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

Fuller Ridge to Full Bellies in Big Bear

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.

The bums with Tahquitz peak in the background.

Forest, Chris, and Nicole trying to find the trail.

Phillip crossing snow-melt river.

Phillip staggering through the snow-pack of Fuller Ridge.

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).

The 100 degree death march of San Gorgonio Pass

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….

Whitewater River.

Moving further away from Mt. San Jacinto.

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).

San Bernardino Mountains.

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). 

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! 

This is NOT a Sissy pancake!!

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)

Greetings from Idyllwild!

*Pardon the MASSIVE post. We had a bunch of time in Idyllwild, so we thought we would give you a more in depth look at our trip.

We are taking a Zero (zero miles hiked) in Idyllwild, a hiker friendly town, 178.6 miles from the border. We are a tenth of the way finished with California and a quarter of the way to the Sierra Nevada. Spirits are high and we are getting some quick rest before hitting the trail again! Here is a little summary of our past week.

4/28     After our half day of rest in Julian, we hitched a quick ride down canyon and back to scissors crossing. We took off from scissors at 10 a.m. for a very very hot 18 mile day switchbacking up the San Felipe hills. We encountered our first barrel cacti of the trip, along with an unusual and beautiful plant called Octillio. It basically looks like a pipe cleaner and stands 10-15 ft tall! We had a very windy and relatively sleepless night of camping on a bend in the PCT above a canyon, with beautiful views of the surrounding Volcon Mountains.

Bum trying to grab a ride.

Octillo

Camp with Volcon Mountain backdrop.

4/29     The next day we pushed hard toward Warner Springs Ranch (and natural hot springs!). While walking next to a seasonal stream, we caught our first glimpse at a rattlesnake and it nearly made us jump out of our shoes! We gave it space and it quickly vanished before we could get a good picture. We were surprised after 8 miles of beautiful walking by soda pops and grapefruit left by a trail angel for the PCT hikers! Thanks, Grumpy! Still on our way to Warner Springs, we walked through beautiful horse and cow pastures filled with dandelions and California poppies that were a treat for the eyes after so many dusty desert miles.  The hot springs were a wonderful treat for our tired legs as well. The burger and pizza didn’t hurt either…

Dandelion Meadow.

California Poppy.

Eagle Rock--formed from Mother Nature's breath.

Hot spring, noodles, and BIG kid in the pool.

4/30     The next day found us walking hard again out of Warner springs for a 21 mile day. We were greeted on the trail by a large snake (maybe a bull snake?) on our way out of the Agua Caliente creek bed. We climbed for what seemed like an eternity and late in the day dropped down into a boulder graveyard. We had incredible views all day of the Warner Springs valley and surrounding mountains. Lacking water, we had a .25 mile detour to Mike’s, another trail angel, who supplies hikers with some food, water and other consumablesJ. We camped that night on Comb's Peak but found it hard to sleep because of the cold.

Bull Snake?



Boulder Field.



Comb's Peak

5/1       We packed up and got off Comb's peak as soon as we could to find some sun. Shivering and dehydrated we made our way down canyon 14 miles to a water cache, where we filled up our bottles and had lunch. Immediately after the cache, we started climbing and finished hiking 22 miles! We camped next to Pines-to-Palms highway on a beautifully clear and calm night. While we were comfy in our sleeping bags, our water bottles froze just outside our tent!

Signing in at water cache.



Neanderthalensis



Yucca stabbing curious Adam.

5/2       We slept in until 7 and walked about a mile to the “hiker-famous” Paradise Café for breakfast. It was well worth the walk, and they even let us fill up our water bottles. Once again, we had a day full of climbing into the San Jacinto Mountains. The bigger of us (I won’t name names) nearly died climbing Apache peak at a steep grade and after so many miles. It was exhausting. After 18 beautiful miles, we grabbed some water shortly before the sun went down and went to sleep.

After 3 eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, 2 banana pancakes, OJ, coffee, and water.

Nerd sighting in the Jacintos.

5/3       We woke up early (5 a.m.) to make a quick 12 mile push to Idyllwild. The hike did not go as quickly as we had imagined because of some intense uphill sections and snow. The north slopes of the San Jacinto Mountains still have a lot of snow, (something we will tackle tomorrow in full force) but luckily some hikers have already been through the area so we could follow footprints. We got lost momentarily between snow patches, and in our search for the trail we stumbled upon an incredible view near Tahquitz peak. We took the 2.5 mile Devils Slide trail from the PCT down to Idyllwild where another trail angle, Huff, picked us up and took us to the post office! Idyllwild is a wonderful town and is very hiker friendly.

8200 feet--overlooking Idyllwild

5/4       On our day off we will be running some errands, buying food for our next leg, and eating even more food.

The next towns we will come to will be Big Bear City (ETA: May 10^th) and then Wrightwood (ETA: May 17^th).

Our daily routine is pretty simple. We wake each day at around 6 a.m. and take about 45 minutes to pack up camp, eat some breakfast, and do some stretches. We have developed quite the appetite for what we like to call the “Forest and Adam PCT Breakfast Burrito.” The recipe can be found below:

• Take a tortilla and spread roughly 4 normal human servings of peanut butter on one side.
• Unwrap a snickers bar and place it on top of the peanut butter.
• With grubby, unwashed hands, fold the tortilla into a burrito.
• Close your eyes and pretend that it is lettuce and therefore is not bad for you
• Eat the burrito in roughly 8 seconds.

We hike throughout the day, usually stopping every hour or so (~3 miles) to take a short break and eat a granola bar and dried fruit. For lunches, we like to find a shady spot and lay out for about an hour eating tortillas with tuna and cheese dipped in olive oil.  

We normally find camp around 6 or so after 20+ miles of hiking and cook a big pot of noodles with a lot of spices and cream powder added. We clean up a little with baby wipes (special ones because Forest has sensitive skin…) and get in the tent, as the sun sets ~ 8 p.m. We look over the map sections for the next day and can barely keep our eyes open past 9 p.m.

With all this talk of high calorie foods, it may seem that we are going to return looking like marshmallows! In reality, we burn nearly 6000 calories a day from strenuous hiking and after weighing ourselves in Idyllwild, we realized that we have each lost over 10 lbs. The good thing is that this means we can pig out even more in town!

It is a wonderfully simple life; full of exercise and fresh air from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. The beauty of our surroundings takes our breath away every moment, and we look forward to another 2500 more miles!

Our next leg starts tomorrow and is our most difficult one yet. We will encounter a lot of snow on Fuller’s Ridge and then drop nearly 8000 feet in 15 miles, only to hike back up before we are done with the leg! It should be exciting!

Fuller's Ridge

We would like to throw out a special thank you and appreciation to our mothers and all mothers around the world as we will not be able update the blog before Sunday. Linda Jenkins and Nikki Houzner, we love you and we could not thank you enough for all of your support throughout the years and specifically for this trip! We will be thinking of you this Sunday!

Please spread the word about our progress and for our cause. Help support Camp AmeriKids!

Much love,

F+A