Yesterday, I hiked a leisurely 5 miles out of town to the base of Mt. Baden-Powell. Today, I crawled out of my tent and hiked a mile and a half up the mountain (understand that it was a 4,000 foot increase in elevation over just under 4 miles...wowza!). At this point, I ran into a crying hiker, talking on speaker phone with who I assumed was her mother. It turns out that his 18 year old hiker had just gotten back on the trail after two weeks of mono recovery time. The day before, the doctor told her that she was mono-free, but that she had a swollen liver. She went ahead and hiked 20 miles on her first day back and ended up feeling pretty raunchy. The doctor wanted her off of the mountain. Her mom wanted someone to stay with her on the way down. I walked the mile and a half down the mountain with her with no incident (thank God! What would I have done if something had happened?! I have my Wilderness First Aid cert, but those classes didn't teach me what to do with an exploding liver! I guess I would just have hit my beacon?). I climbed back up the mountain and started my day, having hiked 3 extra miles. Oh well, I could hardly have said no, right?

I made it to the top of Mt Baden-Powell (9399 ft!) and boy was it beautiful. It was a little hazy though, so I couldn't quite see to the ocean. A few miles later, I met up with Travis, Thread, and Mermaid for lunch. We leapfrogged each other for the rest of the day. 

There was a trail closure to protect the habitat of the Yellow-Legged Mountain Frog. The official detour added 16 miles to the length of the trail (this detour was 20 miles total), while last year's detour only added about a mile to the trail (4.7 miles total) but it included a 2.7 mile road walk. We elected to take the shorter detour as we didn't have enough food to add an extra day to the section. After walking about a mile on the road with Travis, Mermaid and Thread showed up in the back of a pickup truck, we all jumped in and rode to the end of the road walk. Thanks truck man!!

***Note: Some hikers may look down on other hikers who accept rides during road walks. I feel strongly that I am here to take a wilderness hike, not to walk on roads. Thus, a hitch during a road walk is acceptable. In any case, hike your own hike (HYOH).

Travis, Thread, Mermaid, the Swedes and I shared a campsite at the Forest Service camp. Thread had seen a bear cub earlier in the day and we thought it best to make use of the bear locker at the camp. It was fun making dinner all together, and a first for me! After dinner, we shared a dessert of instant chocolate fudge pudding and Nido. Yummm.

Other highlights? I picked up a sombrero at Little Jimmy Campground and traded out my sun hat. Score!

Yesterday, it was 98 degrees at 10:30 am. Too damn hot for my liking. Today, I decided to wake up early to beat the heat. Especially, because I knew I would be gaining 7,000 in elevation over the next 22 miles.

I set my alarm for 4:20am. Horrendous, I know. I was out of camp by 4:40 and on my way. It was hot already and the sun wasn't even up! Even with a few long water breaks, I managed to get in my first "10 by 10:00," that is 10 miles before 10:00am. I was pretty proud. 

I hiked most of the day with Travis of Travis and Thread, who I stayed with in Idyllwild. Let me tell you, we slayed that mountain. We made the 22 miles to the highway by 3:00! Crazy talk. We got an easy ride into town and I jumped at the chance for a shower and clean laundry. It is the simple things in life here. We went out for $1.50 taco night at one of the local bars, and stayed out way past hiker midnight (hiker midnight is 10:00). A great way to get into town, a fantastic time while I was here. Heading out to the trail this afternoon to tackle Mt. Baden-Powell. There is allegedly a 3,000 foot climb over the next 2 miles. Wish me luck!

PS: Bill is undeniably a very rad individual

"McDonald's?!" You say? "I thought you were on a wilderness hike?!" you say? Well yes, I am on a wilderness hike. Sometimes. Other times, we walk in sight of a highway. And boy, California has a lot of highways.

I left my campsite with McDonald's as a goal for my afternoon break. It was 14 miles away. I knocked out six miles in less than two hours, but it all went downhill from there. It was hot. Real hot. And I couldn't find water where I thought it would be. So it was hot and thirsty. But I made it to Cajon Pass and the closest McDonald's to the trail, just .4 miles off trail!

I passed the next six hours eating burgers and ice cream cones, and hanging out with other hikers. During this time there were anywhere from 15 to 30 hikers huddling in the shade between the McDonald's and the Chevron station. 

At about 6:00, I gathered up the courage to make a foray into the heat. I made it a whopping 5 miles before I lost motivation (and daylight) and set up camp. Actually, camp that night was a beautiful thing as I stayed at a water cache and slept on a beach lounge chair. Living the dream, I tell you.

I packed away my sodden tent under the sunny 7:00am sky (I had slept in in the hopes that my tent might dry, fat chance!). I walked through some beautiful country (I’ll put up pictures eventually) and ran into a day hiker, Ron, and his dog, Angel. After walking and talking for several miles, Ron asked if I would like a hamburger for lunch. I hesitated initially. You see, there were hot springs about 22 miles from my campsite and I was pretty stoked to get there. However, you just don’t pass up a hamburger for lunch when your alternative is dehydrated hummus and a tortilla. So after about 3.235 seconds of hesitation, I decided that a burger would be a perfect lunch.

