest to date. We waited out the heat and headed out again at four. The entire way was all uphill, so intense!! It was a nice burn though, except my ankles and shoulders were hurting pretty bad. The views were sooo beautiful.

We came to our first dry creek bed and we had decided earlier that we would all cowboy camp for the first time. We were so tired and it was the perfect timing. I also plan on waking up super early to hike out since the heat killed me today. Kristen, Rusty, Lisa, GB, Sita, Heartbreaker and I all found little spots to set up. All of us but Sita have never officially cowboy camped so we were stoked. We're all a little terrified of all the skunk/snake holes but we'll see what happens. I still hate all the bugs. There's a ton of huge flying mosquitos around me right now but I'm gonna get in my bag so they won't buzz in my ear. We just hope a snake won't slither into our bags tonight. I packed out chicken nuggets and ate them for dinner with sweet and sour sauce. It's hot out here, and we are all so happy.

DAY 23: MILE 314.5 to 332

Tomorrow is Cajon Pass aka McDonalds. Everyone keeps talking about it because it's .4 miles off trail and hikers eat like ten cheeseburgers. We noticed having something to look forward to in each section makes it really exciting. We had a chill morning out around 630a and hiked together for most of the day. I really am liking our paces. Usually Kristen will be in front, then me, then GB. And we're usually a few feet from each other so it's not claustrophobic. Going slow and steady has been helping me not be overly exhausted.

Approaching the lake, we were mesmerized!

It was another super hot day on the ridge. When we finally saw silverwood lake, it was so amazing. We haven't hiked right next to a lake at all so it was super nice to stare at water the whole time. We reached the beach area and found a little shade under the shade to take our lunch break. Two other hikers were already there who spent the night. It was so nice and peaceful. The others jumped in but I only wanted to dip my feet in, not a fan of cold water! We scattered all of our damp tents and sleeping bags out on the sand to dry. I was starving so I wanted to eat ASAP. I ate the rest of my cheese and sausage because they had become sweaty with all the hot days. After awhile, a huge crowd of hikers started filtering in at the beach and was super loud. I'm not sure what the deal is, but loud party hikers give me anxiety. I just wanted to head out, so we packed our things and were off.

Our gear scattered out on the beach to dry.

I didn't have much water and was dying for some cold water so we stopped at the picnic area a few miles down the lake to fill up. We took a little break and calculated some mileage until Wrightwood. We were also able to reserve some lodging so that was good since it will probably we booked by the time we get there. We seem to always arrive to town on weekends. After that, we wanted to hike out a few miles to find a site. We knew it was going to w ridge again so at the dirt road, we walked around to find a spot. It's a little exposed and windy but we hope it'll die down a bit. As we were pitching, we see Lisa and Rusty walk up and we were SO happy to see them! Nothing makes you smile like seeing friends you haven't seen in a few days! We're so happy we are all back together again camping and can't wait to go to McDs together.

Setting up camp off the road, such a pretty view.

Lisa and Rusty setting up camp at sunset.

DAY 22: MILE 301 TO 314.5

I had a pretty late start today around 7am. We are now back to hiking in the heat early in the day. Most of the day today was hiking along Deep Creek and ridge lines. It's nice to be so close to water these days. I usually carry 2L of water now between sources.

Kristen and I made it over to the hot springs around 10am. There were a million day hikers there with all their tents up (you're not supposed to camp there). As I was walking through the area, everything just reeked of poop and there was trash everywhere. I saw a bottle of whiskey, a styrofoam cooler, an igloo cooler, huge water bottle, and just trash all around the springs. It was so sad to see because maybe it's that I've been living outside for the past three weeks and the outdoors is now my home, but it was just disgusting to see all of the trash around. I soaked my feet in the hot springs for a few minutes before I got too sweaty, then I wanted out ASAP. I really hate hot bath things.

Soaking my feet at Deep Creek hot springs.

I finally found a semi good lunch spot in the shade with a little less trash and an older man named Richard came over and talked to us. He comes to the springs 2-3 times a week to pick up trash. He's been coming to the springs before it got all popular and it makes him sad to see how trashy the place has become. I felt so bad. It must be so hard to see a beautiful hidden gem become destroyed with huge loud crowds and garbage. We then talked to another older man who then went completely nude for his soak. No big deal. We finally saw GB as he was having lunch by the water.

The view of the Mohave River Dam from above.

