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.