May 6, 2016

We woke up stiff and decided to spend the day stretching and relaxing.

Thunderstorms are predicted for the Agua Dulce area today too, so it’s nice to be out of the rain for a change.

Oh but it is hard resisting the temptation to keep pushing. We both keep asking ourselves why. Why do we feel pressure to keep up with others? Why does it feel wrong to slow down and give our bodies rest? Why do we care where other people are? What are we racing for?

Laurie feels anxiety in her chest when she slows down. But this is why we are here – to enjoy and to step away from the rat race of life. These feelings are what we want to identify, confront and process so that in 5 months when we return to society we keep a sense of peace and serenity amongst the chaos of life and responsibility.

In the meantime we will continue to feel and identify. We talk about our discomfort and reassure one another that this pace is right for us, and in the end, this is all that matters.

We will meet our friends again (we hope) whether on the trail or after. In the meantime we will make new ones – who knows who we will meet tomorrow?

After all, this is the excitement of the trail!

Special thanks to Shushan (Andy’s mom) for the delicious food, Anait (Andy’s aunt) for the foot rubs and Grigor (Andy’s dad) for providing us with everything we need, mailing our resupply packages and keeping us entertained with jokes.

Tonight we are grateful for fresh fruit and yoga mats.

May 5, 2016

North Fork Ranger Station (mile 436.1) to Vasquez Rocks (mile 453.2)

Miles: 17.1

Laurie had a very restless night. The howling wind, the flapping of nearby tent flies and the static from the power lines above woke her up many times. Andy, who uses earplugs, slept soundly.

We were up at 5:40am and walking by 6:45am. We had a goal of hiking 17 miles to Vasquez Rocks by 3pm. We were on a mission for lasagna, salad and showers! It’s Cinco De Mayo but Andy’s mom had promised to make us lasagna, and that’s what we’ve been thinking about all week.

The trail in this section affords great views of the valley and hills beyond. We walked on the right of one hill, then climbed up and walked along the ridge before dropping down on the left of another. This pattern continued for 8 miles; we could see the trail slicing through the surrounding hillsides.

We watched as the clouds rose out of the valley below – playing hide and go seek with the sun.

The Acton KOA was a green oasis in a valley surrounded by brown, dry hillsides. It was our midpoint and water source for the day. Within 1 mile of starting this morning, we could see it down in the valley but the trail frequently took us in the opposite direction.

As Andy reminded Laurie “this is what the PCT does, all these miles count, enjoy them.” Once again the trail reminds us it is not about the destination but the journey.

Laurie likes efficiency. She’s very straightforward and the trail is not. The trail’s wandering ways plus the continued pain in her knee made her a little grumpy.

Grumpy or not we arrived at the KOA around 9:30am. Eight miles in 2 hours and 45 min – not too shabby! We were ahead of schedule and that brought the smile back to Laurie’s face. Being ahead of schedule in Laurie’s mind means she’s winning. And she likes to win.

Getting to the KOA meant we were past the majority of poodle dog bush. And this we were very thankful for!

At 1030 we left the KOA and started walking uphill. The trail was steep at first and then leveled out into long switchbacks. We were back in the dry, arid desert and despite the breeze, it felt hot!

Laurie pulled out her umbrella but Andy still didn’t have a system to attach his umbrella to his new pack. We continued to make our way up and up towards the ridge and the darkening rain clouds.

We crested the hill and gazed down onto highway 14. This would be our second opportunity to walk under a major highway.

The 2 miles to the tunnel went on for what felt like forever! The increase in noise, trash and sand made the walking less enjoyable.

Finally we saw iron pillars and a tunnel. It felt like we were miniature people walking through a drain. There were a bunch of branches and other debris piled up on the outside of the iron posts like a dam, as if a flash flood carried them here, but the posts stopped them from going into the tunnel.

Nevertheless, we walked around the debris into a long dark tunnel. Towards the middle we could see the light on the other side but could not see our feet or the ground. It made both of our heads feel a little funny- good vestibular training!

We passed 3 hikers having lunch on the other side of the tunnel and exchanged hellos.

“Have you paid your toll?” A hiker asked us jokingly.

We continued walking (it’s what we do) and made it to Vasquez Rocks County Park half an hour ahead of schedule.

Vasquez Rocks are featured in Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Little Miss Sunshine and many other movies. Who knew?!

We walked through the beautiful rock formations in awe, not caring about the few drops of rain falling from the sky.

Andy’s friend Tony came to pick us up and we changed out of our dirty, stinky and possibly poison oaked clothes.

The Saufley’s are popular trail angels that cater to hikers in this area. Their home is referred to as “hiker heaven.” We wanted to go see their set up and experience the place Andy has read all about but we decided that Andy’s parents home would be our hiker heaven.

Being only 45 minutes away from the Dischekenyan household we opted to spend the night there instead. No lines for showers, ability to do laundry and home cooked meals – all the thru hiking essentials under one roof!

Shushan (Andy’s mom) made her famous lasagna and we enjoyed each bite! Laurie and Shushan later made cream cheese frosting to go on a carrot cake. Yum!

Tomorrow we may go back to the trail or take a zero. We will decide in the morning based on how our bodies feel.

Tonight we are grateful for comfy sofas and cream cheese frosting.

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.