A Tough Choice

Hello all. Josh and I have some news, we have left the trail. It was a tough choice but the right one for us. This is not the end of our dream to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail, just the beginning of a new approach. For those who are curious as to why we came to this choice let me take this opportunity to explain.

Before Josh and I got off trail for our friends wedding we had some rough times. The trail was beautiful but there was a mental struggle. Josh opened up to me about his feelings towards thru hiking, I was shocked at first. He said that he hated the idea of it and I was confused. As time went on we tried to alter our hiking schedule to try and help with the attitude towards the trail. Some days we got down to hiking just 9 miles a day, for anyone who knows about the PCT that just isn't getting the job done.

We talked a lot about why his feeling had changed and I started to understand. There is a certain vibe on the trail that is almost like a competition to hike further and faster. Frankly there isn't much adventure in that and that is why we started this journey in the first place. With three weeks of slowed pace and adapting our plan we left the trail for the wedding with hopes of returning refreshed and ready to go.

Returning to the trail I was excited to see what was in store for us, but as we walked I could tell that not much had changed for Josh. He wasn't having fun anymore and this made my fun level go down as well. We talked again and he was very open with me. The walking was getting to him, physically he could handle it but he missed exploring in nature and felt a disconnect with it on the trail. He lived for when we took breaks together, camped in the evening and had town stops. He wanted to be with me all day but when hiking that just isn't realistic as we have very different paces. He told me that he wasn't sure if he would find the passion he once had for thru hiking but he was willing to buckle down and bust out the rest of the trail because I still had the dream of getting it all done in one chunk.

That is when I started to do some deep inner reflection. In relationships there must be balance. I realized rather quickly that I had to do some critical thinking. If he was willing to spend 10 hours a day not having fun so I could thru hike the PCT what was I willing to do? It didn't take long for me to come up with a plan but tears formed as I came to the decision. We were walking when I decided what to do and when we got to a break I proposed the idea to Josh.

I told him my master plan. Let's stop. If we aren't having the time of our lives what are we doing out here? How much of the idea of thru hiking is ego based for me? I put my ego aside and made a tough choice. I proposed that we get off trail but not put the dream of finishing the trial aside. Let's re-look at this thing and take a different approach. Let's finish it in sections. He was shocked that I proposed this. He didn't want to make the decision and I told him that it was the best thing for us.

So we did just that, we got off the trail. It was the hardest choice I have made in my life but it was the right thing for us. The trail is not over for us, we have a lot of life left! The plan is to finish Washington and Oregon over the next year and a half together. We also still have 500 miles left in California, which we might hike together or I might solo hike and that sounds like an awesome challenge to me!

We are staying extremely positive about our choice. Sure we are disappointed that we didn't finish what we set out to do this summer. But we are also extremely proud of what we did. Josh and I didn't tell to many people before we left but the PCT was only our fourth backpacking trip ever! We lived outside for 3 months and hiked a little over 1200 miles. Sure its not that spectacular but heck its pretty dang good. My dreams of thru hiking a long distance trail also aren't over. Everyone said we were doing this at the best time because we wouldn't have many opportunities in our lives to do it again. I'd be kidding myself if I thought this was true because most of the people we saw on the trail were in their 30's, 40's and 50's!

Please don't feel bad for us, if you want to feel anything feel happy that we were able to see the amazing things we saw, meet the wonderful people we met and find a connection between each other that is stronger then ever. We learned so much on this journey but it isn't over yet! We plan to continue to use this blog to share our progress in completing this trial. In addition to this we want to extend an invitation. If anyone wants to do some backpacking, even if you have no experience, let us know. We want to share the rest of our journey with the wonderful people in our lives. Let us know how long you want to go out for and we can make a plan, we even have two extra sets of gear :)

For now we have the pleasure of spending two weeks in California with Josh's mom. Then we head home to Washington to have fun this summer. Hiking a little of the Washington PCT, camping, exploring, going to a Mariners game or two, hanging out with friends and other fun adventures. Thank you for those who helped us out along the way, we couldn't have made it as far as we did without you.

