May 4, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 417.5) to North Fork Ranger Station (mile 436.1)

Miles: 18.6

We woke up after a windy night and were walking by 7:20 am. We walked the 1.1 miles to the Mill Creek Fire Station to get water for the next 17.5 miles.

We stretched for 10 minutes before loading up the packs and walking across the Angeles Forest Highway and climbing steeply on sandy trail. Each step took extra effort as we sank into the sand.

The trail parallels the Mount Gleason fire road, an alternate to bypass poodle dog bush. We decided to take our chances with the trail.

We climbed up and up and eventually plateaued as the trail skirted around the hillsides. We called out poodle dog bush warnings to one another as we walked.

“Right”

“Left”

“Little guy on the left”

We dodged poodle dog bush as best we could while trying to maintain a steady pace. For the most part the large bushes were far enough off the trail to avoid and the little ones we could step over or around. Thank you trail crews. You rock!

As if the poodle dog bush wasn’t enough, bugs joined the party. We spent at least 4 miles swatting away knats as they flocked to our faces and got stuck on the sunscreen on our noses and cheeks. It was exhausting and frustrating having to walk on uneven trail, swat and avoid poodle dog simultaneously.

For the most part the trail was well established but some parts were overgrown with foxtails and grass. When the wind picked up it looked as if the foxtails were dancing.

For hikers reading this behind us, poodle dog bush is worst between mile 424.9 and 427. All other sections are not bad at all.

At 1:15pm Laurie rounded a corner only to jump back surprised. There, blocking the trail, were 3 horses tied to tree branches.

There was no owner in sight and nobody responded to our yells. Neither of us have much experience with horses and with a narrow trail the likelihood of getting kicked when attempting to squeeze by felt too high.

So, we sat down and had lunch. We tried calling the ranger station to see if they knew of a trail crew in the area but they didn’t.

About 30 minutes later an older gentleman came and started untying the horses. He seemed surprised to see us sitting there. Turns out there was a trail crew cutting up trees that were blocking the trail. Thank you trail crews for all you do!

We climbed up to the top of a hill and then dropped down to Messenger Flat Campground. As we crested the hill we saw an Air Force plane circling above. It came super close and must have been training because for the next 2 hours we watched as it and 3 other planes circled above us.

We continued to descend towards North Fork Ranger Station. The trail narrowly switchbacked down and down. At this point Laurie was getting tired. Her feet her and she had a new blister under the callus that used to be a blister. To make matters worse, there was now poison oak along the trail too. Thank goodness the flies were gone!

Needless to say, today was not our favorite day. Perhaps not the best way to spend our 1 month anniversary on the trail. The Angeles National Forest section quickly became the section of trail to endure rather than enjoy. The goal now is to get out without an itchy rash.

Around 5:45 we made it to the ranger station. We consciously decided to stop for the night and not overdo it like we had the previous night.

As we set up our tent other hikers started arriving. We had not seen anyone all day and within 2 hours 10 additional people had gathered, including Gabriel – a hiker we met a few weeks ago at Ziggy and the Bear’s.

Although we had been extremely cautious with the poodle dog bush, the poison oak was overgrown and almost impossible to avoid. Andy put on gloves and helped Laurie out of her shoes and gaiters before doing the same for himself.

We bagged both of our clothes and will dress in the morning again with gloved hands. The last thing either of us want is an itchy rash for the next few hot days walking in the desert.

It is another windy evening and we are chancing it without the rain fly. We enjoy the cool air and noise of the wind rushing through the trees to lull us to sleep.

Tonight we are grateful for our long pants, trail crews and familiar faces.

May 3, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 394.1) to bushcamp (mile 417.5)

Miles: 23.4

We slept wonderfully under the stars. The night was cool but our sleeping bags kept us toasty.

We were walking by 7:15am – winding our way up to Cooper Canyon Trail Camp. The trail switchbacked up, gaining about 500 ft from where we slept. The trail camp looked really nice- good potential destination of a future short overnight backpacking trip.

