I guess I could say I had my ups and downs in this section. I’m starting to finally recover from my ankle issue and blisters are now a non-issue. I’m fully comfortable with my equipment and have struck a sane balance with my GPS project. I’ve also met a lot of great new people who I’m now sharing trail tread and campsites with.

I’ve had a couple of too-hard days in the past week as well as some enjoyably easy ones. Two nights ago, camped just barely above the clouds on a high ridge in the San Gabriel Mountains, I figured my next few weeks. Most people are starting to push it but I’m not going to. They’re throwing 25-30 milers down. My guestimation is that if I keep doing “20s” I’ll hit the Sierra far too early. There’s only three more opportunities for zero mile days and I don’t feel like killing huge amounts of time at any of them. I’m a little over half way to the Sierra already. So, I’m excited about slowing down and mixing more 15-18 mile days into my schedule.

Some of the notable events and places of the past week include:

– Deep Creek. This desert watercourse pretty nearly qualified as a river in my book. The flow was substantial and it winds through deep canyons further shaded by large trees. It even has some stellar hot springs which had gathered about 25 hikers. The Deep Creek canyon is sadly the sight of a PCT hiker death a week or so ago. No Way Ray fell somewhere before the hotsprings. It was very easy to see how this could have happened because the trail is in trecherous shape. It’s an absolute shame that public lands are so underfunded as to make high use trails (like the PCT at Deep Creek) deadly. Sections of this trail are falling away and Ray likely won’t be the last to slip to his death if this trail isn’t fixed. There are also some short sections right before Wrightwood that are similarly falling away.

– I pulled in to Silverwood Lake after a long haul from the hot springs only to be shafted by the camping situation. Ok, I was dead tired and grumpy. But why on earth is the hike/bike campsite the absolute farthest away? We’re WALKING there. Thanks. Oh, and your bathrooms are the most disgusting I’ve seen in at least five years. I was at least glad to use a cell phone to call home. I had been worried about family for the few days previous it was a relief to make contact.

– If I keep it up, I might just develop a reputation for laziness. But it was with good reason this time. Cajon Pass is somewhat of a landmark point on the PCT and all that is there besides a busy freeway is a McDonalds. Incredibly, there is even an official PCT sign pointing out “McDonalds 0.3 miles ->”. So sitting in McDonals with a bunch of other hikers, shaking the dirt out of our shoes and spilling our water bottles on the floor, the weather report was passed around. Big rain and wind with possible snow was called for. Hotel! I say! And I won. We spent a great afternoon and night in the Best Western being fair weather hikers. Oh so nice.

– The people of Wrightwood are amazing. I’m currently staying with being overfed by an imensely kind woman and her family. There are about seven of us here and we’re being completely provided for. Thank you! Within a half an hour in town I had been showered with good vibes. A lady gave me water and a Wrightwood, CA souvenier pencil, I had many nice comments directed my way, a couple of nice conversations and was served an side of coleslaw that was so overflowing it required an extra plate. Thanks!

Next is on to Agua Dulce, the real Mojave and more trail stink. Lovin’ it!

A few nights ago I was sleeping on top of a ridge at close to nine thousand feet. I was all alone, under a beautiful Jeffery Pine, enjoying the first cool night in a while. Then I heard it. A roar? What the hell is that? I looked around but I could tell it was coming from far below. What on earth? Then it happened again. And again. Can mountain lions make that sound? It sounds like more than one animal. What the??

I didn’t figure out what it was until last night. Sitting in the awesome Nature’s Inn in Big Bear City another hiker was talking about those sounds. He however had made the connection that what we heard came from the exotic animal retirement compound that we had just passed. Somewhere on the trail before Big Bear, you come across a small community of retired Hollywood actors and actresses. It was these lions, tigers and bears that were sending my blood pressure racing the night before.

This little tidbit reminds me of something I came up with on the trail yesterday. “Breathe deep and let the trip, trip you.” I sure did get tripped up by the forest sounds that night. I’ll keep listening and looking hoping that it happens again soon.

Of things that I crave while on the trail, quotes are the most difficult to satisfy. We have a lot of time to think out here. A LOT of time. And there is something fantastic about the out of doors that let’s one philosophize. But my own attempts aren’t always as insightful as what other’s have thought before. A teacher of mine once said that writing helps place one’s own thoughts. So, if anyone out there in cyberspace has great quotes (mostly on nature, walking, traveling, etc) I’d love it if you posted them in my guestbook. Muir is great but he’s just so quotable so if you have anything by other authors it was be appreciated greatly.