A few things we learned that we would like to share...
1. Processed foods make your feel like crap, unless your hiking 20 plus miles a day!
2. Being active everyday makes a huge difference in ones quality of life.
3. People are generally good and willing to help out a kind person in need.
4. Hiker boxes are amazing and should exist in real life. (Boxes where hikers but food/gear that they don't need anymore so another hiker can take it)
5. People need to help other people realize the proper ways to treat trails, like pick up micro trash, proper human waster/toilet paper disposal and the effects of blazing new trails because you're to lazy to go down the existing switchbacks.
6. Karma is real, especially on the trail! Go out of your way every once in awhile to help someone, usually the universe will repay you in someway plus you'll feel better.
7. When backpacking rethink where you camp. Existing camp spots aren't always Leave No Trace, review that LNT guidelines before you head out.
8. Don't be afraid to ask for help, even from strangers. Like I said earlier people are generally nice, more often then not someone will help you if your kind and positive.
9. Have fun! If your not having fun rethink what your doing both in life and on the trail!

We have enjoyed sharing this journey with you and are excited to share more as we work to complete this goal of hiking the entire PCT.

California... why are you so big?!?

Hello again. The trail has been a roller coaster of emotions and good times. We went from were we left you last, Bridgeport, to Sierra City in the time since our last post. In addition Josh and I have been off trail since July 11th to attend our friends Travis and Tori's wedding. Let me update you on our trail adventures since our last post. Josh and I got a ride out of Bridgeport from very kind couple who was going to Sonora Pass to rock climb. The offered us fresh fruit and eagerly asked us questions about the trail as they one day hope to hike the PCT.

Back on trail from town we leap frogged with many weekend backpackers as Josh and I took our time in the insanely beautiful stretch before Lake Tahoe. We ran into some trail magic close to a highway, a cooler full of apples and cookies! The next day Josh and I spent a lazy morning in our tent and finally got to hiking at 11am. Surprisingly enough we were able to get 20 miles done by 7pm and we laughed at the fact that we had made our mileage goal for the day. We camped above a wonderful meadow and the birds sang us to sleep.

The next morning we awoke with excitement as we were going into South Lake Tahoe. After breakfast  looking across the lakes in the distance Josh and I kicked it into high gear and made it to the highway. We were able to snag a hitch in less then 10 minutes and she even gave us ice cold Gatorade! She dropped us off at the outfitters in town and wished us luck on our journey.

The owner of Lake of the Sky Outfitters was amazing! He had a hiker lounge in the back of the shop with snacks, a hiker box, free wifi, a laptop to use and information galore! Josh and I decided to take a zero in Tahoe and enjoy the town. After resting and eating ice cream, cream puffs, pho, pizza and much more we hit the trail again. We got a ride out of town from a local who hopes to hike the trail next year and he sent us off with some goodies. It was July 4th and we had a goal of hiking to a spot with a great view of the lake. Luckily it only took 16 miles and Lake Tahoe was visible from our tent. As the sun set we were able to see the fireworks from across the lake and some flickers from the show in Reno.

The next few days provided wonderful views and interesting bugs, one bug looked like it should be in a Star Trek film. Our days were filled with numerous lakes, streams and breathtaking views. One night we had a great camp spot tucked away on the slopes of Squaw. Also on this stretch Josh and I did our highest mileage day ever, 27 miles and all before 7:30pm! We made it to Sierra City with plans to hike on a few more days before getting picked up for the wedding but after talking to some locals about the road we had planned to get picked up on we decided to stay in town.