We continued to climb up and up. When looking at the elevation profile of the day it didn’t seem like a big deal but some of the switchbacks were steep!

Two hours and 4 miles later we reached Cloudburst Summit – our first of four Highway 2 road crossings of the day. In total we crossed the Angeles Crest Highway (highway 2) 9 times!

We dropped down and then up. We wound our way through burnt forests, thriving forests, on narrow trails and wide forest roads.

At about mile 402 we saw our first infamous poodle dog bush. Poodle dog bush is similar to poison oak but worse. If you come in contact with the bush you can break out in an itchy rash with blisters.

Sounds horrible so we did everything in our power to avoid them. We alerted one another when the bushes where close to the trail – calling out “left” or “little one on the right.” The dying plants were the most tricky since they are brown and blend in with other sticks.

Neither of us know if the dying branches can still irritate the skin. We were not about to try to find out!

We hit the 400 mile marker around 10 am (YAY!!) and didn’t get to Sulphur Spring Trail Camp (mile 406.6) until 3 pm. We took a lunch break but that still doesn’t explain why it took us 5 hours to walk 6 miles. Those miles just kept dragging on!

At the trail camp we followed directions provided on the PCT water report and encountered a very dry pipe. We were both tired, hot, disappointed and almost out of water.

There was a pool of standing water nearby with lots of algae – not very appealing for drinking. We decided to retrace our steps about a half a mile to a small body of water that was cleaner and more appealing.

As we crossed the trail camp, we ran into Corey who we had seen originally at Mt Laguna and multiple times yesterday. He informed us the spring was 200 ft down the road. We were super excited about cleanish water without extra walking!! Thanks Corey!

It took a while to get our 5 liters since the spring was just a dribble, but hey we were happy.

With water to take us another 12 miles we set off once again. We saw a baby horny toad which Andy picked up – something he has been attempting each time we have seen one. They are quite cute!

We continued to gradually climb past clusters of poodle dog bush. We ran into the couple from Korea and traded smiles and hellos.

The trail meandered through a forest and then opened up. We walked down a ridge gazing out at the setting sun.

Around 6:50pm we reached a campsite at mile 415. We debated whether or not to continue – both of our bodies were tired but we had set a goal of getting to the ranger station at mile 418. We agreed to push it- a decision we regretted 10 minutes later.

The trail continued down another 1,500 ft. Laurie picked up her speed, hoping to make it down before we lost light. Andy’s knees and heels were starting to protest, so he opted for a slower speed.

Both of us were upset for not listening to our bodies and for pushing when it was not necessary. We had gotten caught up in making miles rather than enjoying the experience and preserving our bodies.

We hiked on and within 1 mile of the fire station we found a flat spot free of poodle dog bush.

We quickly set up our tent and crawled inside. We cleaned our feet, inflated our mats and snuggled into our sleeping bags as the wind picked up and the air grew cold. We ate our pre-soaked dinners and had 18 Rabbits granola and Nuttzo for desert!

As Andy was cleaning his feet he discovered a big blister between his toes. (Same spot Laurie had hers). He had his first experience popping a blister. We covered it with triple antibiotic cream and a bandaid and will apply New Skin in the morning.

It was another long but beautiful day. The sunset and walking through the golden hour made every step worth it.

Tonight we are grateful for hiking poles and our companionship.

May 2, 2016

Jackson Flat Campground (mile 372.2 ) to bushcamp (mile 394.1)

Miles: 18.2 + 4 mile hitch

We had an awesome blog post but lost it all during the upload so the following is our 2nd attempt.

The sun rose in a cloudless sky illuminating our tent and faces with an orange hue as it poured through the trees surrounding our tent. Andy woke up groggy but Laurie was her usual smiling self.

Today was summit day and we were both excited. The weather predicted sunny skies. We hiked through the forest, down to Vincent Gap – the trailhead for the 4 mile hike up to Mt. Baden Powell.

