Mount Baden Powell

After resupplying at Jensen's grocery I decided to spend the night in Wrightwood. That decision coupled with a late start Saturday morning lined me up for a very late Summit push Saturday evening 5 p.m. I worried about the struggles I had on Mount San Jacinto.
My body had made the necessary adjustments. I had no problem with the thin air. I summited strong without muscle fatigue. That which had not killed me,

has indeed Made Me Stronger

Fuel the body

Thursday May 11th. I take my time packing up my Silverwood Lake campsite.Just  50 miles until the summit of mount baden-powell. If the land was flat that would be an easy 2-day hike.Add 6000 feet of elevation gain and it's a three-day hike .

I tried to finish my pizza  for  breakfast.I  have no appetite. In 10 miles I'll be at Cajon Pass with a convenience store, McDonald's, Del Taco and Subway. Whenever there is a food venue less than 1 mile from the trail, you must take that opportunity to fill your bodies fuel tank. The two hamburgers and large bucket of sugar water that I consumed at McDonald's was resources that I did not have to carry on my back for 10 miles. As I gained elevation the ridge walks become more frightening and the opportunity for sheltered tent space becomes less frequent. I put up my tent in a wash out among rocks and poison ivy. I slept like a baby literally curled up in fetal position. I am a small person it's easy to leave no Trace when your entire body footprint is so small.

Bobcat outside my tent

At Silverwood Lake Campground I saw this Bobcat, not far from my tent. I had just finished eating tuna fish for lunch. I know cats like tuna. The park ranger told me not to worry about it. She said the small Bobcats mostly just eat squirrels. She also told me a local pizza shop will deliver to the campsite. So I ordered an anchovy pizza, I crave salt when I'm on the trail.

Tuesday May 9th

 cold slept late. It's mostly downhill today. My strategy was out run the polar vortex over Big Bear City. By mid afternoon I thought it was working beautiful sunny day not too hot.
By 6 p.m. I got off the trail found a place to put up the tent the wind was picking up temperature dropping and dark clouds filled the sky. Hiked 21 milesGood enough 7 p.m. I finished going over my maps of made my notes its raining and I'm going to sleep

Slack pack

I Double zeroed friday & Saturday in the big bear area. During that time I became familiar with the public tranportation between the Two Towns Big bear city & Big bear lake.  Big bear lake has greater resupply options and the mountain transit is reliable
"Slackpack" is Trail talk  for hiking without the full weight of your gear. There are many ways to accomplish this.At The Nature's Inn I met Mike & Greg, local residence. They were interested in long distance hiking lifestyle and they were familiar with the local trails .Greg  offered to drive me around that weekend  showing me many  access points from Trail to town.You can choose to slack a small number of miles or almost 20 miles in that area, without coordinating with Car and Driver.I reserved the mountain lion room for another night, with the intention of leaving most of my gear  in the hotel room,  walking a few Trail miles and returning to the hotel. Jerry the innkeeper told me to bring cold weather gear on my hike .I'm glad I listened to Jerry.What started as a sunny day quickly became a freezing winter wonderland. My gloves were inadequate and I quickly lost the fine motor skills of my hands due to the bitter cold. Setting up my tent would've been nearly impossible . Instead I fumbled with the key to my room turned up the heat lit the

fireplace and took a hot shower Much thanks Jerry. Big Bear City is more like Mayberry RFD .Jerry runs the Nature's inn with a comfortable family feel. It was hard to leave