Our friend Nick had been waiting in Sierra City for several days to see us and he had the hook up with a local named Mickey. Mickey let us camp in his backyard and let us use his home like it was ours. Also he had an amazing view of the Sierra Buttes from the backyard! After swimming in a tucked away swimming hole and eating a ton of food we were ready to get picked up. Our amazing friends Kirsten and Jessica drove from Bellingham, WA to Sierra City, CA to get us, THANK YOU GUYS! Then I got to drive for the first time since March which was interesting, especially since I drove the whole 15 hours back.

Josh and I relaxed while home in Washington. We ate a ton of food, visited with friends/family and cuddled our kitten. We flew down to California yesterday and tomorrow Josh's mom will drop us off in Sierra City so we can continue our adventure. We are excited to push ourselves physically and mentally. We are super excited to hike and get out of California, this state is forever long it seems like! Let the adventure continue!

Josh by Aloha Lake

Getting artsy with the trees

Josh in action, Lake Tahoe to the right.

Lake Tahoe in the distances, our July 4th view!                      

Pretty flowers :)                                         

Our campsite at Squaw

Another wonderful view

Oh the Places We Go

So here we are, its been over 500 miles since our last post and so much has happened. To start my trail name has changed several times. It went from Grimace to Thundercat and then to Candyface. But now we have found a name that has stuck, Sambo. So now for where and what we have been up to. When we last left you we were at mile 455 and we hiked out from there with Clint and Cheesesnake on a very hot day in the desert. We didn't have far to go to our next stop at Casa de Luna which was one of our favorite trail angel stops. The Anderson's, who opened there wonderfully huge backyard to hikers, fed us taco salad for dinner and pancakes for breakfast! They even stocked the best water cache on trail that was shortly before their house.

While we took some rest and relaxation time at their house, Josh's mom Karen met up with us to join the adventure. The three of us set out to hike the stretch along the aqueduct with sun shinning down on us. Karen had a beast mode first day on trail hiking 18 miles! We walked through the wind farm and enjoyed the new company of Karen on trail with us. The next night was intensely windy, the tent wouldn't even stay up. Luckily Karen spotted a bush that we all were able to cowboy camp behind and catch some shut eye.

The next day we woke with excitement as we were hiking into town. We were greeted at the road by the trail angel Coppertone and he was making root beer floats! After hitching into Tehachapi we got a hotel room with our friend Nick and the four of us settled in for a zero. Unfortunately Karen got wicked blisters, some under her toe nails , so she had to leave us and the trail. After our goodbyes Nick, Josh and I got a ride back to the trail and then we were on our last stretch of the southern California section.

It was so lovely walking through the wind mills and we started listening to Game of Thrones audio book which made the miles go by fast. The walking was easy and the weather was perfect over the next few days. I even had the pleasure of celebrating my 23rd birthday on trail! Nick gave me a hot chocolate for my birthday and we discussed how the trail should airdrop one present on your birthday. I decided that I wanted a Capri Sun.

We struck some luck the next day with trail magic! A couple that had just stocked a huge water cache in the middle of the 36 mile dry section had hummus, Gatorade, carrots and grapes for us. They told us to take advantage of the cache so we didn't have to carry 6-7 liters of water at once. The three of us started back up the trail and no more then ten minutes later we hit another bit of trail magic...a cooler full of Capri Sun!!!

After all the lovely magic we hiked on and camped off trail after scrambling down some boulders to get to water. We then set out to get to Walker Pass and were all filled with excitement as we wrapped up our walk in the desert. Coming down the hill to Walker Pass we saw a big canopy tent set up and looked at each other with disbelief. More trail magic!! This time the trail celebrity Yogi had set up a hikers paradise and it was wonderful. We rinsed off, drank cold sodas and munched on some burritos. We had to get back to the trail though because we were itching to get into the Sierra.