“It isn’t all going to be like this, right?” Laurie asked Andy as she slowly made her way up the first few switchbacks.

Having lived in LA since he was 7, Andy has hiked many trails in this area- purposefully avoiding the PCT except for the portion to Mt. Baden Powell.

“No, you’re almost done with the hardest part,” reassured Andy.

We climbed on, switchbacking our way up higher and higher.

One and a half miles in we came to Lamel Spring and 4 new hikers – Rambo, Ash, Bridget and Alex. We said hello and continued on to the spring which ended up being a hole in the ground with surprisingly clear water. We managed to get 1.5 liters (enough to get us to the next spring).

We continued on another mile or so until the trail disappeared under ice and snow. We had been warned this would happen but we didn’t expect it so soon. We went cross country (directly up) patching together sections of dirt to avoid the snow.

Thanks to Laurie’s trail sense (courtesy of backpacking as a child with her mom) we found the trail near the top of the ridge.

Just below the ridge Laurie ran into a branch. “Ouch” she exclaimed. She was fine. Andy, hoping to avoid the same branch didn’t see another, sharper branch about 6 inches away.  The branch sliced open his hat and skinned his head. Thankfully there was no blood so we continued on.

We continued along the ridge gazing down at the valleys on either side and watching as the sky became darker and darker. So much for the sunny skies. But as Andy always says, it’s always 50/50. Especially in the mountains.

Our sunny cloudless sky was now grey. We could see rain in the distance.

We got to the Baden Powell spur trail junction, dropped our packs and scurried up the .1 mile to the top. Without the weight of the packs we felt like we could fly!

It started to hail as we summited. We took a few pictures and returned to our packs by the estimated 1500 year old tree.

The hail intensified for a few minutes then stopped all together. We enjoyed the last of our leftovers and continued down – heading north along the PCT.

We hoped that with a different orientation this side of the mountain would have less snow. In total it did, but still had a few tricky traverses.

Andy, who is not as confident on snow, slowed down significantly. Laurie encouraged him and gave suggestions on where to place his feet. Despite all of this he slipped and fell twice – in the same spot. Laurie did everything she could to keep from peeing in her pants laughing.

Andy pulled out his microspikes and with the added friction he confidently crossed the remaining snow areas.

We ridge walked through burn areas, around rocks and through forests of pine trees. Gradually we dropped down to Little Jimmy Spring, where we had planned to have lunch, but with the benches full of hikers and no room for us, we continued down to Islip Saddle on the Angeles Crest Highway.

The trail then ascended 1000 ft and descended 1000 ft to bring us back to the Highway 3.2 miles later. This trail keeps doing that – having us climb up and down only to return to the same elevation. We don’t necessarily mind this.

The PCT is closed for 4 miles past Eagle’s Roost for an endangered yellow legged frog. Our plan was to road walk 2.7 miles to Burkhart campground and connect to the PCT there.

As we neared the road after our pointless 1000 ft mountain jaunt, Andy yelled “I hear a car!”

Without missing a beat Laurie ran the 20 ft to the highway and stuck out her thumb. A Tesla slowed to a stop and we both ran to it.

Malcom gave us a ride 4 miles up the road to the campground. We hadn’t intended to skip the last 1 mile before Eagle’s Roost but the ride was too good to pass up. Particularly since we hadn’t seen many cars on the road all day! And as icing on the cake we got to ride in a Tesla!

As we were collapsing our poles to get in the car a motorcycle rolled up. The guy had been talking with Malcom and chatted with us a bit. He became our escort to the canpround – we felt like royalty!

We are continually amazed at the generosity of strangers. It’s so great!

We walked through the campground and along the Burkhart trail for 2 mikes back to the PCT. The trail dropped down into a lush redwood grove. We crossed a river and found and spot to camp one tenth of a mile up the trail.

We were tired and this was a great looking campsite. We were home for the night.

Tonight we are grateful for trail sense and microspikes.