After another gorgeous stretch of Southern California from Idyllwild to Big Bear City/Lake, we have currently hit the 265 mile mark. With nearly 1/10th of the PCT behind us, we are feeling great and enjoying every day. Due to the massive snow load in the Sierra, we are continuing to take our time to try to get to Kennedy Meadows at a later date when there will be less snow. So....we are once again taking a Zero in Big Bear Lake, CA for our poor feet and to jam as many calories as possible into our shrinking, but wiry, bodies. Wasting no time, we'll give you a rundown of our last leg, characterized by elevation and weather extremes.
Cinco de Mayo—After a day and a half of rest in Idyllwild and a large breakfast at the Red Kettle, we caught a ride from the owner of the Idyllwild Inn in his pick-up to the base of Devil's Slide Trail. 2.5 miles of incline brought us back to the PCT. Now we faced the ascent to the hyped FULLER RIDGE.... We managed to lose the trail multiple times, as we navigated via frozen foot prints and our mediocre maps. We crossed multiple swift, swelled runoff rivers in the diverse conifer forest. Although we usually hike alone on the trail, it was quite comforting to have the company of our friends Phillip, Chris, and Nicole to find our way through the snowy San Jacintos and cross the ridge. Eventually, after a slow 12 miles through the snow, we made it to the Fuller Ridge remote camp for sunset and a relaxing evening. Despite all the hype and anticipation, Fuller Ridge was quite tame, but still an exciting change of pace.
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| The bums with Tahquitz peak in the background. |
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| Forest, Chris, and Nicole trying to find the trail. |
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| Phillip crossing snow-melt river. |
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| Phillip staggering through the snow-pack of Fuller Ridge. |
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| Adam relaxing after a snowy day. |
5/6—With Fuller Ridge behind us, the next day we were ready for a pleasant, quick 16 miles down the ridge to San Gorgonio Pass. WRONG! We switch-backed for hours down the shade-lacking slopes in the hot desert sun. We pushed hard and finally made it to the bottom to a water fountain that we guzzled from in attempt to fill our deprived bodies. It was a little too late for both of us, as we were wiped out for the next couple days from dehydration. After the descent, we meandered across the devilish San Gorgonio Pass. Under the relentless sun and “the sound of screaming sea gulls” from the Mesa Wind Farm, we leaned into the sandblasting winds and pushed across the sandy, ~100 degree desert. Relieved to reach a shady underpass, we were rewarded with a cooler of beverages from a local Trail Angel. Dehydrated with our hot, blistered feet and tired legs, we moved on to find camp for a lousy, windy night of sleep under the wind turbines. (24 mile day).
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| The 100 degree death march of San Gorgonio Pass |
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| Mesa Wind Farm with Mt. San Jacinto backdrop. |
5/7—We have both been hungry for every moment of our lives for the last 23 years, but on May 7, 2011, a new kind of hunger arose in our churning bellies….the HIKER APPETITE! Nothing filled us up! After starting this leg with what we thought was an excessive, heavy load of food, we were now panicking that we would not have enough food to get to Big Bear. Therefore, Forest was panicking that he was the next entrée on Adam’s menu. He was saved by the distraction of the gorgeous flowers, frequent shade, and massive canyon walls lining the rapid waters of Mission Creek. After 22 miles of hunger, we settled down at a creek-side camp for 3 bags of mashed potatoes and went to sleep hungry….
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| Whitewater River. |
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| Moving further away from Mt. San Jacinto. |
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| Adam debating whether a grilled Forest would taste better with a side of potatoes or rice. |
5/8—Happy Mother’s Day from the PCT! We woke up to the first clouds over the last 2 weeks, and not only was it cloudy, but it was cold! We climbed a little over 2000 feet in 4 miles to a trail camp where we got water from a spring, snacked on our rationed raisins and M+Ms, and bundled up before moving on. With a couple more miles behind us, the sun came out to warm us up a bit. Until this brisk day, we have been trying to evade the torturous sun that never seems to go to sleep in Southern California. With the cooler temperatures, the hiking was much easier and we moved quickly over the ridges of the San Bernardino Mountains. We were startled to hear lions roaring, as we descended a mountain slope in Southern California. These were not cougars. These were the roars from Simba’s hungry Mom and Dad! Soon we ran into a large caged lot, holding grizzly bears, wolves, African lions, leopards, tigers, and cougars. Predators in Action train large predators for movies—odd sighting on the PCT! After some candy, cookies, fruit, and soda from the Big Bear Hostel Trail Angels, we descended into a dense conifer lowland for camp. Another COLD (32 degrees), windy (50 mph gusts) night in the smallest known 2-man tent on the planet. (22 mile day).
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| San Bernardino Mountains. |
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| Grizzly bear doing Broadway tricks for PCT hikers in its 4x6 cage... |
5/9—Cold and eager to get into Big Bear for FOOD, we got an early start and cruised 9.5 miles down to HWY 18. We hitched a ride into Big Bear City from a nice couple from SedonaGrayson, the Big Bear Hostel owner and got a room at his place. Wonderful, cheap place to hang the hat for a couple days. Then, we hit the sports bar for appetizers, which was immediately followed by three heaping plates at the Chinese Buffet. Back to the hostel for bedtime (8 PM).
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| An appetizer for the day. |
5/10—We got up at 6 today to make a plan for Big Bear and find a local diner in the snow-dusted city. We found exactly what we were looking for at the Grizzly Manor Café. Adam had the Sissy Boy (fitting), which consisted of 2 fried eggs, 2 strips of bacon, and 1 massive pancake larger than Adam’s head! That is BIG! Forest consumed the Grizzly Bear (2 fried eggs, 3 strips of bacon, hash browns, 4 biscuits and gravy) and threw in an extra massive buckwheat pancake. We walked out smiling ear-to-ear! Be back tomorrow before hitting the trail. With our grocery shopping out of the way, we have the rest of the day to relax and explore Big Bear Lake!
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| This is NOT a Sissy pancake!! |
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| The Grizzly Bear plus a small pancake. |
Tomorrow morning we continue walking north toward Canada!
Anticipated Itinerary:
Wrightwood: 1 week
Agua Dulce: 2 weeks (no incoming mail)
Thanks again for all the support, blog comments, mail, and positive vibes in circulation! We will keep walking! Please continue to help by spreading the word and the love!
Much Love,
F+A (AKA Bert (Adam) and Ernie (Forest) on the trail)
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