Then we were headed off for a very hot afternoon. This section is probably my favorite so far. There's been a ton of ridge walks but the views have been so beautiful. The trail finally descended down to the Mohave Riger Dam. A couple of hikers were all sitting in the shade by the dam. I finally met the Asians from Taiwan here! They were super friendly and knew me too. One of them was named Jimmy and the photographer guy didn't speak English. They only have a 60 day visa so they're trying to get as far as they can. They headed out shortly after, hope I can see them again! We took a pretty long break before GB showed up and we got to catch up. We were finally all back together again! It turns out Lisa and Rusty are about a day behind since they only went out four miles with her mom out of Big Bear but they did get our note! We then headed off into the late afternoon sun. Everyone was concerned about where to camp since it looked like all ridges for awhile.

We walked a little past 314 and couldn't find anything. We didn't want to get too far because we'd get stuck on the ridge again. We finally followed the dirt road off to the side and found some random spots. Ended up pitching in the wind again so that was a little annoying. We all got to hang out for a bit before. Usually we just pass out ASAP. We talked about our McDonald's and Wrightwood plans. We are most def looking forward to the next few days.

DAY 21: MILE 285 TO 301

I woke at dawn and found frost and snow slushies on my tent where the rain water had collected the night before. I finally started packing up and could see my breath inside of the tent. I tried shaking out the walls but all the snow slush was just stuck inside. I figured I can dry it out later and let it melt in my pack so I stuffed it on top and put on my frozen tennies and gloves. Ouch. It was so cold it was hurting real bad.

It was such a nice morning to see blue sky and clouds.

I hiked out to warm up just as the sun was coming out and burning off the clouds. It was such a nice morning, especially to see sun! I love hearing all the birds sing their songs. My toes were finally thawing out. I kept wondering to myself where Kristen and GB were. It's always kind of sad when you don't end up seeing each other for like 1.5 days. By nineish, I found a good spot to dry out all my things. I was so happy to get everything dried and finish off my last part of the day. I've decided to split my day in half. Hike up until lunch and take a long break before knocking out the rest of my mileage. I went down to the creek to get some water. This was our first "ford." Aka just step over some rocks to get across the stream. Seems easy enough, but I ended up stepping on an unstable rock and dunked my feet straight into the water. I was so sad! I had JUST dried everything out for an hour. So I went and sat back down and dried what I could but carried on. When I fell in, this guy laughed at me and then when he went across I saw him dunk his boots in too. Not sure what his deal was.

I walked with soggy feet for the rest of the day. I found out I got my very first blister today on my pinky toe. All of the wet shoes finally got to me after 20 days. The San Bernardino Mountains are sooo pretty. The weather was perfect with clouds and just the right temperature. There were a lot of burned trees and overgrown bushes but the views were amazing. It was like we were walking through half mountains and half desert. I finally got a hold of Kristen and GB and told them to meet me at the Deep Creek Bridge. I went there and took another 1.5 hour break and ate cold mashies, summer sausage, cheese and Cheetos wrapped in a tortilla. It was SO good. Cold mashies were not bad at all. I am pretty stoked on how good they taste! All of the food I've resupplied with have been so yummy. It was starting to get super cold so I hiked on.

After mile 300, I started looking for a site but there was none. And looking at the map, I would be on a ridge for the next seven miles or so. I just wanted to set up camp! Then I looked at my guide and it said there were some sites by the creek down the unpaved road. I walked down and decided to pitch because I was so tired. It took forever because the ground was all hard from loose rocks. I can't wait to get my new stakes. I eat a second dinner and Kristen comes up!! I was so happy to see her. We caught up for a bit and now it is bed time! We might have tons of condensation tomorrow since we're right by the creek but it is peaceful listening to the water and crickets.

DAY 20: MILE 266 to 285

This morning we said our official goodbye to the Big Bear cabin. Lisa's mom and brother came in late last night so we got to meet them when we got up. We ate leftover Thai for breakfast and packed on up. I think we were all so ready to be back on trail.

Matt took us to hwy 18 and we said goodbye to him. The weather was much better today, it was a mixture of clouds, sun and rain clouds. We started hiking and after the first five minutes, we had lost Lisa and her family. I think they had stopped to adjust some things for her mom but we never saw them again! They had to go at a more chill pace since she had her mom with them. Kristen, GB and I hiked on. Sometimes we lost track of each other but I waited for them at our first water source. I sat for quite awhile and ate a lunch. My very first hiker trash meal: cheese, summer sausage and Cheetos wrapped in a tortilla. We collected some water and decided to leave Lisa and Rusty a note, telling them that we were sorry we didn't get to say bye to her family but to have a great hike!

