The John Muir Trail

The Sierra mountains were amazing. Better than the scenery was the company was even better. I was an extremely lucky hiker to have my sister come hike with me for 228 miles over 24 days.

I am going to let the photos speak for themselves.

I endured many thunder storms and a lot of foot pain which eventually drove me to stop hiking and head home. After sitting still for 2 weeks to rest my feet and buying new boots I am ready to start walking again. Due to the forest fires in north california and oregon I am going to start hiking near the washington oregon boarder and keep heading north. 

Desert finale

Before posting photos from my last 3+ weeks in the Sierras with Jennifer, I want to share a few more desert photos. 

There was never a shortage of views while hiking in southern California.

I could usually make out where the trail crossed the valley floor and went up the hill on the other side. 

The skies in the desert were often beautiful. 

The sunrises and sunsets more colorful and lasted longer than in the mountains.

There were interesting rock formations to wonder about.

I was not fond of the sounds the windmills make, but found their effect on the evening skyline interesting at times.

There was not a lot of plant life, but when it bloomed it went all out.

Walking into the trees was always a treat. 

The poodle dog brush would be pretty to look at if I did not know about the terrible blistering painful rash it causes. Much time was spent avoiding it. 

The occasional splash of color was brilliant and beautiful.  

I am glad I experienced the desert. 

From deserts to mountains

This is posting late because of a lack of internet or data connection. Jennifer and I left Lone Pine on June 24th.

Leaving Kennedy Meadows I hiked through large amounts of sage brush in the South Sierra Wilderness and into the mountains.

While I am happy to no longer be worried about running out of water and dying of heat stroke, I have new challenges to deal with. I find that I am colder at higher elevations and am carrying more layers of clothing. 

I am now required to carry a bear canister to store all of my food, garbage, and toiletries. Anything with an odor that may attract a bear must go in the cannister. It is a challenge to get everything inside. I like to store mine in a spot where the bear will have to work hard to get to it. 

I also have a new hiking partner. Jennifer is going to hike the next 220 miles with me!! I am carrying a bigger tent for us and splurged on a door mat. I am excited to share my walk through this magical place with someone so wonderful. 

Trail Towns

While the time we spend walking along the Pacific Crest Trail is all thru hikers main focus, a very important part of the journey is the towns we stop in to resupply. Each place we stop is unique and wonderful. I have been impressed by the way many of these communities have opened there doors to a group of dirty vagabonds.

While I was well taken care of in Lake Morena, Mt Laguna, and the Mountain Valley Retreat, I was especially impressed with the effort made by the people of Warner Springs. In past years thru hikers would stay at the resort, receive packages there, and shop at the resort store. Since the resort closed, the only places left in town are the post office and community center. The people who live there have put together a make shift store with food items hikers want, sell breakfast and burgers out of the kitchen, and let hikers camp on the community center lawn for free. I could feel that the community really cares about the hikers who walk through their town.

The next PCT resupply stop is in the mountain town of Idyllwild. In Idyllwild I found sculptures lining the streets, cozy cabins for rent, and an organic food store that gives a free bag of trail mix and a 10% discount to all PCT hikers who shop there. 

It was deliscious trail mix and I want to find more like it! I also liked the painted deer, they reminded me of the christmas pigs in Seattle. The people of Idyllwild were very welcoming to the thru hikers. I had a woman stop me in the grocery store parking lot to ask me if I am a PCT hiker, and then pulled a bag of home made cookies out of her purse for me! 

After our first high altitude hiking and long hot dry stretches we come to Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake. These are both ski towns with multiple options for lodging and shopping. Many hikers end up at the well run Big Bear Hostel. The owner shuttles hikers to and from the trail, picks hikers up from the towns urgent care clinic, and often drives us to the grocery store. He impressed me as loving what he does and enjoying the interactions he has with the many hikers who stay at his hostel. It was a comfortable place that would be easy to stay at for many days and some do. We call this type of place a vortex because of the way it sucks hikers in. 

Shortly after leaving Big Bear, hikers begin talking about the Mac Donalds at Cajon Pass. Food is a frequent topic of conversation on the trail. We torture ourselves with thoughts of ice cream, fresh fruit, and any food that is not dehydrated. It was amusing to walk into Mac Donalds and see the palce crowded with smelly hikers and their large packs. 

More amusing was the confused look of the faces of travelers stoping for a bite to eat on their drive over the pass. I think we look like a convention of homeless people. 

A very dry 27 miles after Cajon pass is the cozy town of Wrightwood. I could have stayed here a week. Just as in Warner Springs and Idyllwild, I felt both welcome and wanted. The grocery store even had a display just for us hikers with our favorite foods. 

Every one in Wrightwood was friendly and helpful. People stopped me in the street to ask me how my hike is going, the hardware store accepts packages for hikers, and the town has put together a list of people you can call for a ride or a

place to stay if you are short on cash. 

Leaving Wrightwood was tough. I dragged my feet leaving, and on the way out I had the pleasure of meeting the local fourth graders. 

They were at the Grassy Hollow picnic area for a school field trip and the teacher asked if the kids could interview me. I was impressed by the questions they asked. One girl asked how I pay for my food if I am not working, others wanted to know what my treking poles were for, why my pack was so much smaller than my friend's, what I eat since I don't have a stove (why my pack is smaller) and how long Thor has been traveling with me. I could have enjoyed chatting with them all day, but had miles to walk before I could sleep. 