Otherwise, the hike has been fantastic. It’s an absurdly incredible trip to take off and walk, day after day. See new things, meet new people (lots of them!), get trail love (my name for trail “magic”), and push your own physical and mental limits. I have indeed by pushing hard on those limits. I’ve limped the past 70 miles. Some sort of ankle use injury is hampering my stride. The sides of my left heel bone are tender but the tendons and ligaments feel fine. Range of motion is fine. Everything is fine. But it HURTS to walk. The past two days though the situation my have improved a tad. At least now I can warm up my injury and walk without compensating. So I’ve been trying not to take breaks so that I don’t experience pain on restarting. I’m taking a zero today and possibly one tomorrow for the sole purpose of resting my feet. With a half day of rest already my ankle is feeling a little better but the limp is still there but now from an overly tight calf muscle. I’ll head back to the hotel soon for ice, hot tub, and stretching. Still, I walk. It’s so worth it.

Other notable things. The much feared Fuller Ridge was a cake walk. The decent down off of it was not. That section of trail loses about 7000 feet and it’s absurdly poorly designed. You walk mile long switch backs through three foot high, rattle snake infested grass, in absurd heat, without water, without losing ANY ELEVATION. That SUCKS. I propose that this section be redone so that you actually lose elevation. Make the trail steeper for god sake!

Camp that night near the windmills after San Gorgonio Pass was pretty crappy. It was too hot to sleep. I had seen too many snakes that day. It was too windy. The moon was too bright. I was too dehydrated and exhausted. And the idiot locals shooting guns at snakes a couple of hundred feet away didn’t help either.

Mission Creek was beautiful. Especially the upper stretches of the east fork. I love desert rivers with Cottonwood trees.

I greatly enjoyed the Pinon forests before Big Bear. I had never been in such extensive Pinon Pine forests.

The people. The people are great. I’m a little sad that the people I’ve been with the past week will move on ahead of me but trying to keep their pace was leading to injury. I’ll be rejoining the crowd that was just a little behind me.

I love this trail! I sure hope my foot feels better soon.

 

Just a quick note as Sleeping Beauty is outside watching my pack and I’m worried that he’ll fall asleap.

I camped on top of the Rodriguez Water Tank last night, a beautiful night filled with great converstation, with Haiku, Chance, and Morgan. The hike has been superb so far. My body has been feeling good even though I pushed myself a little with the 21 miles yesterday. BUT, I’ve got some serious blisters now and it’s taking some of the fun out of walking. I can’t wait for them to heel. I have blisters on both pinky toes, near my big toes and on my heel. OUCH! Don’t have much choice but to push on with them to Warner Springs and rest there. In a few minutes I’m going to hitch back to the trail and dry camp somewhere on the 20+ mile stretch to the next water.

Much Love,
Jack

This is the BIG morning! I’m finally leaving! Dad and I are driving down to Campo and might end up sleeping behind the store. I am 100% ready to start this trip. The grandest thing I’ve ever attempted. I can’t wait to be immersed in nature and let it enter me. Already I can feel it when I take a deep breath and I haven’t even started yet.

Today, was spent shoring up odds and ends. Made some stuff sacks with my mom, tried to finish a great book, walked around the neighborhood, bought some new trail shorts, had dinner with family, finished off my gear sorting, cleaned and prepared the house for my departure and wrote tons of email and made lots of phone calls. To think, as of tomorrow I won’t be doing any of that!

I’m a little disappointed with my final pack weight. It’s about 18 pounds without food, fuel or water. I was aiming for 15 pounds but I added the GPS and lots of small things. Plus I have way too many clothes in my pack right now because I can’t decide what exactly I don’t want. I’m not sure if I want shorts or pants, long underwear or none, short sleeves or long. So I’ve got it all. I also have a heavy water filter that I will almost surely send home quickly. I rarely carry one but I don’t have a lot of background drinking desert water sources.

I’m really looking forward to meeting lots of great people at the Kick Off. I’m not sure that I’ll be up for such intense social interaction for the whole event plus the first few weeks on the trail but I’m certain that if I want some alone time I’ll be able to find it.

I wish that I had trained more too. It’s going to be a hard first few weeks on the trail and I hope that the anxiety about that is done with once I actually start walking. I don’t think that there is an inch of my body (or a joint, membrane, or organ) that I haven’t worried about failing me. I really believe though that this hike will be more about mental than physical fortitude. So if I keep positive and confident (acknowledging negative thoughts but not letting them control me) I should be fine. So if you see me on the trail and I’m smiling weirdly (which I almost always am, when I’m not, I have a look of consternation that doesn’t mean much), I’m either truly happy, or just trying to convince myself that I am 

Next update might not come for a few weeks. I’ll be keeping my primary journal on paper and it probably won’t be transcribed. I don’t have a pocketmail device for online publishing for a few reasons. I like the idea spending time away from computers and the internet and I didn’t want to buy even more gear. I still really like trailjournals though so I’ll try to update when there are public computers around.

Time to go to bed filled with a sense of love and adventure. Bye!