From there, I solo hiked the rest of the way. There were a ton of parts where so many trees were burned and down. I wanted to do 17-18 miles today. Surprisingly, I felt super good today. Maybe the new shoes really made a huge difference because my feet weren't hurting so bad until the teens. I wanted to find a site at around 294 but I was stuck on a ridge and it started raining for the last five or so miles. It wasn't super hard but I put my poncho on early and was able to keep most things dry. While I was walking down I thought, "Wait, where are my tent stakes?!" I just realized I hadn't seen them at all in the cabin. I started to worry and prayed that they were somewhere in my pack. If not, I would be prepared to just sleep with my tent collapsed on me. I wasn't looking forward to it since it was rainy. I would've also tried to pitch with some sticks and rocks but it'd be pretty janky.

Walking through the burned section in the rain, it felt so desolate.

I finally reached little bear campsite at 295 and took out my tent to lay on the ground. I took everything else out of my pack and no stakes. Then I pulled out my trash bag and on the bottom of it were my stakes! I have never been so happy in my life. I set up as fast as I could in the rain and jumped in. I ate couscous and wrapped it in tortilla for dinner. It soaked pretty well so that's good to know, I also added some spinach powder. I am a little chilly right now inside my tent. I really need to pee but I lost my croc and don't want to wear my soaked tennies. I'm ready for some sun again.

DAY 19: ONYX SUMMIT TO MILE 266

The plan today was to have all of us hike from the beginning of the closure end at Onyx Summit to hwy 18. Lisa, Rusty and Sean would head back to the cabin because her family was coming into town and Kristen and I would hike on. We left the house around 8am and dropped Matt's car off at hwy 18 and the six of us squished into Sean's truck to Onyx Summit. We started the hike a little chilly but sun spots were coming in and out. Within a few miles, we got hailed on (tiny ones). The next thing we know, it starts dumping snow for the rest of the 15 miles.

We stopped for a quick lunch break and it was just too cold to stand there. My feet were turning pretty numb and frost bitten. All of us were pretty wet already, but thankfully I had my poncho. My feet were probably the most painful. I could feel water starting to puddle inside of my shoes and my toes were just frozen. They started to hurt really bad and I just booked it as fast I could. I started to feel like we were all getting trench foot. The snow flakes were SO huge and every time we hit a ridge, it got pretty windy. I barely ate and drank the whole time, so bad.

The only pic of the snowfall taken by Kristen. This doesn't do any justice on how frozen I was.

When we finally made it back to Matt's car, I turned and looked at Kristen and I'm pretty sure we were thinking the same thing. I would've tried to tough it out trying to camp somewhere but I was SOAKED! I have no clue how I would've warmed up, especially my feet. And our shoes would've frozen overnight as well. It's just interesting because I've been in worse conditions. It's just that I don't have the right gear because we're all going ultralight and everything is super minimal. We decided we could try to hitch into town and just get a room because we didn't want to intrude back at the cabin since Lisa's family was coming in. We walked across the street to hitch while the others packed into the car. Then the others called us over and said we could probably fit into the car and come to the cabin again. So once again, we all squished inside a Honda Accord and grabbed Sean's truck and headed home.

When we got back, we were all frozen and soaked. My feet felt SO weird and soggy. My heels were completely numb and I couldn't walk still. We were also all starving since I barely ate anything for lunch, just a few snacks so we all ate random things from our food bags. We took off our wet clothes and socks and tried to dry them by the heater/fireplace. The rest of the afternoon we zombied out figuring out what to order for dinner. We agreed on getting Thai and had them deliver. When the food arrived, we all ate in silence overstuffing our bellies. We played a fun card game for the rest of the night. After that, we helped clean up the cabin since we probably wouldn't be back after tomorrow.

I was just thinking how grateful I am to have a warm shelter tonight. We would've been stuck in a cold tent with possible hypothermia. I guess for future reference, if you sense the weather getting colder and worse, you should just set up camp and wait it out because if you get soaked, you won't be able to get dry since there was no break in the snow today. We've really been blessed these last few days at Sean's family cabin. Seriously, we don't deserve to stay here! But he has been so hospitable to us and it's been really fun hanging out with everyone and feeling like we are a trail family.