The transition from the desert to the Sierra was breathtaking. We got into Kennedy Meadows and couldn't believe that we had made it 702 miles! Our hiking buddy Nick was meeting up with one of his hiking buddies at Kennedy so our 3 man group became 4 once more. It turned out that it happened to be Joe Anderson who ran Casa De Luna. He drove up to Kennedy so we had the opportunity to drive up to the next town, Lone Pine, and make a resupply box. Joe had the great idea to stage our resupply boxes with eta dates in the bear boxes at the campground we would hike into the next week. So after chores and seeing the mountains we would be hiking over we headed back up to Kennedy Meadows. Unfortunately when we got there one of our package from Karen hadn't arrived so we had to have them forward it, it was Saturday and we didn't want to wait that long to hike.

We were so excited when we got back on trail, it was time for the High Sierra! Hiking with Joe was really fun. He knew so much about the Sierra it was great to hear it all. Over the next few days we saw amazing cliffs, mountains in the distance, lakes and marmot. Joe left the trail eventually and it was the three of us again. We arrived at Crabtree Meadow and downsized our packs (utilizing the bear boxes) to do a side trail to summit Mount Whitney. The trail up to the summit was ridiculous, lake after lake and views for miles. The summit was so exciting we had made it to the tallest mountain in the continental United States! After calling our families from the summit we headed down and a light hail storm followed us.

The next day we took it slow and even got a tour of the new Crabtree Ranger Station which was beautifully crafted. We made it to Big Horn plateau and the panoramic view was jaw dropping. The next day we went over Forester Pass, the highest elevation on the PCT. The other side provided lots of snow and our first opportunity to glisade. The same day we went up another pass to get to the campground we had staged our food at, Onion Valley. We met some fellow thru hikers atop Kearsarge Pass who gave us the option of one Snickers bar or two, so we each trotted down to the campground with a candy in each hand.

We caught a ride down the mountain with a nice local named Dave who drove us down to Subway and drove us back up the  mountain. After getting chores done at the campground we hit the trail again. The walking was filled with mountains all around and lakes. The next several days we went over lots of snowy passes. First was Glen Pass. On the way up our views were filled with crystal clear lakes and on the way down we scrambled in the snow. We enjoyed a sunny lunch at Rae Lakes. Shortly after we reached mile 800 and had a deer stroll through our camp that night.

The next pass was Pinchot which was lovely both up and down. On the evening part of the day another storm rolled in and we set up camp to escape the rain. Luckily it didn't last long and the next day we headed up Mather Pass. After an icy decent and scrambling down the rocks we set up camp. For the second time of the trip we had deer stroll through our camp. This time they pranced around and then licked up our pee off the ground. The next day we headed up Muir Pass and again all the snow.

The afternoon was filled with post-holing in the snow and wet feet but we eventually made it to the top of the pass and the Muir hut that sat atop. We came down the pass to see Evolution Lake and shortly after we had our first wild onions of the trip. After a few days of fording rivers and a beautiful hike on the side trail to Vermillion Valley Resort we had another break. Josh got to catch up on the World Cup and we stuffed ourselves with pie and burgers. Plus we got our first showers in 329 miles! We smelled just a little bit.

On the trail again we went over a few more smaller passes and passed tons of lakes. We passed by Devils Postpile National Monument and snagged a great view of hit then jumped on the John Muir Trail that connected up with the PCT to go by even more lakes and wonderful meadows. Unfortunately that brought many mosquitoes as well. We connected back up with the PCT at Thousand Island Lake and then entered Yosemite National Park. We got into Tuolumne Meadows and were in awe of the domes that scattered Yosemite. The next day we hopped on the park shuttle to a trail-head that went to the top of Clouds Rest. We got to look down on the valley and Half Dome! After having many burgers at the grill we hit the trail again. We stopped to fish in a creek with an amazing view. I even caught two fish that we had with dinner!

I took a fall after dinner while we were hiking but only got a few scrapes, not the hardest fall of the handful I have had. The next few days were tough, the elevation change of the Sierra was not over. We unfortunately got split up from Nick after over 400 miles. Josh and I decided we needed a zero day to rest up and planned to head into Bridgeport. We hit mile 1000 after a wonderful lunch at Dorthy Lake with our friends Paka and Luna. After a raining night and a freezing walk in the high wind and drizzle we made it to the highway to hitch into Bridgeport. After I snagged a ride for a nice Australian hiker heading to the opposite town Josh and I got a ride into town from a nice guy on vacation.