It turns out that the other hiker that Ron had asked to lunch was from my hometown! I knew that Marshall would be hiking, but doubted that we would ever connect. He was a year behind me in high school and while we didn’t know each other, we have many mutual friends. What serendipity!

After a DELICIOUS burger with avocado, spicy cheese, and jalapenos as well as a mint chocolate chip shake, we headed back to the trail. I laid around the creek at the trailhead for a few hours to digest the meal. I was in heaven.

I made it to the hot springs at about 9:00. Immediately, I stripped down and jumped in. It was just fantastic. There were about twenty other hikers congregated in and around the hot springs. We stayed up late talking about the trail, gear, and life. Altogether it was a purely magical day.

The day started out well, I was on the trail by 11:00am and the miles were flying by. I decided to hike about 19 miles that day so I could camp near a water source.

All was going to plan until at about mile12 it started to rain. Don’t get me wrong, I am from Washington and have hiked in the rain more often than not. I pulled out my raincoat and headed on up the trail. Then it began to hail. Again, this was fine; I sheltered under a tree and ate a snack. It wasn’t South Dakota, baseball-sized hail after all. After ten minutes or so, I headed on. At this point, I was on top of a ridge, walking under swaying ponderosa pines. It was quite nice until the thunder started. This is a good time to note that I have a very strong and irrational fear of thunder. Being on a ridge top didn’t help. I began to run down the mountain. Yes, I ran with a fully loaded pack (five days of food and eleven days of water), but I had to get off that ridge! I got down to a place that I felt safe, only to be pelted with snow. Yes, snow in Southern California. Who would have thought.

I made it to Little Bear Campground and the spring at about 7:00. Just about the time I found a suitable campsite, the sky opened up and began to just dump rain. Perfect. My ground tarp collected puddles on it during the 45 seconds it took me to yank my tent out of my pack and get it laid out. I finally got the tent pitched and crawled inside, pretty wet at this point. No matter, I organized my life, put on warm clothes and got dinner going (chana masala, which is my second favorite trail meal so far). The important part being that I survived the thunder and lightning, the hail, the rain, the snow, and avoided hypothermia. That is a win in my book J

On day 19, I saw two bears and a tiger, and drank a Dr. Pepper and a cream soda all before 4:00. Oh yeah, and I walked twenty miles. And it snowed briefly. But other than that, just a day in the life.

Wait!! Most importantly I hit the 10% mark! I only get to do this nine more times!!

I got a rise into town and grabbed a bed at the Big Bear Hostel as that is where I had sent my resupply box. Word to the wise, skip the hostel and share a room with someone at the Robinhood Resort. It only costs three dollars more and is sooooo much nicer! Unless you like being one of three girls in a smelly hostel...

Today, Puppy and I ran errands, grocery store, dollar store, frie chicken, biking store, hiker box etc. This day was completed with a bubble bath, champagne, pepperidge farms cookies, and Surivor. Not a bad zero day.

I'll hit the trail tomorrow after my eye doctor appointment (stupid contacts!). Can't wait for the hot springs in 37 miles!!

PS: Bill is still the coolest cat I know :)

I slept in this morning until 6:30, oh the scandal!! When I did finally get out of the tent, there was a sunrise to the east and a rainbow to the west. This may sound lovely to you folks at home, to me it meant that it was raining in the west (where the weather Is coming from) and it may be about to get hot as the sun is rising. I'll post the rainbow the at the bottom of this entry.

I hiked a few miles up a ridge, getting more and more worried about the weather. I knew that I would be getting to at least 8,000 feet that night. It looked stormy up high, in fact, I couldn't even see "up high" because of the storm clouds.

At mile 4 or so I ran into 30 Pounds of Oats and we hiked together up a valley for the next 16 miles. It was great having someone to talk to, someone who knew what it is like to solo hike, and just to have someone else set he pace for a few hours.

As the the valley narrowed, it started to sprinkle (or "rain" as they call it here in Southern California). We were walking through a section that had previously burned and it couldn't have been more catoonishly ominous. Burnt tree trunks an cacti were scattered among low shrubs, the sky was dark with rain clouds and the wind was beginning to blow. It was actually a little funny, especially as I was not facing it alone.

At about 3:30, I hit my 20 mile mark (which was an INCREDIBLE feeling!), found the last water for 16 miles, and ran into another group of hikers. As I sat around with the waft (waft: n. a group of hikers. ie: oh yeah, the waft passed through Big Bear about an hour or so ago, eating everything in sight.), I heard tell of a cabin that was just six miles away and that would shelter is from the rain. Tips was especially appealing as it supposedly had a fireplace and we were all damp.

