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.

May 1, 2016

Wrightwood to Jackson Flat Campground (mile 372.2)

Miles: 12.4 (8.8 PCT miles + 3.6 to PCT from Wrightwood)

Sleeping in a bed is good, but neither of us slept as well last night as we do on the trail. We believe this is due to a combination of over stimulation, going to sleep way too late and worrying about family.

We were excited to be heading back to the trail.

Our friends Josie and Matt drove us to Wrightwood and hiked with us up the very steep 3.6 mile Acorn Trail back to the PCT.

The sun was shining but there was a chill in the air.

We walked through neighborhoods and eventually reached the Acorn Trail. Once on trail we huffed and puffed with every step. We felt as if we hadn’t hiked at all the last 25 days.

We are carrying 6 days of food and our packs are heavy. Combined with the elevation gain meant we were struggling.

After about an hour and a half we reached the PCT junction.

Boy were we relieved! All four of us.

We hiked on another half mile to a dirt crossing, where we stopped for lunch with a beaitiful view of the mountains. Once again we enjoyed leftovers for lunch. We owe a huge thank you to Andy’s mom and his aunt for always making such scrumptious food.

Soonafter lunch, Josie and Matt walked back to the Acorn Trail. It was wonderful to be in their company and hike with them.

After lunch we felt really sluggish. We could barely move. Two zero days had turned our legs into cement. We pushed on, motivating one another and distracting each other with conversation until 5pm, when we made it to camp.

We are content with a relatively short day and excited to sleep early tonight.

There’s no one else here at the campground. Most people either hitched to Wrightwood or hiked past us tonight.

Most of the people we met on the trail today were new to us. Andy enjoys this but Laurie feels left behind.

We are all on different schedules and hike at different paces. And that’s OK. Laurie is working on warming up to this concept.

We ate dinner – more leftovers, snuggled, gave each other massages and laid in our sleeping bags listening to rain land on our tent.

Tonight we are grateful for adventurous friends and soft ground on which to sleep.