Day 17, Into the Great Wide Open

Part 1, The Desert, Day 17

Into the Great Wide Open

Miles: 20.5

PCT Mile: 285.5

I slept well last night and when I woke up in the bed, I didn't know where I was again. It took me a few minutes to remember I was at an Inn, and I feel like this will happen whenever I sleep inside. I woke up at 5am, I guess that's just my wake up time now, no use fighting it. I watched tv and messed around with my gear until 8am, making adjustments, and hit the road. Goodbye strange German Inn, you were very mysterious. I hoisted my extremely heavy pack, 5 days food and 4 liters water, on my back and walked down the street until I found a bus stop. My plan was to take the bus to Big Bear City, walk to highway 18, then hitchhike to the trail. Here's me first thing in the morning and grumpy about my pack weight.

I was a bit nervous about getting to the trail since I didn't know anything about the transit, the city, or really where I was going. Luckily the bus came in about 40 minutes, and it seemed like the right one. I saw a bunch of hikers i knew on the bus and they were all staying in Big Bear another day. When hiking the PCT, towns are referred to as a "vortex" because they suck you in and it can be very hard to get back onto the trail. I really didn't have that problem this time, but I can definitely see how it works. I got of the bus in Big Bear City and something immediately caught my attention.

It wouldn't be right to hit the trail on an empty stomach, so I did the right thing.

The girl at the counter gave me the coffee for free becuase I was a PCT hiker. How nice! Afterwards, I went next door here:

Right when I walked in I was asked a bunch of questions about the trail. "Aren't you scared of animals?" No lady, now beat it. j/k, I actually enjoy then questions. I bought chap stick and I found out these exist:

Pre packed PB? Score! All that goodness without the weight. I left and walked towards highway 18. I decided to start hitching and I must have a nice thumb, because the first car pulled over for me.

It was a man named Phil, a really nice guy who likes to trail run. During the drive he told me about the area's history. Apparently Big Bear has a fascinating history, and I plan to explore it when I get the time. Phil dropped me at the trail head and wished me luck. I was back in business at 11 am, a late start, but I planned to go easy today.

I'm trying some different things today. I filled my pack so that the weight is bottom heavy and I hope this will help my shoulder, which hurts. I also loosened my shoe laces in hope that my big toe stops feeling numb. I haven't felt it in days. The trail wound up the ridge above Big Bear for a few hours and there were dark clouds overhead. 

On my right was the desert.

In really had no idea what the trail would be like today, and I was more focused on my body. My legs were as strong as ever, but my whenever I moved my head up or down, my shoulder, where it meets my neck, would have shooting pain. I was constantly adjusting my pack to try to alleviate it. I was also anxious about these dark clouds.

The clouds did make for some beautiful pics though. I especially love taking pics of trees against the sky.

I came across this thing, which I first thought was the home of a very successful spider, but now I think it's just a cocoon, since it had like a hundred moving caterpillars in it.

I thought it would be a good idea to try and lighten my load:

After about 8 miles, I came to a water source I'd been looking for and I filtered 5 liters so I could camp with water.

It took me about a half hour to filter the water and afterward I walked 100 feet towards a dirt road and found this:

A water cache. Oops! Oh well. My Pack weight was killing me, but that's life, and I turned  a corner and saw Jake, a really funny guy I've been hiking near for over 100 miles. Whenever I feel like my pack is heavy, I think of Jake's pack. It weighs 75 pounds with full water and food (mine is close to 35) and he sleeps in a 17 pound hammock. Here is his pack.

I talked with Jake and another hiker named Houdini for awhile before leaving. I was starting to get in to a groove and wanted to hike. 

The trail crested this beautiful green valley for awhile.

All of a sudden, I turned a corner and had a panoramic view of Big Bear Lake. It was such a cool view, especially since i was just down there.

There was a group of day hikers up there who started asking me questions about the PCT. Their "guide" had like a hundred questions, and when I started walking away he followed me for a good while, talking to me, and when I walked faster, so did he. I was about to fall down laughing, and when I thought I'd lost him, I tried to take a pic of myself with the lake behind me, and he was standing in the bushes and said, "can I take a picture of you?" It was really funny, and I took the pic of myself right then.

I wished him the best of luck and moved on.

My toe was actually starting to have feeling again and I finally found a pack strap adjustment that helped my neck feel slightly better. I had no destination in mind, and I was cruising, so when I saw a camp 7 miles away on my map, I buckled down and went for it, even though it was 4:30 pm. The clouds disappeared and the wonderful sunshine rained down. 

I came to the start of a burn zone and was initially disappointed because they are usually ugly and have no shade. This place was beautiful though. It was a massive valley with green covering the floor and hills, and even the dead trees were glimmering in the fading sun. It seemed like the valley went on forever!

I tried to take pics west down the long valley but the bright sun wouldn't let me.

I passed a guy who told me I was 3 miles  away from the camp, and with little time before sundown, I charged down the trail, rocking out with music as the late afternoon sun shined down on me. 

My body was done for today, and I saw the camp on the valley floor and limped towards it. 

I found this: what is it?

Ahhhh. I see. I moved on towards the camp. 

This is a great camp, right in the center of a beautiful valley, though I had to put my rain cover on to avoid the extremely bright moon. I opened up the food laboratory and made mac and cheese and added actual cheese. It was good, although I'm not that hungry.

I know the pics look disgusting, but the food itself is only slightly less disgusting. Here's my tent set up:

It turned to be a great day, I made it out if the town vortex seamlessly, had a 20 mile day even though I started late, and I feel good. The trail continues to be gorgeous during this stretch. I had to retreat into my tent while writing this because it's so cold outside. It feels so great to be back on the trail.