We hitched out of the Budpharm and headed back to Wrightwood. Our driver was super excited that he got real pct hikers in his car and not people who only did a section. Coyote didn’t dare to mention that he was leaving in a week at that point. In the end, he even wanted a …
About wrightwood, the next resupply not much can be said. There is a grocery store and a couple of restaurants, the end. What is more interesting are the lodging options, which are all exorbitantly expensive. except one, obscure, kind of hard to find spot: the budpharm, a supposed campground a couple miles out of town. …
Main event of the day: the trail passed by a McDonalds. As we neared the place in question, Remedy popped up, along with cohorts Tommyhawk and Gnome. Soon other long (meaning more than 2 days) missing companions showed up: Leia, Pebbles, Princess, Daddy Longlegs, Mermaid and Guillaume. New people were Jive Turkey and Machine, a …
From today the trail passes through an iconic place for a while: the Mojave desert. I instantly felt like a lone ranger, like in Fallout: New Vegas, ready to go on adventure in the wasteland. Or that is how I’d feel, if the night before hadn’t taken so much of my energy and sleep time. …
After an early start, we leave both the other hikers and the slightly sad mood from the previous day behind. Today, something fun is planned: hot springs! The Deep Creek hot springs are natural hot springs only reachable on foot and are a staple stop for pct hikers who want to relax their stiff and …
In the distance, a lone figure trots forward. Nothing special, we are on a popular hiking trail after all. ‘Who’d walk without hiking poles?’ Coyote wonders, after we see the woman is empty handed. We come closer. Suddenly, realization hits. ‘Tenderfoot!’ both of us cheer. We hadn’t expected to see her again, as she herself …
Back to business. First up, cleaning our packs and recharching devices. Then, getting breakfast and resupply for the next section. The place we were recommended by Mac the previous day was closed (probably for Mother’s Day) so we went elsewhere for our portion of eggs, bacon and waffles. What I had first thought to be …
Big Bear kind of blows, there, I’ve said it. It doesnt even have real bears. We started the day hiking a brisk 20 miles, slightly downhill. On the way we crossed Daddy Longlegs, Gnome, Tommyhawk and Remedy, none of whom knew where Chris and Boots were, leading us to believe they were far behind and …
Being in the desert here means being under the treeline. A weird concept as I didn’t think there could be anything underneath it. Anyway, that was our goal today, climbing to the treeline. Chris and Boots slept way too long for us, so Coyote and me set out on our own, agreeing to meet up …
I woke up and it wasn’t cold, a novelty. As we hiked the valley between the San Jacinto mountains and Whitewater preserve, we got our first taste of real desert heat. The bridge of the I10 provided some temporary relief and to our surprise, we found a hikerbox and a cooler with drinks there. Only …