Zero day

" zero day" is Trail talk for any day that you don't walk Trail miles. Miles walked to or from the  trail or miles walked within a Town do not count as Trail miles. Zero day does not necessarily mean day of rest. Post offices are not all open on weekends. Timing of town stops around business hours is critical. Before I left Mount Laguna I shipped some gear 200 miles north to Big Bear City. Leaving Whitewater Preserve I had nearly 60 miles to cover in two days to get to Big Bear City post office before close of business Friday. After sleeping someplace different than I had anticipated the previous night. I woke up 28 miles from Big Bear. The first half of the day would be climbing From Below 7000 to almost 9,000 feet. As I approached big Bear I called to reserve a room at a hotel closest to the post office. The Nature's Inn was very accommodating welcoming PCT hikers with a special rate. The Innkeeper Jerry Sheen told me I could have the squirrel room for a reasonable price. After hearing a description of the room I asked how much more expensive for an upgrade to a larger room. Jerry performed Magic and got me the much larger mountain lion room for the same rate ,thank you Jerry. Minutes after that phone call I arrived at Highway 18 got a ride immediately and was at the post office before 4 p.m. that day was filled with surprises. The biggest surprise was that it was Thursday not Friday. The next day was Cinco de Mayo. Maybe I'll get a zero day after all. My first 13 days I hiked 266 trail  miles  that's 10 % of the overall trail .I averaged over 20 Trail miles per day

Lost in a pocket

It's important for me to look over my maps and data sheets in the evening during daylight. I usually start hiking before the sun comes up. Studying map in the morning  by flashlight it's easy to overlook details. Especially at elevation with no coffee. I put the maps that I need for the next day in a pocket where I can easily access them during the hike. This particular morning moving swiftly on Flatland I lost track of the distance I traveled and missed an important turn at a stream Crossing. I couldn't find my map in my pocket. I unpacked all my gear from my backpack searching for my map. As the sun came up the trail revealed itself.
Simon , the Mountaineer I met on san Jacinto told me" if you are adequately provisioned, and you have appropriate survival gear ,and know how to use it. You are never lost you're just sleeping someplace different than you anticipated. Genius! I also have wilderness camping permit & a California campfire permit. I'll never forget Lessons Learned as a Boy Scout, be prepared.
I covered 20 miles that day despite my circuitous route. The map was in my pocket the whole time. Clear skies ,cloudy brain.

Temperature climbs over 100

Climbing from Interstate 10 mile 209 to mile 216 San Gorgonio wilderness area is 2000 foot vertical gain  .the temperature was over 100 degrees. The shade opportunities were few and far between. When I could find a rock or shrub large enough to provide shade for one human. The spots were all full. My strategy was to get to the top where there should be some Breeze. There was some relief over 3000 feet. 20 miles was a good accomplishment for that day and I slept at the Whitewater Preserve, an Oasis in the desert

Angels and Magic

The Descent from Summit to Desert floor took me more than one full day of hiking. I set up my tent quickly as the sun went down I was around mile 200.
When I got near the Interstate 10 Bridge a wonderful woman was greeting hikers and welcoming them to a feast that she and her husband Wendell had put together just for the hikers. Wendell was a hiker and when he called for help on the trail his wife( Mama Bear )would perform Magic turning desert into Oasis. I asked are you caterer? she replied no I'm Armenian