Josh and I have enjoyed resting in town and the views of the Sierra in the distance has been wonderful. Tomorrow we hit the trail again towards Tahoe and further north! Adventure on.

Coming through the wind farm in southern California

Looking at the Sierra from Independence, CA

Josh having fun!

A lake on our side trip to Mount Whitney.

Our view coming up the Mount Whitney trail.

On the summit of Mount Whitney!

The hail storm brewing

Josh's sock drying method

A wonderful campsite before ascent up Forester Pass

Josh looking at the climb to come.

Our snowy decent. 

Sammy at the highest elevation on the PCT!

Wonderfully magical views in the Sierra

Deer in our camp

Sammy on the flooded trail up Muir Pass.

Muir hut on top of Muir Pass

Favorite photo of the trip!

Josh, Sammy and Nick. 

Coming into Yosemite National Park

From atop of Clouds Rest, our side trip in Yosemite

Still loving life, the trail and each other.

The wonderful beauty in Yosemite. 

Tuolumne Falls

Lakeside view at one of our lunch spots.

MIILESTONE 1000! Only 1,668 more miles. 

                                  

Rattlers, Roadwalks and Poodle Dog oh my!

Mt. Baden Powell summit

Last we left you we had just finished our town chores in Big Bear Lake, much has happened since then. We hitched out of Big Bear with a very nice gentleman, hitching with great people who are truly enjoyable to talk to is always wonderful. We took a slow start out of Big Bear but it was well worth it. The day started out with humor as I told our friend Cheesesnake not to forget his water filter at our snack spot, but of course he did. We took a break in the shade of some trees while he hiked back 2 miles to get it

The rest of the day was very scenic. Starring at the lake while walking during the afternoon made us all want to run down the hill and jump in but we hiked on. We had joined with our new friend Rubix at this point, Josh and him powered through the afternoon quickly while I strolled behind taking tons of pictures. We got to camp fairly early and finally used the playing cards we had been carrying for 20 days but hadn't used till earlier that morning at the filter incident break.

We arrived at the hot springs a few days later and spent almost all day there. What a relaxing way to spend 8 hours of a day instead of hiking. Sunbathing, eating, napping, soaking in the hot spring, more eating, more soaking and finally leaving to put some more miles in on the trail. The hike out was truly gorgeous as we winded across the hill towards the sunset.

The next day was also scenic with another lake! If it hadn't been so windy we would have jumped in but a nice mid day lunch spot was good enough for us.  We pushed on and arrived at another picnic area to find a hiker who had met up with his family. They were find enough to let us eat some fresh fruit and sip down some Gatorade. Clint, Cheesesnake, Josh and I made plans to hike on but the idea of camping in such a nice spot with our good friends Tuck and Molly enticed us to stay. We also had the great idea of trying to get pizza delivered and it was a success!

Pizza on trail!

We went to bed with full tummies and awoke to the goal of reaching McDonald's for lunch. Hiking along the trail at a good pace we came to a halt with a rattlesnake on the trail. It wouldn't move, it was frozen soaking in the sun and we thought it might be dead. Josh nudged it with his trekking pole, nothing. So he moved it off trail with his trekking pole, it rattled as soon as he set it down. We looked at each other then the snake. Molly came around the corner and we all waited. Eventually we passed when another hiker, Dan, breezed through with no harm. McDonald's bound we were again.

We arrived at Cajon Pass to fill our bellies with warm food. After tons of calories we got a little claustrophobic from sitting in a building and decided to grab some snacks from the convenience store and push on to a shady spot for a mid day break. After a nice break we hiked to the base of the large hike we had in front of us the next day. We started the day going up, and up and up. We also got to experience with poodle dog bush on the trail. If you don't know what this is google it, nasty stuff.