Our cute little trail family.  Me, Kristen, Rusty, Lisa and Sean/GB. — Our cute little trail family. Me, Kristen, Rusty, Lisa and Sean/GB.

Everyone is in the living room writing a blog and I am doing the same in the other room. We're all ready to camp again. It's weird to sleep on a bed for three consecutive days.

DAY 18: ZERO IN BIG BEAR

Today, I experienced my very first zero day (no hiking day). I woke up this morning on the bottom bunk in a cabin, the sun was shining through all the tall trees outside the window. As I got out of bed, I could feel my calves so tender and sore. This is first time my legs have felt sore since I started! It must've been all that intense downhill from the last two days. I was pretty glad to be zeroing today when I could barely walk to the restroom. I finally took a shower and washed some of my clothes that I didn't get to wash at Ziggy's in the tub and threw it in the dryer to dry.

Five of us packed into Golden Boy's truck.

We all then headed out to do all our town errands (Sean, Kristen, Lisa, Rusty and I). Lisa and Rusty are from Houston and we have a mutual friend. I seem to always gravitate towards Texans or married couples, not sure why, it just happens! We first made a stop at the post office. I mailed some small things home I haven't used, forwarded a package and need to pick up a package from Zpacks. Unfortunately, the lady at the post office was super cranky and was pretty rude. She couldn't find my Zpacks package and wanted me to give her the tracking number, so I texted Will for it. Turns out their shipping department didn't send it out in time even though it was marked urgent, must've just been an accident and fell through the cracks. It wasn't a super big deal and I can wait for the new stakes so Will made sure a new order would be shipped to Wrightwood for me.

After that, we headed to Von's for resupply. This grocery store seemed like just another Safeway. Big Bear is a pretty big full service town that has most of everything, it's also the first town with stoplights. I pulled up a cart because I needed six days of resupply. I was a little nervous since I hadn't done a full resupply in town yet and had no clue how much to buy and what kinds of food. Each of us split off in our separate ways in the store picking out different things for what we needed. I threw in a summer sausage, block of cheese, bars, candy, couscous, some rice packages, etc. Some of these I have no clue how they will cold soak so we'll see. Since this is my first time, it'll just be an experiment to see how it will turn out and whether or not I have too much food. I feel like I bought too much but also have no clue! We also bought some food for dinner tonight. I ran into a handful of hikers all at the store, they each had shopping carts with their packs inside. It was a funny sight.

We then hit up big 5 sporting goods for some gear things. I ended up getting town shorts for when I do laundry, a racquetball for my sciatica, and kt tape. We were all starving by now and headed to a bagel/sandwich shop for lunch. I ordered a hot chicken bagel sandwich and a side salad. It was soooo good. Sean's friend Matt from LA met up with us. We finally headed home after checking out the candy store. Everyone started organizing their food as soon as we got home. I got some ziploc bags to repackage and shared with everyone. I ended up organizing snacks for each day in a baggie and my dinners in one. I wish I had more gallon bags but oh well. I filled my food bag to its rim and barely closed. It is SO heavy.

My old shoes have probably around 400 miles already on it so I ordered new ones!

We chilled the rest of the day at the cabin and scheduled some more blogs. I got to FaceTime Nancy so that was super fun and good to see her! I want to skype people from home more, I just need to have that down time. Two other hikers, Joe and Tori from San Francisco came over and made us some veggie lasagna and salad. It was delicious! It was so nice to just all sit together and eat. We talked about the trail, things we were learning and where we all met. It's so cool to reflect back since day one and how much we've all learned already, even though we're still in the beginning. Kristen helped me tape up my knee and back. Hopefully we'll notice a difference when we're hiking. The rest of the gang are in the living room watching a movie while I type out today's blog. I'm really thankful for this group of people. Everyone is so chill, funny, kind and not crazy. It feels weird to not be hiking for so long. I kind of forgot what it's like to hike again. We're supposed to head out to Onyx Summit tomorrow to pick up from the detour. It's gonna be a pretty long and heavy carry. It's also supposed to rain/snow sooooo eeep!

DAY 17: MILE 197 TO ZIGGY TO BIG BEAR

City light from Palm Springs and little bebe moon from my tent site.

