Days 16-17, mile 384 (14% of the trail)

McDonald's was a success. I packed out two apple pies. We hiked out a few miles and camped in a grassy gulch that looked like the foothills of the Himalaya. In the morning, we set off for Wrightwood, with nearly 6,000' of ascent. The hike was uneventful and not that bad. The last portion of the hike descended into Wrightwood, where I hung out with some former coworkers (hi Jim and Alicia!). For lodging I ended up splitting a room with two other hikers. Within an hour the sink stopper broke, we found the toilet didn't really flush, and the shower trickled. My climbing buddy Ron visited from LA and he filled me in on his sufferfest Cactus 2 Clouds 2 Cactus hike. The next day, Brian and I found a much nicer place via CouchSurfing. The host was an electronics guru with a chill dog. In the morning we started toward Little Jimmy campground, 26 miles away, the first stop on our trip to Agua Dulce (next town on the PCT).

I got to the campground at 7 pm, where the host invited me to the campfire. There's this ancient feeling of safety sitting next to a fire in the woods. It feels like you're protected. Some young people today describe cities as feeling safer. Campfireish. The host was leaving soon for the Israel National Trail, which runs north-south for 600 miles. I poured some water I heated on the outdoor wood stove into a Nalgene, and held it for warmth in my sleeping bag.

Day 15 mile 320 (12% of the trail)

There is a hot spring directly on the trail and it is everything you could ever hope for and more.

The other big topic on the trail is the McDonalds coming up 22 miles away. Seriously, we've had like four conversations about it in the past 48 hours. We're all getting quarter pounders, mcflurries, and a shitload of apple pies. Oh my god the calories, I can't wait. 

Day 14 mile 295 (11.1% of the trail)

Hiked a marathon. Hunk, Squints, Brian, Aisha (New Zealand), and I have made a good party. They're all crazy fast and runners. Flower (Netherlands) is camped here with us and has an awesome Fjallraven winter expedition tent. Thing looks bomber. 

Days 9-13 mile 269 (10.2% of the trail)

These posts will probably become less frequent, as I'm usually too tired to blog. It's not from lack of noteworthy events. The trail is dense with experiences and I can't imagine how the next four months will be. I have trouble distilling just the past four days, but here goes.

From Warner Springs I hiked solo into the desert, eventually dropping into a tiny town with a hiker friendly restaurant. Met Hunk (Canada) and Diesel (USA) there. We had burgers, milkshakes, and beer before deciding to camp there that night. In the morning I left alone. The fire detour route took an awful road walk (after walking on soft ground all day, pavement just jolts your spine), so I thumbed a ride from the first car I saw. He wasn't headed to my final destination so I had to hitch again, this time jumping into the back of a pickup with three other hikers including Diesel and Hunk. We stopped at a small store before deciding to press on into Idyllwild 5 miles away. In the morning, D proposed tagging San Jacinto peak (10,734') that day then descending back onto the PCT. This was a more aggressive plan than mine of walking around town and maybe catching a movie. We summitted in 4.5 hours with overnight packs, brisk. Met one dayhiker at the top, a Native American looking fellow with a wood hiking staff. Diesel, who has dealt with altitude sickness before, was relieved that we saw him too.

The next day we descended 7,000' to the desert floor. On the way, we cris-crossed a duo from New Zealand with Aarn packs. We dodged some incoming weather and caught some watermelon trail magic at the bottom. We figured out that Chik-fil-a is so good because the hate adds to the flavor. Yet another fire closure affected the trail, so we caught a hitch to the San Bernardino transit center and took a bus to Big Bear, bypassing about 60 miles of the PCT.

Big Bear was a big nero. Resupplied at Vons and hitched to mile 266 at 6 pm, hiking three miles before knocking out. Brian had the incredible find of watermelon Pop-tarts. Pop-tarts in the past were something I consumed at my lowest points, but they (and anything else you find in a vending machine) work well as trail foods. High calories, and flavors engineered to be non-sating. Anything crunchy stored in a pack becomes powder after a few days, which a hiker can easily funnel into their mouth. I do this, many hikers do too.

More trail names are showing up. Hustler, Socks, and Whiskey Bag have the best stories I've heard thus far. Whiskey Bag poured a pint of whiskey into a ziplock bag to save weight, which leaked all over her stuff when she put it in her pack. The others will go unmentioned for now.

