April 28, 2016

Bushcamp (357.2) to Wrightwood

Miles: 10.7 (6.2 PCT miles + 4.5 miles into Wrightwood)

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We woke up this morning to the sound of wet snow falling on our tent. Neither one of us wanted to get up into the cold and windy morning air.

Eventually we dragged ourselves out of the warmth of our sleeping bags. Motivated by hot showers and home cooked meals we layered up and faced the windy world.

The wind howled around us as we disassembled the tent. We had to work as a team- communicating who was holding what to ensure that nothing flew away.

We were walking by 7:30am. It was still chilly with clouds swirling around us but we could see the sun trying to peek through.

The first 4 miles were uphill. After a brief snow flurry of small little snow balls (not flakes or hail) we quickly warmed up and shed our rain pants, rain jackets and gloves. We walked above the clouds, watching them ebb and flow in the valleys below. The mountains above us were dusted in white.

As we got higher snow clung to shady spots on the trail and trees. The air was crisp with a hint of pine. It was a magical morning!

At 8:40 we challenged ourselves to walk the remaining 3.7 miles to the Acorn Trail junction by 10 am. Laurie, who loves competitions, immediately picked up the pace. She quickly discovered however, that it is very hard to chew, breathe at elevation and walk all at the same time.

We reached the Acorn trail (most direct route to Wrightwood) at 9:57. Success!!

We switched backed down 2,337 ft into Wrightwood. Neither of our knees were super happy with the steady decline but our packs were light and spirits were high.

We walked through neighborhoods on our way into town- picking up for sale brochures and day dreaming about what it would be like to retire in Wrightwood.

We got to town, wander through the hardware store and Wrightwood market. With so many bars in our stomachs neither of us felt very hungry.

We met up with Nemo and gave him some of our leftover food before going out to lunch with Tony and Esmeralda who had driven from LA to come get us.

We split a burger and sweet potato fries and ate again 2 hours later at Andy’s aunt and uncle’s restaurant Mini Kabob. We then came back to Andy’s parents house and ate again with his mom. We can’t let good food go to waste!

We sat on a couch, ate fresh fruit and don’t know where the rest of the day went.

Around 7:30pm we went to Big 5 in search of an Angeles National Forest map to research a few more reroutes. Big 5 was only .8 miles away but the 1.6 miles felt too far to walk. Crazy how we resort to old habits when back in a familiar environment.

We are going to bed later than normal with full bellies and happy hearts. Thank you to our LA family and community for welcoming us back with such open arms.

Tonight we are grateful for good laughs and good friends.

April 27, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 338.4) to Bushcamp (mile 357.2)

Miles: 18.8

“French fries and ice cream, French fries and ice cream!” Laurie woke up chanting with a smile on her face.

We are happy to report we did not blow away last night and actually slept very well.

Our friend Dave (Nemo) passed us around 8:15pm on a mission for chicken McNuggets and a McFlurry. It is amazing what starts to dominate your thoughts when you have spent 3 weeks in the woods.

We were on the trail by 6:45am powered by thoughts of reaching a milestone (I-15- the end of section C of California and McDonalds!). Oh, and weather is coming in too.

We got to McDonald’s at 8:15am, around the same time a large tour bus pulled in. It’s occupants made a beeline for the McDonalds and took over the bathrooms- “I guess I won’t be washing out my socks and underwear for a while” smiled Laurie.

We found an outlet to charge our phones and Laurie excitingly went to up to order her french fries and ice cream. Unfortunately McDonald’s doesn’t serve french fries or hamburgers until 10:30am- who knew?! I suppose the abstinence from McDonald’s fries will continue for another 15 years!

Laurie did get soft serve and enjoyed every bite!

We bought a new smart water bottle after Andy enthusiastically jammed a whole bunch of dehydrated lemons into one of our other smart water bottles. The lemon water was nice this morning but with the narrow opening we couldn’t get the lemons out.

Andy returned from the Chevron mini mart with a big smile on his face. He bought salt and vinegar Kettle chips and peach rings for Laurie. A true sign of trail love!

We hoisted our packs on our backs and retraced our steps 0.4 miles back to the trail. We proceeded to walk under the I-15 highway (Laurie holding Andy’s hand because it was a little spooky and dark) and out into trees on the other side. We walked under 2 railroad tracks and over 1 more.

We took some fun pictures in one of the tunnels under the train tracks – one of the joys of shorter mileage days.

We then started our climb. Fifteen miles and 4000 ft of elevation gain. The trail was gradual in some sections and steeper in others. We walked on nice wide trails for the most part and a few sections where erosion and rock slides left minimal traces of the trail. We walked on a knife edge up on a ridge and wide gradual fire roads. The only consistency was that we kept gaining elevation.