Agua Dulce is a bedroom community outside of LA that has a grocery store, two cafes, and a pizza place. It is also where the Sauffleys live. Donna and Jeff are amazing Trail Angels. Trail Angels and the wonderful work they do for us will get it's own blog post soon. 

After Agua Dulce, my next stop was the very odd Hiker Town. It is not a town as much as a local entrepreneur offering a service to hikers. He has many old trailers and western movie sets that can be rented for $10 a night, or you can set up your tent in the dusty shadeless yard for free. 

The place has a lot if charm and potential, but was a bit run down and dirty when I was there. It is a critical stop for all thru hikers as it is where we prep for the infamous LA Aqueduct walk. Most hikers night hike this dry 17 mile shadless waterless stretch along the aqueduct. We appreciate a place to tank up on water and nap in the shady garage or movie sets before hiking out at sunset. 

At the end of the LA aqueduct is a series of wind farms and then the charming city of Tehachapi. Similar to Wrightwood, there is a list of Trail Angels that a hiker can call for help getting to and from town. The local transit company is very accommodating to hikers. If you call, they will have the driver make a special stop to pick up PCT hikers headed into town. 

I found excellent food in Tehachapi and felt rested and ready for the difficult hike toward Walker pass and the small cities of Lake Isabella and Onyx. 

To get into town from Walker Pass, a PCT hiker must hitchhike. I get nervous hitchhiking so always find myself a buddy for this mode of travel. It helps that hundreds of hikers have hitched from this same spot before me and that the locals know all about PCT hikers. Everyone who has give me and my hiking buddies a ride has been incredibly generous going out of their way to drive us to where we are going and tolerating our stench if they pick us up on our way into town. I find that my 'hiker to town' bandanna helps differentiate me from the other vagabonds hitchiking up the west coast. 

 My ride from Walker pass dropped me off at the Onyx Store where I was able to get ice cream and a soda while waiting for the bus that would take me to Lake Isabella. I was very impressed by this small country store's selection of gourmet sodas. I was in heaven and have found some new favorites.

Both towns are primarily farming and military, an interesting mix. 

Kennedy Meadows is where we celebrate the end of the desert and prepare for the next step in our journey, the Sierra Mts. All hikers stop here. Most pick up their bear cannisters that are required in the National Parks at the Kennedy Meadows store. There is no actual town here, but a store, resturant/bar, and a Trail Angel who helps hikers out with an internet connection (there is zero cellular service here). Many hikers find Kennedy Meadows to be a vortex, but I was anxious to continue on into the Sierras so stayed just long enough to receive my new boots that were shipped there. 

I am currently hanging out in Lone Pine. I will spend more time here than the other trail towns as I get everything ready for the next 220 miles with my sister Jennifer. I have an incredible view of the Sierras from my room while I sort and pack for the next leg of this incredible journey.

Trail towns are necessary, but everywhere more than one tent is set up, there becomes a small transient town of hikers who are instantly your neighbors and friends.

Water, or the lack of

Water is a prescious resource in the desert, and it comes in many forms. I  did not start taking photos of my water sources until after the first hundred miles. This was the first real creek I got water from a few miles past the town of Warner Springs.

The most interesting and unusual water sources I did not think to take photos of early on. This fountain was at the end of a very long dry stretch at the bottom of Fuller Ridge. 

Mission creek was wonderfully refreshing for 16 miles. 

Many times over the first 652 miles of trail my water has come out of the ground instead of running across the surface. This barrel catching the water that was dripping from the top of the small cave. 

Deep Creek was the largest of the creeks I have encountered. I took a mid day nap here and soaked my feet. My most unique snake sighting was here. I was sitting on a rock in the middle of the creek when it poked it's head out of the water to check me out. 

The most common odd water source in arid southern California is the piped spring. I find these in odd places. I always wonder who placed the pipe into the ground. Was it put in to bring the water to the surface for hikers, or was the trail built here because it is where the water is. Which came first, the trail or the pipe?

This little creeklet was stagnant and slimy. I was glad to have enough water already that I did not need to filter from this source. 

The creek was likely stagnant due the dam. Many of the rivers and lakes have been altered by man made structures.

This was the largest reservoir I walked around. It was full of alge and speed boats.  

The most wonderful type of water source is the cache. Often it is in the form of a box of water jugs tucked under or tied to a tree. They are maintained by Trail Angels who spend their own time and money supplying water to hikers they will often never meet. While I love finding a full cache, I am reluctant to rely on them. Most recently the well stocked caches have allowed me to avoid long walkes off the trail to get water from a seep in the ground.

I spent a night walking along the LA aqueduct. It was covered most of the way making the prescious water inaccessable for 18.8 miles.  

This spring was surrounded by mud, flowing at half a liter per minute and was some of the dirtiest water I have encountered yet. I treated it twice!

I was very happy that the next spring was clear. 

We talk about water constantly! A thru hiker from years past has put together a system for hikers to let others on the trail know the status of the springs, seeps, and caches. We all pay close attention to the water report.

I always appreciate other hikers leaving dated notes giving more recent info so that I know if I should bother to walk the 0.7 miles off the trail. 

Soon, very soon I will be walking through the Sierra Mts where water will be plentiful. There will be new challenges in the high Sierras; mosquitos, high altitude, and bears. I have enjoyed my desert adventure, but am looking forward to the next step in my journey.