Shoes

We are witness to a seismic shift in PCT footwear as almost everyone is either currently wearing or switching to Altra Lone Peaks. The store person in Idyllwild said they were selling twenty pairs of Altras for every pair of Brooks Cascadias (the thru-hiker shoe for many years). I've been wearing them since day 1 of the PCT and gotta say, they just make sense. The wide toe box makes a world of a difference, the gaiter Velcro patch is long overdue, and after 220 miles of hiking almost all of the lugs are intact. One hiker predicts that next year, every trail running shoe company will have their copycat shoe, which I think is likely. 

Days 7-8 mile 115 (4.3% of the trail)

Slow nero (near-zero mile) day. Hung out around Warner Spring and got my food sorted out for the trip to Idyllwild. Called a gear shop there to confirm they carry the shoe insoles and sunglasses I want. There's still a fire closure in effect on this part of the PCT. I'm taking the official detour, while some are hitching to skip it altogether. I'll probably try to hitch the road walk portion on CA 74, it sounds dangerous. Met a hiker at camp who was sending his doge home. His paws were burned after 100 miles of desert hiking. Limping. Got pizza at the golf resort grill (2/4 stars) and wrapped the rest in aluminum foil to take on the trail. At 5 pm I set off, walked 5 miles and camped next to a stream.

Really craving fresh, wet fruit. 

Day 6 mile 110 (4.2% of the trail)

So I walked through a brown field infested by grasshoppers. Having each step set off a storm of grasshoppers trying to latch onto your leg hair (sometimes successfully) is really unpleasant. I tried to block them with my umbrella, which kind of worked. They would tap against it and occasionally get in the concave side, and I'd frantically shake them off. One guy (Canada) said they kept hopping into his boots and getting squished. I'm ok with most insects, but the frequent skin contact was a terrible sensation.

Other than that, today was really hot. The trail came down off the crests onto the aforementioned fields. I'm at Warner Springs (tiny trail town), and there's a big welcome sign, "PCT Class of 2016" (thru-hiking culture definitely has a collegiate feel). I showered with a bucket of cold water and it was amazing. Kaleidoscope of tents pitched under a tree. Mostly American but also a few Euro brands. Tomorrow, I pick up my packages at the PO (tent, food) and set off for a 3.5-day walk to Idyllwild (favorite mountain town name). 14,000 calories of food are ready to go.

Day 4 mile 77 (2.9% of the trail)

Someone left candy canes in a hiker box (box of free stuff that hikers leave, at various establishments on the trail) and I'm eating one. I made it to Stagecoach Trails RV Resort after hitching a ride from a minivan with a Grateful Dead bumper sticker (Bill said I was #43 this season). Well, I'm the only hiker here today. Which means that the Christian convention people here gave me all of their leftover dinner and I ate around 1,500 calories in five minutes. One of the ministers here climbed Mt. Rainier (glaciated peak, requires mountaineering skills) when she was 21 in 1954. She was in a three person rope team with a guide, and one of only two women to summit that year. I mean climbing as a woman in the 1950s is just extraordinary, and she's the first climber I've knowingly met on the trail. It's windy but I'm just glad I'm not walking anymore.

For the trail, the desert is starting to feel like one. It was clear and warm today and the hills are mostly brown. I popped out the sun umbrella (weighs 7 oz) which helped, but it gets so windy that you have to stow it and use sunblock any way. The hikers are thinning out and I'm starting to wonder if I'll see the people I hiked with yesterday again.

On the gear front; man, I need those insoles. My legs feel fine but my soles are wrecked after 15 miles. I also buckled and called to have my inner tent shipped to me. I'm just not about that ultralight groundsheet lyfe. The tennis ball sized mosquitos flying inside were the last straw. Some hyperlighters (beyond ultralight backpacking) don't even use a groundsheet. The things that would crawl, run, or fly over your face at night; there are no words. My ¾ length sleeping pad is working really well and my down quilt is more than warm enough. The z-lite (popular foam sleeping pad that folds like an accordion) section I cut from my regular length z-lite pad has seen a lot of use. I sit on it every break and put my feet on it when I sleep.