Date: April 13, 2016

Bushcamp (mile 123.9) to bushcamp (mile 140.3)

Miles: 16.4

We slept on a little knoll amongst the boulders. It was the best campsite so far. We watched the sun fade behind the  mountains showering the opposing hills with an alpine glow. This morning we watched the sun rise while drinking hot beverages in our sleeping bags. It was such a wonderful treat!

We took our time getting ready and finally rolled out of camp around 8:15. Three or four hikers past by as we were getting ready and we shared a friendly “good morning.”

We are starting to create a hiking community. There are familiar faces at the water stops and camping spots- each person hiking their own hike but with a common goal- to keep going. We help one another out- commiserate about blisters and relish the moments of shade and wind.

Today felt like real desert hiking. The trail was hot- at times too windy to hike with our umbrellas so we resorted to hats and sunscreen. Both work but it is quite nice to get to camp without a thick layer of sunscreen and dirt on our faces.

In the morning, we hiked about 3 miles to Mike’s Place (a trail angel who makes pizzas in his pizza oven for hikers), grabbed 5 liters of water and left soonafer. We are still eating well with the food we’ve packed for this section and chose to skip the glutenous temptations of pizza and breakfast burritos.

The trail climbed most of the morning. As it began to descend, we remained on a ridge overlooking a small city. In the distance we could see a snow capped peak and large mountains in between. It is crazy to think that we may be walking through those mountains in a few weeks.

While on the ridge with the town in view we checked to see if we had service. Text messages and app alerts immediately came through. We were pleasantly surprised to see a town fund donation from someone we don’t know. The trail magic continues.

We are choosing not to disclose names on our blog so the donator shall remain anonymous. Thank you very much for your kind words and generous donation, we really, really appreciate it!

Throughout the day we took a few shoes off breaks to rest our feet and air out our sweaty socks. Our original plan was to wash and switch socks regularly throughout the day but with water sources every 10 miles we somewhat abandoned that plan.

Our feet are happy though. Or as happy as they can be with hiking 15 miles day after day. Laurie’s blisters didn’t require minor surgery tonight so we consider that an improvement. It still takes at least 10 min to prep our feet each morning but it is totally worth it!

We walked past many dry creek beds scattered with small white flowers. Small yellow and purple flowers line the trail in other areas. There is an unexpected beauty to the desert this time of year. To compliment the flora, the only fauna we encountered today was a curious horny toad.

Throughout the day, we ponder many things. One of them is thay the hiking life is simple. You wake up – pack all of your belongings into a backpack – and start walking. You stop when you want, eat when you want and go to the bathroom when you want.

Our bodies are free to find their natural rhythms. In the city, we eat and poop around work schedules. It is nice to let our bodies rather than clocks dictate our routines.

We made it to our planned campsite but there were already 3 people set up. One guy suggested a spot just up the trail. We lay here now starting up at the stars nestled between bushes, relatively protected from the wind.

Tomorrow we head to Paradise Cafe to sort out a plan for the next few days since our original itinerary gets us in to Idyllwild on Saturday when all the hotels have a 2 night minimum and are booked solid. We’ll figure it out. We always do.

Tonight we are grateful for laughter when brushing our teeth and unexpected generosity of strangers.

Date: April 12, 2016

Warner Springs (mile 109.5) to bushcamp (mile 123.9)

Miles: 14.4

We slept well in tent city. Andy has been waking up between 5:40 – 5:50 every morning without an alarm and today was no different. But since we were in no hurry to leave, Laurie slept in until 7.

We enjoyed our lazy morning. This gave Laurie time to come up with a tape job that provided more padding and support under her left foot. It sure was creative. But the miles would reveal if she was successful.

We tried drying out our tent fly before packing up but that didn’t work. Everything was just too wet.

Around 9:45 we started walking. We felt good – Laurie was still a bit stuffy but smiling.

We started by walking through more feilds filled with small purple wildflowers. It was nice to enjoy the view without the looming dark clouds. The skies were clear, a gentle breeze kept us cool inn the shade of our umbrellas and we were happy hikers.

The trail steadily climbed from 3,000 ft up to 5,000 ft. This time not as gradual as before. There weren’t as many views as we were hidden among tall shrubs but it was interesting seeing desert plants mixed in with trees. Gentle reminders that we were still in the desert. The views opened up as we gained elevation.

We didn’t see many people today until mile 118.6 at Lost Valley Spring. Watering holes tend to be places many hikers take extended breaks.