I slept pretty well since we dropped around 6k in elevation where I slept and I was so warm. I always sleep way better when I'm not frozen. I headed out around five and I could see the city lights from Palm Springs and the morning colors coming from the sky. The desert is very overgrown and I cut my legs with several spikey plants as I walk by. This entire section was going to be downhill again until we reach Interstate 10. I could smell Burger King from Cabazon radiating from below.

Spent 30 mins taking desert pics at sunrise.

I passed the Texans' tent when it started getting a little brighter. I walked past them and waited for golden hour and spent like half an hour taking desert flower pics. I was regretting that I hadn't been taking many photos the last few days because they've been so exhausting. But looking back at the photos made me force myself to take more, especially town candid photos. I loved looking back on all the people I have met so far. As soon as the sun came out around 6am, it was like blazing and I had to bust out my umbrella so soon! It was insane. I knew if I was warm when I was packing up, I could only imagine what it'd be like the rest of the day.

Trail marker descending from San Jacinto.

The junction sign with a million things on it.

The rest of the descent was hot and sweaty but bearable. I reached a spigot flowing cool water and was so excited. The Texans were there filling up with a girl named Smile from North Bend. I filled up a little bit and carried on. It was this paved road that took me to a tiny cute private neighborhood in the middle of the desert. I was welcomed by this colorful junction sign pointing me to all the destinations we had just walked through and placed we needed to get to.

This is the section that was just BRUTAL. the flat section up to I10. I'm not sure why it was so hot but it was dry, no wind and no shade the entire time. It seemed like the sun was heating the ground and radiating back to my body. It was also a lot of sand and you know how walking in sand can be. I noticed I was starting to feel a bit light headed and sick so when I got under the freeway, I had to take a break in the shade. Smile and the couple from New York were there and the Texans showed up. They had my hat! I guess it got caught onto a branch probably early this morning and had no clue. This is where I parted ways with them, Nate and Megs didn't need to go to Ziggy's so they wanted to go straight to Big Bear from I10. I needed to go since I had a package coming.

The last 1.8 miles was uphill but it wasnt TOO bad since I was able to take the break. I followed the signs to "trail magic" and finally arrived on their street. Ziggy and the Bear are older retired trail angels who have been hosting hikers since the 90s. They live out in the desert in the middle of nowhere and is one of the most essential stops when you're walking through one of the hottest sections of the desert. I walked around to their white fence to go into their backyard. Every time you head into a trail angel's place, it's always confusing and you have no clue what to do.

I walked through the back and saw a clothesline full of hiker clothes drying and washing sinks to my right with buckets for laundry. Around the corner was a huge space covered carpet where hikers can cowboy camp. There were signs up with important phone numbers and guidelines for staying there. To my right was a huge covered patio where about 15 hikers were lounging under in the shade. I signed in on the clipboard and Ziggy came out to hand me a cold Gatorade. I asked about the shuttle to Big Bear and signed up on the sheet to head out at 4pm. There were some trail angels who were volunteering to shuttle people from Ziggy's to San Bernardino transit center. It was only 1230pm. I had a lot of time to spare and wasn't too sure what I should do so I ended up charging some things and washing some clothes.

Finally 4p came around and a hiker from Virginia who was volunteering for the month, took the five of us in his van to the San Bernardino transit center. I was kind of bummed to not see the giant dinosaurs in Cabazon but got to snap some pics from the car. We all talked about food on the way to the station and ended up dropping by In and Out to get burgers. We were all starving since we hadn't eaten any real food. Then we got dropped off at the bus and waited for load in. The bus was super nice and comfortable. It was nice being in somewhere with air conditioning by it got cold quick. The bus took us through some stops in town and then we were on our way through windy mountain roads.

I started getting SUPER car sick about fifteen miles out from Big Bear Lake. The bus driver was driving so fast and we were at the back of the bus. The other hikers on the bus were super chatty and making me feel even worse. Near the end, I couldn't take it anymore and asked Kristen to grab me an empty gallon Ziploc from my pack. I was so close to puking. I just kept telling myself, "just a few more minutes to our stop, I can hold it." We finally got off and I could barely walk to the hostel. I collapsed onto the pavement with my head down and tried containing my vomit that I could start tasting. I tried breathing through my nose and it helped. I was finally able to get up and go to the hostel. It was pretty late after 7p and the guy at the hostel was super nice and tried getting me a room.

