Big Bear Lake to Lazy Days in Wrightwood....

We would like to give a special thank you to the Big Bear Adventure Hostel for all their hospitality. We had a wonderful time and made many new friends. We celebrated another PCT hiker’s birthday on Tuesday night and had a blast. We have found that hikers generally have no fear and Paul “Outpost” proved it, as he belted out his own karaoke version of Elton’s “Tiny Dancer”. It was terrible and wonderful at the same time. The community of hikers is growing every day, and they have all been such wonderful friends and resources along the way.

Adam and Bre

5/11

Thanks to Bre from the hostel for giving us a ride back to the trail! We cruised a quick and easy 20 miles today. A gorgeous, fresh, sunny day coming out of Big Bear, we followed the ridge around Big Bear Lake and were gifted with many spectacular views. In contrast, we were saddened/depressed as we later passed through a massive range of charred conifer trees. It is incredible how fast such a green, living forest can be transformed into a graveyard of massive cremated trees. We settled in a valley below, along a rushing creek, with a box of stuffing and happily resided to our cozy tent.

Big Bear Lake

Forest and a cluster of Joshua Trees

Little Bear Springs Cemetery

Riding the Pony

5/12

After our best night of sleep so far at Holcomb creek, we hit the trail for a long 26 mile day. The first 12 miles were gorgeous, and we ran into a few of our friends on the trail. We crossed rushing trout streams, saw a Rattlesnake and a Racer, and relaxed in the shade of a large bridge spanning Deep Creek. Then…the detour from hell. 14 miles on dirt roads with noisy ATV’s buzzing by and spitting dust at us. Thanks to Mother Nature, were back at peace as we chased a gorgeous sunset to camp. To sleep with coyotes howling and crickets chirping us lullabies....

Road Walk from Hell

Dinner along HWY 173

Sunset at Camp

5/13

After a warm evening, and another good night of sleep, we awoke at our Highway 173 campsite to a gorgeous morning. The day heated up quickly as we walked easily along the hills circling the town of Cedar Glen. After another brief road walk past the impressive Mojave Siphon Power Plant, we started to climb. Alongside the trail, trail angels surprised us with fresh fruit and water. Thanks Turtles! After a brief climb, we caught our first view of Silverwood Lake…simply gorgeous after the hot morning. We circled the lake and found a picnic area to have lunch and relax for a couple hours. Not feeling rushed, we walked on for a few miles and lazily kicked our feet up again for a few hours! We found camp nearby at a dirty horse camp that a Ranger said is where the PCT hikers sleep. We slept well after just a 17 mile day.

Silverwood Lake

5/14

The early bird gets the worm; the late, lazy bird gets extra sleep and McDonald’s. We slowly crawled out of the tent at the horse camp after hearing multiple footsteps pass us around 5 a.m. As we were packing up and eating some breakfast, another early bird caught up to us. We were pleased to see our new friend from Big Bear…Scoutmeister. The three of us cruised to Interstate 15--about 13 miles. Along the way, we experienced some intense winds and descents and saw another rattlesnake. It was definitely the fastest 13 miles we have hiked in our lives, as we were all salivating and chasing down the Golden Arches.

We then decided to destroy the menu, each consuming between 2500-4000 calories of the healthy, gourmet cuisine… Drained from the excessive preservatives and calories, we spent the next 3 hours in our booth in a food coma, happy to be out of the heat and wind. Following our binge, we grabbed a few supplies from the Chevron and headed 5 miles up the trail to camp near Cajon Pass. Clouds filled the valley as we headed to sleep in the tiny tent.

BEST SIGN EVER!

Scoutmeister and Ernie Gorging

Food Coma

Rookie Backpackers trying on our Packs.

PCT under Canadian Pacific Rail.

Tent Party

5/15

Those clouds were no bluff. We woke to a misty rain hitting the fly, and quickly packed up our wet gear. We climbed 5,000 feet through the dense fog and rain. The rain turned to sleet and snow around 8,000 feet. 50 mph gusts blasted the precipitation into our faces and staggered our steps. Frozen and soaked, we finished an incredible but cold hike and rushed down the Acorn Trail, out of the wind and snow, to Wrightwood, CA. A massive lunch from the grocery store followed, and we quickly made our way to a heated and dry room at the Pines Motel, sharing it with friends, Scoutmeister and Chris, to save costs.

Soggy Hikers

Too Cold for Shorts

Eager to get into Wrightwood

Glazed Pine Needles

5/16

“The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry” – Robert Burns

Fully expecting to zero today and climb ominous Mt. Baden-Powell (9300 ft) tomorrow, we found ourselves hiking today and zeroing on Wednesday! A large storm, capable of dumping large amounts of fresh snow, dropping temperatures, and producing dangerous wind gusts in excess of 50 mph atop Powel has bottle necked many hikers in Wrightwood. The snow could make route finding difficult and traction equally sketchy. Not wanting to take 2 full zeros, we threw some water and food in our packs and hiked 14 miles back up the mountain and then along the ridge to the base of Baden-Powel (Mile 374.0). Two inches of ice coated every surface, but the walk was gorgeous and we stayed warm in our rain jackets. The temperature was well below freezing, with strong winds, but we made it to our destination and caught a quick hitch from a Forest Service employee back into Wrightwood, where we will wait out the storm. Relaxation and food followed.

Mount Baldy

Iced Fence

Inspiration Point

5/17

We will spend our first real zero in Wrightwood today, working on the blog, reading at the library, and watching 50 mph gusts blow rain and snow past our window.

Anticipated Itinerary:
Agua Dulce, CA-4 days-Mile 454.4
Mojave, CA-2 weeks-Mile 558.3
Onyx, CA-3 weeks-Mile 652.0

We are going stir-crazy and excited to get back on the trail tomorrow. We will continue walking North for Camp AmeriKids! Please continue to spread the word on our cause and on our progress. Keep the good vibes rolling!

Much Love,
F+A