So what do you know, we all hitched up our packs and hit the trail, trying to beat the sunset. It was a beautiful walk, through clouds and when we finally broke through them, we could see down Ito the desert.

The cabin turned out to be a large shack. There were six other hikers camped out inside when we got there. After a quick dinner, as the temperature was dropping rapidly at 8,100 feet, I put on all of clothing (minus the raincoat as it was still damp from the morning's drizzle) and jumped iny sleeping bag, covering that with my tent for extra insulation. It is a good thing I did because the next morning I awoke to frost on my neighbor's sleeping bag!!

Today was interesting. I was camped about four miles north of Idyllwild on a beautiful ridge. The sunset was incredible.

My low goal for the day was 17 miles which would put me most of the way through a 20-mile waterless stretch. My high goal was about 22 miles which would have put me at the water source.

I began hiking in the 8,000 dawn light. It was chilly but the miles came fast. At about 11:00, as I lost elevation and the sun rose higher in the sky, I began to dream of the ice cream and salad which Ziggy and the Bear serve every night to thru hikers at their home in Cabazon, mile 210.

And so the internal struggle began. Should I walk 27 miles for ice cream? Would it really be worth it? I hadn't walked a 20 mile day since my first day on the trail, but 17 of the 27 miles would be downhill and five more would be across the flat desert floor...and so it went, back and forth in my head for hours.

At 6:30, I made it to the water source, completing my high goal of 22. The sun is setting at about 7:30 around here these days, so I figured I had about an hour an a half of light. With just a few miles between me and ice cream, I lit out for town, running down the paved road in my pink crocs, laughing deliriously.

Two hours of slogging through the desert sand, getting lost twice, and losing one of my pink crocs, I made it to Ziggy and the Bear's place. There was a shower, hot water, carpet to sleep on, and Internet (and a foot soak in the morning), but no ice cream and no salad. Bummer. See if I ever et excited and walk 20+ miles for something silly :)

Also, please do not mistake me for ungrateful in this post. I am so very thankful for Ziggy and the Bear's hospitality. I am totally grateful for all the support ice cream or no!!

Today was a good, short day. I only had to walk eight trail miles and then two and a half to get to town, meaning I made it to Idyllwild Pizza in time for lunch.

Yesterday and today I was climbing up the San Jacinto mountains. Today we almost reached 9,000 feet! There were fierce winds, beautiful vistas, and a giant cliff on my right all morning.

For most often life, I have been uncomfortable with my big booty. Properly fitting jeans are hard to find, those fashionable pencil skirts are not an option, and don't even get me started on swimsuit bottoms! However, yesterday I realized while my sizable behind can be inconvenient and has often made me self conscious, it is FABULOUS at climbing mountains. Just spectacular.

After I hiked the first eight trail miles, I sat down to take a break and prepare myself for the 2,500 foot, 2.5 mile descent into town. Another hiker, Goddamit, sat down next to me. After a few minutes, he looked over and said, "this may be a strange question, but how long has it been since you last showered?"

I smiled, did the math and replied, "oh, about a week." He went on to tell me that I was the best smelling thru-hiker he'd ever met! Figuring he must say this to all the girls, I laughed and mostly ignored the comment.

Later, I was walking down the trail to town with three other hikers, talking about the 5 levels of BO, when Starbucks, the older man I'd shared a campsite with the night before said, "Carrie, I noticed it last night, you are a good smelling hiker! You must be using something." This is strange because I hadn't taken as much as a bandana bath for 70 miles!

This story is especially funny when juxtaposed with the story a woman had tolde about myself two days earlier:

"Oh yeah! I heard a story about you! Someone was up at Third Gate Cache, when she heard a bush start talking. She walked around to see who it was only to did the dirtiest face you've ever seen poking out of the bush. It was so funny that I had to snap a picture."

To be fair, I did hang out under a bush for about three hours to get out of the sun. And while I know that I was dirty, I would hardly call me the dirtiest thing I've ever seen!!

Idyllwild has been great. Pizza and beer for lunch, fried food and root beer for dinner. I am sharing a hotel room with three other hikers (Goddamit, Thread, and Travis) who mostly just met, bonded together with the glue of a common goal (Cheap beds), a common need (showers), and of course the common desire for pizza and beer :)

I'll head out tomorrow evening, hoping to hit the gnarly climb out of town after it has cooled down a bit.

All my love,
Done-zo Washington

Hey check out my bandaged feet!! These puppies have taken me 137 miles!! I took off the bandages after the photo. Today there was some beautiful scenery, all granite boulders and shrubby bushes and yucca and blue skies.

I made it to trail angel Mike's by 10:30. I lingered for five hours and enjoyed shade, water, salad, and beer.

Feet are feeling good!!! Only one blister between my first and second toe on each foot. Better than fifteen though!