We chit chatted with other hikers that arrived as we finished getting our water. One of the guys we’ve been seeing on the trail the last few days is James. We gave James Nutrasilver colloidal silver to treat his water with – he was very grateful.

He thanked us and said that we’re a good team. It caught us by surprise that others notice our interactions. It was nice to hear what he thought of our teamwork.

We carried 3 liters each to our dry camp 5.3 miles away and for the 3.4 miles to Mike’s Place – a local trail angel with a water tank near his home. We are making sure we drink plenty to feel at our best.

We exchanged many friendly hellos with other hikers we passed, who later passed us. Trail leap frog as we call it. Not much conversation as most everyone was hiking fast to get to Mike’s Place. The promise of pizza is too good to pass up for many!

We like sleeping outdoors and weren’t craving pizza so we found a nice spot in a boulder field and set up camp. It might get cold tonight, down into the mid 30s, so we reluctantly put up the rain fly.

Another satisfying day of hiking in the books. It’s our kind of 9 – 5. Well, 10 – 6..you get the point.

Oh, and we’re happy to report that Laurie’s creative tape job worked! She was in minimal pain all day and still had to drain the pesky blister at night, but it seems to be healing. Unfortunately though Laurie noticed a hot spot on her right heel. It’s minor and she caught it early so the caterpillar probably won’t become a butterfly 😉

It’s 8:30pm now. We are fed, our teeth brushed and we’re ready for bed. Night night.

Tonight we are grateful for dry trails and more frequent watering holes.

Date: April 11, 2016

Third gate (mile 91.5) to Warner Springs (mile 109.5)

Miles: 18

Last night we camped with at least 7 other people. Third gate was a popular place, possibly because of the water cache or a convenient, doable destination from scissors crossing.

It was a restless night for both of us. We were one of the later ones to arrive at the designated camp spots and got one with a bit of a slope. Andy’s luxury item is a pillow and the pillow propped on top of his backpack served as a very comfortable blogging position.

Laurie fell asleep snuggled in next to him as he wrote. Needless to say, instead of sleeping with our heads on the upslope as we intended, we slept with our heads downhill propped up on our backpacks. It was comfortable to start but not at 2 am. Not to mention the sounds of snoring from the nearby tents. Maybe this is why we prefer to camp on our own?!

We started hiking at 7:15. The sky was blue with scattered clouds and as the day wore on the cloud cover increased. We enjoyed the cool temps as the trail wound around the hillsides. For 9 miles we maintained elevation before dropping down to barrel springs at mile 101.5.

We have hiked over 100 miles. Yippee!!!

We then walked across open grassland. It was beautiful to see the trail meandering in the distance past wooden PCT posts.

This was the prettiest day on the trail thus far. We really enjoyed our walk. The clouds were threatening all day but managed to hold off most of the afternoon.

This was really nice because around mile 106 we hiked to Eagle Rock. Like the monument at the Southern Terimus, this place was surreal for Andy. He had seen so many pictures of this place from other people’s blogs. And now, we had walked here ourselves. A very proud moment for both of us.

A mile after we left Eagle Rock, the clouds opened up, first with a few droplets. “Not too bad” we thought.

But then loud thunder clapped overhead. The rain intensified. And shortly after lightning joined in on the party.

So much for hot desert hiking.

Rain turned to hail, followed by more thunder and one more lightning strike directly above us. We were the tallest things around. Not a situation we felt comfortable in at all so we hiked faster and furter until we got into the trees.

By this point our shoes were soaked and the trail was a riverbed. Mercifully the rain lost its tenacity as we reached Warner Springs.

This wonderful community opens its resource center to hikers during the season. Everything is donation based. Andy ate chicken noodle soup and eventually Laurie got her hot water (once we figured out how to use the machine).

Once the rain stopped we left the center to put up our tent. Laurie stayed to make our home for the night while Andy went back to charge his phone.

Eventually Laurie joined in. She’s not feeling so hot. Today was a hard day. Long miles, funky weather, plus a sore throat, another blister, followed by chafing and finally a stuffy nose and a headache.

Laurie’s a trooper though and we both hope that with good sleep she’ll be fine by morning.

On a happier note, we are slowly becoming more social. Both of us feel a bit hesitant around other hikers and continue to ask ourselves why. Laurie struggles with small talk and at the end of a long hiking day she is too tired and doesn’t have the energy to engage in smalltalk. Tonight, Andy was great at introducing himself and with his smile he is quick to make friends.

For now, we are going to brush up and go to bed in tent city to the sounds of frogs.

Today we are grateful for clear skies and wonderful, supportive partners.