If you go to the trail looking for love you will find it here

Yogi's book

My campsite at Tule was exposed. When the sun went down the wind began to scream like Banshees. I had heard the story of a 2017 hiker who received the trail name Dorothy after his tent Blew Away In The Wind with his cellphone still in it..
Jackie McDonnell writes hiking guide books under the name Yogi. Jackie has gathered information from an amazing group of experience thru-hikers.the technique I used to secure my tent to the ground came directly from her book. When the earth is too hard to secure tent Stakes. Put your trekking poles through the stake loops on your tent lay them flat on the ground and stack heavy rocks on top of them. Thank you Jackie and thanks to your Intrepid team of global Trekkers.
Saturday morning I still have my tent but some of my personal items could use laundry service.
The trail north of Highway 74 is detoured due to recent fire. I hiked the 15 miles to the road then caught a ride with a man named herk into Idyllwild. Hurk helped me and another hiker find accommodations for the evening.
The alternative Trail I've chosen out of Idyllwild is called The Devil's Slide. Appropriately named the root climbs from 5000 feet to just over 7,000 feet within 10 miles. The room in Idlewild was so comfortable I didn't leave until check out at noon. Bad planning that hike In the Heat of the day is potentially deadly. Used map and Compass to navigate this unfamiliar trail system. I often make wrong turns and make up the difference with tenacity. I found myself at a junction named Wellman's divide just two and a half miles from the summit of Mount San Jacinto. The Summit is 10800 feet above sea level. It was 4:30 in the afternoon and I decided to push through to the summit and camp further down the ridge on the other side. less than 1/2 Mile out of Wellman's I met a young Mountaineer named Simon. Simon was experienced and familiar with local trails. After a few minutes of conversation Simon suggested that perhaps it was a bad choice to Summit that evening. He told me that the snowpack Beyond The Summit obscured the trail and even though he had walked it many times he found himself lost that day and chose to go back down the mountain on the more clearly defined path. We walked together to Wellman's divide where I set up my tent and he continued his descent. It was later that I realized how much the altitude had affected me. Conversation was difficult and like a drunk person I would try to plant my foot in front of me and it would land somewhere else. The thin air did not affect my sleep I slept great and summited the next morning at 9 o'clock

Warners to. Tule canyon

Tule canyon

The trail Leaving Warner is livestock grazing pasture. We must open and close large pipe gates to keep the cows penned in. I have no experience herding cattle. When these enormous creatures block my path, I spoke to them the same way I would anyone else." Pardon Me Miss, I'm hiking the Trail, I'd just like to get past you if you don't mind" when that didn't work I automatically began talking like a cowboy in a movie. Sternly and with confidence" let's go move along bossy" that worked perfectly. After several miles of flat land we start climbing from just below 3000 feet to almost 6,000 within 15 miles. 20 miles into the day I knew we were dropping in elevation to about 3500 Within a 8 mile span. I was dog-tired but downhill doesn't usually hurt my knees in fact I'm good at it. I filled up my water bottles at Trail Angel Mike's and began a Free Run to Tule Canyon.28 tough miles that day . I am proud

Past 100

Filling water bottles at Barrel Spring other hikers celebrated passing the Hundred Mile Mark a mile back. I was oblivious,focused on water. Long hot miles without shade, water is primary concern. Warner Springs Resource Center in Warner Springs California is visible from the  trail. It's also just one mile from a golf course with a restaurant. I celebrated my accomplishments with a fantastic steak dinner protein fat calories and one beer. Mile 109.5 means I walked 27 miles before 4:30 p.m.

Hiker Corral at Resource Center

Wednesday 4-26

on Trail before sunup hiked 13 miles to scissors Crossing Highway 78 before 10 a.m. mostly downhill. Under the highway bridge I met Trail angel Ed. He had water for dry hikers. Another Trail Angel ( Brew Hiker) offered rides into the town of Julian 12 miles away. Julian is another hiker friendly town with full resupply services and free slice of pie at Mom's pies. After picking up much needed protein and calories

I stuck out my thumb on Route 78 just passed the post office. was picked up by a retired fireman and  back under the bridge before 1 p.m. at 5 p.m. it was still very hot and the sun was relentless. I was anxious for more miles so I started climbing slowly up the San Felipe Valley . I set up my tent just before the sun went down and slept the sleep of the Angels. 18 miles for the day good enough

Leaving Laguna

5 a.m. I left my comfortable cabin and immediately got lost in the dark and fog. Found my way back to the trail before six. I've never seen pinecones so big in my life they're the size of footballs. kindness I received from every person I met in Laguna fill my heart with  positive energy. The Shakedown lightened my load. I easily hike 22 miles that day. I made camp at chariot Canyon in a dry creek bed. The wind was brutal. Each gust brought fine sand from the creek bed into my tent. Woke up with grit in my mouth and a gravelly voice. That experience I am happy to put behind me.