Day 25 to 31: Big Bear Lake to Wrightwood (Miles 266.1 to 356.2 / 573.24 km)
Day 25: Big Bear Lake to Little bear Spring Trail Camp (266.1 to 285.6)
Alarm at 6.45am, shower, breakfast got pick-up at our hotel by Trail Angel named Sandy Troutman. We have a twenty mile day
We hiked with Webcutter and Travis and it was one of the funnest days! I’m very happy we’ll be hiking with Webcutter tomorrow again.
Days 20 – 24: Miles 209.6 to 266.1
Tl;dr: Saw a bear, the first rattlesnake and descended over 2500m in one day … read on for more details.
Disclaimer: this is a longer post, covering multiple days, as I am changing the posting cycle to once a week roughly. Exciting news: we added a new feature: Now you can subscribe to get an email notification with each new post, more infos below. 🙂
Day 19: The long descent down San Jacinto (Miles 190.4 – 209.6)
Today, I woke up at 5.40AM and it was STILL raining and cold. My hands froze trying to put together my tent. Coldest day on the PCT yet with 4 degrees Celsius and coldest night – first night I could leave my sleeping bag closed.
Hiked 31km mostly down San Jacinto. The last part from the bottom of the mountain from the water pipe along the desert towards I-10 was horrible in the wind. I had to pee really bad but couldn’t because it would have sprinkled everywhere. 🫣 we finally made it to Kristin’s, an Airbnb right on trail. Lovely place. She greeted us with Gatorade with Ice 🫶 great to shower and do laundry. Left foot blister under my foot, right foot took the tape off that Morgan put on and have to put it on again tomorrow, potentially on both feet and do exercises. Several times a day to prevent injury.
Passed the 200 mile marker today but noticed I am not that excited about it: I am waiting for the 265.54 mile (427.34km) marker to reach the 10% 🙂 in a few days I’ll get there. Still the longest I have ever walked. So an achievement for sure!
Stats:
Miles walked 19.8
Descent: 2253m ‼️⚠️⛔️
Ascent: 312m
Steps: 43.828
Max elevation: 2368m
P.S.: I read that descents don’t hurt your knees, they only reveal your weaknesses – this was my queue to start stretching even more – every two hours on trail now.
Day 18: 177.3 to 190.4 Fuller Ridge
This was the hardest day for me yet. I didn’t sleep at all the night before, so when the alarm rang at 5.30am, I had to stay in bed and slept till 8. Kate left and I stayed behind to make freshly brewed coffee and breakfast.
Day 17: Hardest and most beautiful day yet. (162.6 – 177.3)
Best day ever – we started at the water source cedar spring at 6.30am – and then had alpine ridges, rocks forests, pines, lizards, ascends and declines, hopping over ridges and fallen trees all day long. It was like the obstacle run I always wanted to do but never did.
Day 16: Miles 151.8 to 162.6 PVC to Cedar Springs
Started at 8AM with breakfast at mama eggs which was amazing. Then went to the gear shop again, tried on back packs. Mine is way too heavy with 8 days of food. I Like the Deuter air contact so 45 + 10. 240$ (german brand of course haha) but didn’t get it. Good to know as a back up though. Mine is a frameless pack and this one has steel framing, so it is heavier but offers more support and is comfortable for heavier loads (18-20kg).
Day 15: Made it to Idyllwild (148.2 – 151.8)
Today we got to Idyllwild. We hiked 7.36km.
Idyllwild is so nice. We went to the gear shop Nomad and I finally bought a pump. We also saw Mayor Max, the dog.
Day 14: Miles 134 to 148.2
Have you missed my regular 6AM GMT posts? I missed you too! 🫶 Sometimes I won’t be able to post because I don’t have service, battery or time. Then I’ll post as soon as I can.
Day 13: Miles 122 to 134.8
We started quite early – alarm at 5.30 and hiked when it was still cool. I felt sick again today. I guess my body is inflamed from all the processed food I am eating. I have a bump under my right food which is worrying me. It’s like a long worm under my skin. A deep blister?It hurts. We didn’t stop all day except at Mike’s to get water.
Day 12: Miles 109 to 122 and lots of elevation
I slept really great. It was a wonderful day – hiked with fish head, Jess and Kate, made it 13 miles and camped in the most epic spot on a mountain at 1500m. It was exhausting but I feel strong on the uphills. Really glad Kate is joining and made it to the camp side.