Category: PCT 2018

We tried really hard to get on the trail to beat the heat today. To our advantage though, the region we are in had slightly cooler temps than the southwest region around us. We still managed to be hiking by 7am. I knew today would be a tough day for me. It turned out to be a tough day for everyone tho. We climbed out of mile 226 and made it to camp this afternoon around 5pm at mile 239. The entire day we hiked uphill, starting at 3200ft to end at 7800ft. The trail was just brutal. Very defeating.

We took at least 3 breaks today. Just taking your shoes and socks off for 20 minutes does wonders for your feet. My legs and feet are finally feeling like they are gaining strength. Everything is still sore and it’s always hard to get going once you stop. BUT the strength is shining through. I’ll get there I can feel it.***just a few photos of some of our obstacles.

We have roughly 26 miles to go until we are near Big Bear. Our next chance for water is 16 miles so tomorrow we hope to crank out a 20 mile day. That will leave us with 6 miles until we can get a hitch into Big Bear Lake, where my resupply box should be waiting at the hostel. We plan to check that place out and possibly stay the night in town somewhere so we can cleanup again.

It’s weird that we haven’t seen many hikers in this stretch. Currently there’s 10 hikers, including us 3, at this campsite. We never saw Squish today, so he must have got his miles in early. But there is a couple (Sunny & Pusher) with their dog (Deeds) who I saw at least a week ago. They are nice, this is their second attempt of the trail.

It was nice to finish hiking at an earlier time today. We had family dinner again and now it’s 730pm and we are hunkered down in our tents. It’s windy and cold here at Mission Creek Campsite. Here’s to another night of hoping that my tent doesn’t blow over.

Oh yeah, even tho we camped right by the creek last night and the frogs were croaking all night, I finally saw one today after our second break. I almost stepped on him. Cute little thing. You can barely see him in this photo.

Last night, my body felt like concrete. I slept solid but know that when I had to roll to one side it took effort, even while sleeping. Everything seems tough when all your muscles are sore. But that’s not a complaint. Up until now I’ve questioned my body. I’ve wondered if I’m pushing to hard or even sometimes not enough. Yesterday and today showed me that sometimes, downtime is all you need to make it just a little bit further.

We left Ammy’s house around 7am, With a quick roll through the McDonalds drive thru we were on our way back to the trail. I hope we gave Ammy enough trail stories to keep her laughter going for days.

We were hiking before 8am and it was already 85 degrees out. We knew we had 11 miles to hike before we’d get to Whitewater River. We made a quick soda stop ($1 for a cream soda and it was delish) at the Mesa Wind Farm where they have a little hiker shade patio outside–complete with free water and wifi. The plan from Mesa was to make it to the river, rest, and then resume hiking once the temperature started to drop in the afternoon. The hike up was tough but beautiful, so many wildflowers and cacti in bloom. Saw a big horn sheep and a few lizards of course.

The sun was blazing all day. I don’t think I would have survive the day without the sunbrella. I’m able to attach it better to my Hyperlite backpack so I’m gonna keep the sunbrella for the rest of the desert section.

When we finally reached the river we were in awe. Such good flow through such a dry looking place. We quickly took of our shoes, put on our flip flops and dunked our feet in the cool water. Such a great feeling!!! After that, it was time to get some food in our bellies.

A hiker by the name of Squish joined us there. He’s from Canada. Nice guy. Laura and I met him a few days ago and were surprised when we saw him today. Thought he’d be miles ahead of us.

So there we sat, for what seemed like all day but was really more like 3 hours, camped out by the river. It was a much better place to rest during the day than yesterday’s boulder near the water spigot.

We cranked out six more miles to find our spot for the night. Justin was nice enough to agree to not let us girls fall back if it got dark. We made it to mile 226 with just enough light to find a spot. We setup tents using our headlamps and cooked dinner huddled together in a common little spot. I called it out first “trail family” dinner. Laura shared her Milano cookies which made dinner complete. It’s pretty warm out tonight. Tomorrow the temps are supposed to cool and from the map reading we head straight up the canyon that we are in. Looks like another long gradual climb to 7,000 ft. We are also going to try to get up earlier to get a few more miles in before the sun scorches us.

Miss you all.

So just in case you’re wondering, no I haven’t been kidnapped. I forgot to turn off my Garmin this evening as we were picked up by Ammy, fed at In-n-Out in Cabazon and now settling in for sleep in Palm Desert.

The day started off around 6ish when I crawled out of my tent. We had a beautiful place to watch the sunrise, which I did from a large rock in my sleeping bag. Laura and I packed up and were headed down the mountain shortly after 7. From where we camped we knew it was 15 miles to the desert valley floor where we’d find a faucet (which I didn’t get a photo of). Knowing the heat would kick in once we were at a lower altitude we hiked as fast as we could. Around mile 202, we walked through an area that was known to be infested with bees. Laura who was walking ahead of me went through unscathed. I, on the other hand, was stung twice. One on my arm, one on my leg. I haven’t died yet, so I just not be allergic.

We saw lots of really cool lizards today. I sent this photo to my brother who gave me some information on it. He said: It’s a baby chuckwalla. They live in between the cracks of boulders, they puff themselves up to wedge themselves in the cracks so that predators can’t pull them out. I also saw a lizard eat a scorpion today but it all happened to fast to get that on camera.

After we completed the 15 miles to the water faucet, we decided it was waaaaay to hot to continue on. We had discussed night hiking across the desert at least another 8 miles but the camping north of the I-10 freeway was pretty sketchy. We kicked back in the one shaded spot formed by a large boulder and waited for the sun to dip down. We popped our umbrellas for every inch of shade we could get.

I messaged Ammy for her evenings agenda. She immediately said she was free. Every other hiker from this spot was headed 5 miles to the freeway, then attempting to hitch to Cabazon for in-n-out. We just wanted out of the heat. Ammy said she’d come get us so we looked at options for tomorrow if we went into town with her tonight. About that time Justin showed up. We discussed plans and he just wanted the burgers. So with the sun setting we hiked 5 miles where our Ride with Ammy began.

She took us dirty hikers in, bought us dinner and let us sleep in her home. I have some seriously wonderful friends in my life! Thanks Ammy& Eric for letting us crash your place again!!!

Overall a good day. Again, the desert heat is no joke we will leave early tomorrow so we can rest during the heat of the day. We managed to do 19 miles in total today and we all felt pretty decent. Hitting the 200 mile mark was pretty awesome as well. Can’t wait to see what the next hundred brings!