My options were to share a dorm room with some guy with long blonde hair who was wearing a skirt or my own room but I'd have to stay two nights for a better deal. I went out and asked Kristen what I should do. I was so torn because I had no clue if I was going to zero or not but also wanted to save money. She was heading over to Golden Boy's family cabin and ended up asking if I could come. I felt really bad because I didn't want to intrude or mooch, but they were happy to take me in. I just felt super grateful to not be stranded by myself. Something I've been noticing is that even though it's nice to solo hike, you really need a good community at stops and towns to fill that loneliness in towns. Hitching and resupplying on your own can be really sad.

We stopped by the brewery in town before heading home. We arrived to GB's cabin in the dark to this cute little space. Kristen and I were sharing a bunk bed in one of the rooms. It wasn't long before we all headed to bed, it was a very long day.

DAY 16: MILE 180.8 TO SAN JACINTO TO 197

Today was a weird and long day. I wanted to summit San Jacinto at sunrise but it would've just been dicey/freezing. Headed up to the peak around 530a and got to the summit right around when the snow started getting slushy. The peak is at 10,834 ft, so high! The only other time I've ever been at 10k is on Camp Muir. It was a little scramble but we all made it safely in our tennies. There is a little emergency hut up there too. Then we started descending down the other side of the peak so we could get back on the PCT. I mainly hiked alone today because I was taking my time. My sciatica hurts really bad going downhill and today we descended over 4k.

After we ended up on the other side of Fuller Ridge, everything became desert again! It got hot fast and all of the dryness came back. This means we're about to head into the real desert now (I think). All of a sudden, there were a million lizards crossing the trail and they got bigger. There were also huge beetles and flies everywhere. I did notice that a lot of the desert flowers smelled SO good as I was passing them.

Coming back into the desert from San Jacinto.

It was getting late and the campsite I wanted was taken already. I ended up going way further than I wanted to because there were NO flat spots to be found, and my back was hurting really bad. I just wanted to be done and pass out. I was also starving since I didn't eat dinner yet. I was planning on getting up early to head down to Ziggy's but now I don't know since I ended so late. Tomorrow should be interesting. We're going to Ziggy and the Bear's (trail angels) at I10 and then I have to figure out a way to get a bus from Cabazon to Big Bear because there is another fire closure.

DAY 15: IDYLLWILD TO MILE 180.8

Last night, I slept like a baby. I don't think I've ever slept so well. The bed was SO comfy and the temperature of the room was perfect. The gas fireplace would automatically turn on and off to heat the room. It's so crazy how appreciative you are of just a warm and cozy bed after two weeks on trail. It was worth everything in the world.

I woke up around six and debated with Megs over text on what time to head out and where. There were two trails to take to saddle junction, we decided to take the Tahquitz Peak trail to connect back to the PCT. The lady that the Texans were staying at was able to come pick me up in town so that was nice of her! As I was sitting in the room all ready to go and was just waiting around, I thought I should maybe get my last breakfast in town at Jan's while I was waiting. I let Kristen know I was heading out and walked over to Jan's around 7am.

I dropped my pack off at the door and got myself a table. I ordered the same thing as I did the previous day, I just had to. It was SO yummy. While I was there, there was this older man who stood up and made an announcement, "If you are a Pacific Crest Trail hiker, we just want to let you know that you are very welcome here in Idyllwild," and he sat down with his huge table of other older people and people clapped haha. It was so random but so sweet! All the hiker friendly towns are always too good to us. Rosco, Mia and Hugo showed up at the restaurant and sat with me. We got to catch up so that was nice. I went to put the rest of my things in my backpack and it was time to go.

Karen, the lady the Texans stayed with was there to pick me up. She drove us to where we last left off and we were on our way. We took the road up to the Tahquitz trailhead and man, that was SO steep. On the board, some people had left notes from early April to turn around if you are trying to get to San Jacinto peak because the route was treacherous and needed crampons and ice axes. We got a little nervous but ended heading up. The entire trail was uphill and we gained around 4k ft to the peak. The last part was super steep. There was a nice lookout at the top at 8790 ft where we hung out and ate a huge bag of kettle cooked chips. We talked to a man there who just moved to Idyllwild a year and a half ago. He told us that the route from the peak to saddle junction (where we needed to go to connect on the PCT) was really sketchy because the snow hasn't melted. We all got a bit nervous and were really sad if we had to turn all the way back since we came SO far and worked so hard. But we figured we tried to head over and assess the conditions ourselves.