Anyway it was easy enough to get around, we just had to really focus on that short stretch. The goal was to reach the highway to get us into Wrightwood and we finally did at about 9:30pm, well past hiker midnight. We made a poor decision to sleep on the concrete by the info center, needless to say we all woke up early. We had to put a couple miles on the road but we finally got a hitch from a great local who gave us the tour of the town and dropped us off at breakfast. The only sad part of town was the new shoes I had ordered to replace my pair that was breaking didn't arrive, I was bummed but got over it and got them shipped to the next town.

We did all the normal town stuff in Wrightwood and even got the luxury of crashing on our friends motel room floor. The next day we set out of town to do the climb of Mt. Baden-Powell. While tiring we made it to the top and were rewarded with a view. The next day we got the do some road walking for a trail detour for an endangered frog. We left Cheesesnake in the morning and when we took a break for lunch we still hadn't seen him. Another hiker passed and said we were the first hikers he had seen all day and he started from the base of the mountain, we knew Cheesesnake went wrong somewhere.

Eventually we camped in a wonderful spot that made us forget we were in southern California with multiple stream, large trees and tons of green all around. We set up camp and a few hours later Cheesesnake came rolling by, come to find out he had been off trail twice that day but he made his way back. We all decided to put two big days in to get us closer to Agua Dulce.

We hiked roughly a 24 mile day to get to a fire station where we spent a sandy and windy night sleeping under the bright moon, it lit up the sky like a spot light. From there we pushed out a 25 mile day, a lot of which involved road walking. Again this section was covered in poodle dog bush but it was everywhere. At one point in my mind I was comparing the view to that of a scary movie. Burnt trees loomed overhead and poodle dog pushed surrounded the hill side reaching into the trial every now and then. The bush may not bark like the dog but we didn't want to experience its bite.

Road walking allowed us to get to the same destination but avoid the next fields of the nasty plant. Some road was paved other sections we were lucky enough for it to be dirt. We made it to our destination and camped by a creek just 10 miles from Agua Dulce. Josh and I got up early, for once, and decided to put "10 by 10" in. A lot of hiker around us use this term as getting 10 miles done by 10am but usually we don't break camp until 8am so it's usually hard to do. But today we were successful and treated greatly for it.

View from one of our road walks. 

We arrived at Hiker Heaven which is the perfect oasis in the heat this week. We got to shower, do laundry, ride bikes to town to get supplies and the people that run the place are incredibly nice. Josh and I got to lunch today and a local even bought our food to show some trial magic even though they remained anonymous. We set out tomorrow on the trail again! Oh also I got my new shoes and just in time as mine were on their last thread, literally. Josh's mom Karen will be joining us soon as we hike north. Look for a post soon and adventure on!

-Grimace

Rattle snake on the trail, motionless.

Mad rattler! 

 

Grimace in a tree. 

Grimace on a tree. 

The gang by a 1500 year old tree. 

Teabag in the wind

Am I right? Am I left? (silly trail joke)

Looking back at what we have crossed so far.

Hello All!  It seems like the last update in Warner Springs was much longer than two weeks ago but the trail has a way of distorting one's sense of time. Coming out of Warner Springs it was a fairly short stretch into Idyllwild with pretty easy terrain so it kind of flew by.We hit some trail magic at Mikes house which was much needed and a solid moral boost. We had sloppy joes, soda and beer. Then we hit the trail again to camp atop a ridge and star gaze. We hit some more magic down the way in the way of a water cache (water that is set out on the trail by people wanting to help us hiker trash). These are always nice to hit but we never rely on them.