Once we started moving our aches and pains dissolved and we held a steady clip of 2.5 – 3 mph.

We were cruising along with Laurie in the lead when suddenly she yelped and jumped backwards. Hidden in a bush right next to a trail lay a rattlesnake. Thankfully he warned us of his presence but he was not happy. He continued to stare at us, tongue going in and out as he slithered away.

Not even 2 miles up the trail we saw another snake. This one more docile and sprawled out across the trail sunning itself. Since our encounter near scissors crossing (Mile 77) we have learned that rattle snakes only attack when coiled. This gave Laurie some peace of mind but did not stop her from squealing as she jumped over where the snake lay.

From there Andy took the lead. We decided that during the hottest parts of the day (and what we determined to be peak snake hours) Andy would lead.

An hour later Andy saw another snake. This one was black with a yellow stripe running along it’s side. It slithered away before Andy could get a picture and Laurie could freak out.

We stopped for an hour and a half lunch break to air out our feet. The wind picked up and it became down right cold!

We saddled up our backpacks and powered through the last 5.3 miles to camp. Laurie commented many times how pretty these mountains are. She never thought Los Angeles had mountains, let alone scenic ones.

We were delightfully surprised when we got to camp and found no one else here. Makes sense though. With inclement weather on the horizon most people must have pushed on another 10 miles to Wrightwood.

The forecast calls for a chance of showers tonight, wind gusts up to 35mph and near freezing temps.

We’re happy to be here though. We enjoy sleeping outside.

Laurie is doubly excited and has been looking forward to dinner all day. “Hey Laurie, what are you having for dinner tonight?”

“Macaroni and cheese!!” She’d reply like a gitty 5 year old.

After we ate dinner, we cleaned our dirty feet and watched lightning strike in the distance.

It’s 8:30pm now. We’re cozy in our tent and hoping our 20 degree sleeping bags keep us warm.

Time to brush up, floss and go to bed. Goodnight.

Tonight we are grateful for the warnings of rattlers and comfort food.

April 26, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 315.1) to bushcamp (mile 338.4)

Miles: 23.3

We woke up at our usual 5:45 and started hiking at 7:15.

The trail was mellow in the beginning, hugging the hillsides and meandering in and out of the sunshine.

We walked through bushes buzzing with bees, shady turns with bunches of poison oak and sunny patches with butterflies playing tag and lizards scooting out of our way.

Andy’s blister caused him pain but after 15 min the pain turned numb- as long as we kept walking. He had searing pain when he took weight off his left foot but after learning that the hard way he didn’t didn’t do it again. He is a trooper though, he just kept walking.

Then, out of nowhere we turned a corner and a large dam appeared- not more than 200 yards away. We walked alongside the bottom paralleling a road and then eventually started to climb up to the top.

We passed a cooler in the shade and Laurie squealed with delight, only to be disappointed when it was empty. Andy reassured her that in time we will walk upon trail magic.

We got to the top of the dam and looked down on Silverwood Lake. It is big! We walked around the perimeter for what felt like forever!

We spotted a covered picnic area in the distance and set that as a goal for lunch. The trail started to climb again so we dropped down to the beach to walk along the water to get to the picnic table.

We ate a filling lunch of cheese, crackers, salami (Andy had salmon) and carrot cake cookies while sitting on a picnic table. Oh, and we washed all that down a with lemon flavored electrolyte drink.

After lunch, we continued on around the lake and finally out across a highway and into the next set of hills. The trail was well defined and steadily climbed up and then down.

We ran into Buff, a 62 year old man from Humbolt. We chatted for a bit and then parted ways as Andy’s blister started hurting and we stopped to readjust the molefoam.

We saw Buff again as he was setting up his tent. We continued on with a mission to get further down the trail to make the next day more manageable.

We hiked on with sore feet and hungry bellies until we got past the power lines and to our planned camp.

Laurie started singing Christmas carols with hiking lyrics and other random songs to pass the time. We also had conversations about tattoos, kids, religion and whether we’d date one another again if we had a do over.

We arrived at our anticipated campsite but it was on the edge of a 200 ft drop. With a steady wind we got a little nervous and found another spot on the other side of the trail.

Andy cooked while Laurie set up the tent. We ate dinner and dessert and tried to figure out transportation for Friday when we anticipate we will be at Islip Saddle. Road closures, icy trail alternatives and possible inclement weather make it hard to plan. We don’t think we will have cell reception in the Angeles National Forest so we are taking a lot of time to figure out a reasonable plan.

Tonight we are grateful for blue skies and mole foam.