As soon as we turned the corner, there was tons of unmelted snow. There were some parts where the trail was exposed but there was this one part of the ridge that dropped right off that was covered. Thankfully, there had been some foot steps already patched that we were able to get through slowly and carefully. About halfway into it, we see a kid in Nikes with no tread and no poles come through from the other side. We were all relieved when we saw him and he was able to get by with like no gear. We made it across safely from the ridge and rounded back into this deserted looking forest. There were lots of trees down and it just looked so dead but it was really cool to be on part of the PCT that many people skip.

We finally reach saddle junction and then we climb another couple hundred feet to our campsite now sitting at 9004 ft. We are so high! It's going to be cold tonight. Lots of people planned on summiting San Jacinto tonight but we will do it tomorrow morning. I ate my leftover pizza, a bar and Reese's pieces for dinner. Then the Texans had too much black beans and Fritos leftover so I ate some of theirs. I am so full. We will summit tomorrow morning. It might be a little sketch as we heard but guess we'll find out. We're so over these detours and just ready to get back on the PCT.

DAY 14: LAKE HEMET TO IDYLLWILD

Like almost everyday now, we wake to a ton of condensation on our tent. We finish packing up just as the sun was coming out and hit the road, literally. For awhile, the road winds up the hill and there is no shoulder to walk. It gets a little dangerous because 74 is a highway and people are driving fast. We finally reach the turn off onto another logging road and we climb all the way up through the mountains. All of the incline today was so hard and pretty hot. I just do not do well with hills in the heat.

We hit another road and decided to try going left instead of right thinking it may be a quicker way to the same road. As we were heading down, a man in a truck slows down and asks if we need a ride. We told him we were walking into Idyllwild but he said we were going out of the way to get there. He asked if we wanted a ride and we had to take up the offer. We hopped into the back of his truck and we rode down the windy roads into Idyllwild. All of the homes here were so cute, like out of a story book. He dropped us off right in front of Jan's Red Kettle where we could get the breakfast we had been dreaming about the whole time.

We saw the other Texans eating their amazing meals and we couldn't wait to get ours. I ordered scrambled eggs, corned beef hash, hash browns, a pancake and a side of avocado. The food was SO good! We prayed over our meals and just devoured everything in silence. Kristen and Golden Boy came over and ate and she gave me the key to the room she got for us tonight. She is taking a zero and nero for me. We walked over to the laundromat and started a load. We laid out our tents to dry. Once again, I had to wear my long underwear and puffy but got so hot. I still wish I had town shorts to change into.

Our cute little cabin had this gas fireplace heater.

After my clothes were done, I walked over to Knotty Pines and met Kristen and GB there. I walked into this cute little cabin with a gas fireplace heater, kitchenette and a little patio. I laid on the bed and it felt like a million clouds underneath my body. GB was packing his things to head out and I was trying to figure out my next errands to run. I needed to go to the grocery to get my next resupply, find a new cord for my iPhone and use wifi to place an order to Big Bear. We walked over to Fairway Foods and walked down the aisles looking at all of the overpriced items trying to figure out how much and what kind of food to buy. I only needed a few snacks to fill up for 2.5 days. I ended up getting some bars, fruit snacks, jelly beans and Reese's pieces. It's so insane to see the things I was buying! So much junk food but I guess your mindset changes when you're hiking. Everyone is eating things they have never touched in so long.

Megan said she found usb cords over at the pharmacy and so I went and bought this overpriced cord because I was desperate. There was no way my old cord was going to work. Hopefully it should last a few days until I get my new one. We went to use the wifi at the coffee shop just before they were about to close. I only had time to place an order for new shoes and a cord to Big Bear. Then we headed back to the room because I still hadn't showered. It felt SO good to use hot water and take my time. The shampoo we had sucked but I had conditioner I found in the hiker box so that was cool since my hair has been in tangles for days. I then organized all my gear and food for the next section and figured out maps/water while Kristen went and picked up pizza and ice cream.

Pizza and ice cream, it can't get any better.

We wanted to just chill and watch a movie. We got the bbq chicken pizza and a pint of mint chocolate and salted caramel gelato. Now we are watching Hook and am ready to pass out. Why do town days fly by so fast? I feel like I barely rested. Back to trail life tomorrow.