We also stayed a night at a really cool campground that was surrounded by large boulders and great people. Luckily we have managed to stay with a group of people for most of the trip, and one fellow since we met at the airport. Cheesesnake, or Omaha Cheesesnake is our friend that we have been with the longest and he sure is a hoot. The day doesn't seem right if we don't get our random Cheesesnake fact of the day. We are also still with Clint who is an extremely knowledgeable young lad. We have been hiking with those two every day since Warner Springs and the good times keep rolling. We keep bouncing around with Tuck, Molly, Kyle, Sky, Baggins and Jeff but we can't seem to get the whole group together for two long as the trail pulls us in different paces.

So back to the trail and all that grand stuff. We hiked down the hill and hit Paradise Valley Cafe which was some delicious food! We got there for breakfast and chowed that down then waited the 2 hours for the lunch menu to open so we could get burgers and it was well worth the wait! We hit Idyllwild on the perfect day because a storm rolled through the night we got there.

We set up at the state campground and stood around the campfire sharing good times with great people before climbing into our tents to hunker down as the storm hit. It was sure a breezy and snowy night. We awoke to frost covering the ground and we all shuffled over to a diner called the Red Kettle to chow down and escape the cold. After taking our first zero (no hiking) we jetted out of town to start the climb and saw that the San Jacinto peak was only a side trail to summit the mountain so we went for it.

It was a steep and snowy climb but totally worth it. We made it to the summit, with only one rolled ankle, and found an awesome stone emergency shelter to eat dinner in. Cheesesnake, Clint, Teabag (Josh) and myself all snuggled up in our sleeping bags and had many great laughs. I also got my trail name here, Grimace. In my sleeping bag, which is purple, I look like the McDonald's character Grimace, there is a picture below. Anyway we left the shelter to find a nice spot to hike on and find a nice place to camp.

Coming down Mt San Jacinto with a great view

The next day and a half was a steep climb down from the mountain but the views were incredible. We also woke up with some scorpions in our campsite which was interesting to wake up to especially since I felt something crawling between the floor of out tent and the footprint that sits underneath it. We made it to the bottom of the mountain and hiked across the flat section before Ziggy and Bears which was another wonderful spot of trail magic.

They had it all there: showers, foot baths, food, water, etc. We only did a pit stop there to get a few liters of water and a couple extra things of food but we were happy to see other hikers and the wonderful magic in action. We hiked on a few miles to the Mesa Wind Farm and stopped for lunch. They had cold bottled water for us, bathrooms, outlets, ice cream sandwiches and a A/C room to escape the heat. Again another magical place there to help us.

Grimace, Teabag, Clint and Cheesesnake at the Mesa Wind Farm

From there we had a beautiful climb but it was sure tough. Some parts seems fairly easy but the close we got to Big Bear the harder things got. My ankle was still pretty stiff but I tapped it up and it is doing better now but it made for a couple of slower days. Also one of the days Josh was feeling a little ill in the tummy so our 20 mile day was shortened but we took a wonderful break by a creek with paradise like shade and again amazing people.

The last day and a half into Big Bear was draining physically and mentally but we had to push on, it was time to resupply! We ran into a wonderful trail magic spot close to Big Bear before our last night that had a couch, soda and water that we stopped at for dinner. We got up the next morning and busted out a quick 10 miles to the highway by Big Bear and got picked up by Paul who helps out at the Big Bear Hostile. We decided to stay there to get cleaned up and do some laundry, oh and sleep in a real bed! It was great.

The guy who runs the hostile is super friendly and even worked with some of the businesses in town to get us discounts on food, yay pizza, ice cream and candy!!!! We also had dinner at a really cool sports bar called Sandy's where we ate way to much, had some great beer and cider and played pool. We are now about to resupply our food stock, grab some lunch and hit the trail again. What the trail has taught us so far is take things slow and soak it all in. It isn't about putting in big miles everyday, it is about the journey we have along the way. Look for another post to come soon! Adventure on!

-Sammy (Grimace)

Again photos are below....

Grimace by some sweet boulders

  

Teabag in the heat

Paradise Valley Cafe Burger

Teabag and Cheesesnake

Grimace on San Jacinto Peak

Outside the stone shelter

Sammy being Grimace