Post Three | Days 10 to 15

• Total trail distance hiked: 266.1 miles | 428.25 km
• Days on trail: 15

Checking in from the Embers Lodge & Cabins in Big Bear, California. Apparently, this establishment was built in the 1950s to host movie stars and Marilyn Monroe has stayed here - if it’s good enough for MM it’s good enough for me (especially at $57USD per night including tax). 

Day 9 started in Idyllwild with the usual town day chores: food resupply (breakfast at the supermarket comprised: four tomatoes, two bananas, and a bag of spinach), laundry (this place had Loaner Clothes you could wear while yours were being laundered), and catching up with trail mates for some lunch. Knowing that I’d be heading back into the snow (and that Mt San Jacinto summit was calling), I also purchased some traction ‘micro spikes’ to fit over my shoes for the snowy sections. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet Mayor Max (Idyllwild’s mayor who is actually a dog) but was offered a lift when walking out of the gear shop to the trail head to walk back up Devil’s Slide to the PCT.

There weren’t enough snow free spots to pitch my tent at the base of the Peak Trail so I cowboy camped (sleeping without a tent) surrounded by snow - a fun, albeit, cold night for sure. Prior to sleep, two others (Nathan and Low Flow) asked if I would be keen to hike together to the peak given we wanted to leave in the dark before the snow turned slushy - I was definitely keen not to hike the section alone so we arranged to depart at 4:30am the next morning. 

Cowboy Camping (yes, it was cold)

The hike up Mt San Jacinto (3,302m) the next morning was surprisingly not too bad. All up, it took less than two hours to summit - we were all glad to have left when we did as hiking on hard snow was much easier. 

Amazing sunrise on the ascent 

At the summit we had coffee with the others who had camped with us and started heading back after about 30 mins (and 300 photos). Best day on trail so far for sure. 

Ascent crew at the summit 

Low Flow, Banana Bread, Nathan

Mountaineer 

The rest of the day was slowing heading down (the descent took a different path to meet up with the PCT which felt much steeper than the ascent). Upon reaching camp (and getting reception) we learned that there was a Norovirus outbreak in the next stretch of trail between the I10 Highway and Big Bear and apparently the water source (and not filthy hiker hygiene) was to blame. 

Campsite with Mt San Jacinto in the background.

Day 11 involved more descent as we reached down into the desert floor. After about 30 minutes, I passed the 200mi marker and also met my first rattler. 

The ~ four mile hike from the desert floor to the I10 underpass was strange. We had gone from the beauty of Mt San Jacinto into a barren wasteland with broken down cars, train tracks, and discarded furniture.  

Upon reaching the I10 Underpass (the main highway that would take you to Los Angeles 80 miles west), Mama Bear (a very well known Trail Angel) greeted hikers with a full offering of Trail Magic (food, soft drink, beers) - she also gifted us with a neck buff covering Sections A and B of the Trail (the Underpass marked the end of Section B). 

Highlight of the day (the face says it all)

I caught an Uber with two others to Walmart in Banning to look for water treatment options. All the AquaMira, AquaTabs, and iodine pills had sold out so the only option left was bleach. I found Nathan and Low Flow in Walmart, and we split of bottle of Clorox and decanted in into small containers while sitting in the Subway located in the lobby of Walmart - no one batted an eyelid which maybe says more about Walmart than us? 

Walmart has it all (no guns for me though)

We all caught an Uber back to the I10 Underpass to continue back to trail (with bleach in hand). We also learned that Diamond Back (his newly acquired trail name) who had summited Mt San Jacinto with us had been bitten by a rattlesnake earlier that day and had been in hospital. Luckily it was a dry bite (no venom was released) so he was free to head back to trail (definitely the coolest trail name so far). 

It was getting late in the day but we were approached by a PCT hiker from two years prior who was a photographer and offered to take professional photos of us in the desert. We, of course, agreed and shared a beer with him, too. 

Photos in the desert 

En route to the wind farm 

The wind was picking up so we hiked 1.7mi to the Mesa Wind Farm and set up camp there for the night. It was (perhaps unsurprisingly) extremely windy at the Wind Farm. 

In addition to battling the potentially contaminated water, we were also approaching a section where the next 30 miles of trail had been severely damaged by a flood last year. 

Before starting the damaged section, I stopped at Whitewater Preserve (a former trout farm) that had been converted into a nature preserve. 

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in” - John Muir 

Whitewater Nature Preserve 

Manicured Beauty 

The damaged section was tough. It involved nine miles of walking a reroute through a river bed, rock hopping, constantly crossing the (contaminated) creek (I stopped counting after 53 crossings), and gaining a lot of altitude. The nine mile section took almost five hours and I was exhausted by the end (toughest and worst day on trail so far). 

Scary 

More tiring than it looks!

Losing the will to live 

Day 14 involved the contaminated creek and dealing with the washed out trail again (but to a much lesser extent). By about midday, the trail had returned to normal and I was so grateful to be back on the buttery-smooth PCT again after the previous days. 

Minor example of washed away trail to manoeuvre around 

Day 15 (today) involved only 11 miles of hiking to the Highway 18 intersection to Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake. Within less than four minutes of arriving, a local offered me a lift to Big Bear Lake. En route to the supermarket, we stopped at the local farmer’s market where he bought me a loaf of Banana Bread (he liked my trail name) and some fresh fruit. I had booked accommodation already, but he offered for me to stay at his and his wife’s house - I still cannot understand the absolute kindness of people I’m meeting on trail. 

My gifted Banana Bread 

After resupply, I caught the (free) public transport to the Village Centre and walked from there to my accommodation. I met up for a beer with Alíz (who I had spent three hours with in the queue at the United States Auckland Consulate back in February when we were applying for our visas) and her husband. 

Mountain Brewery

Tomorrow will involve laundry (probably another three showers so I can feel human again) and heading back to trail for the next stretch. I’m planning on resupplying in Wrightwood (mile 363) in about five days. 

Happy Trails!