Author Archives: Marie

We had 8:30 breakfast reservations for the infamous buffet at the Timberline Lodge so we rolled in a little early to clean up before. The buffet was so good, lots of fresh fruit, smoothies, bagels, a frittata…and more. We saw some familiar hikers there and chatted with an older gentleman who had done a lot of miles on the PCT but now can’t hike anymore so he acts as a trail angel. The lodge was really cool with tons of history, we’ve already made plans to come back for a stay.

With breakfast making me loosen my hip belt a little, off we went meeting lots of day hikers, at least one on a spiritual journey with mountain goats, and even some trail workers out clearing blowdowns. The views of Hood & the pretty wildflowers made the morning kind of slow but fantastic. Right before lunch we had to cross Sand Creek which was rumored to be a harder crossing. I opted to toss my shoes across, undo my bag and wade through in socks. The water was moving quick and was deep enough to be able to sweep me off my feet if I stepped wrong so I took it slow. I made it with no issues plus it wasn’t as nerve wracking for me as rock hopping is. Jake does not have the same fears about rock hopping so he made it across doing that. Lunch was quick, I ate jerky, a cheese stick, a peanut butter protein bar and some cheddar pringles.

Right after lunch was the turn for the Ramona Falls detour on the old PCT. This took us past a waterfall and lots of day hikers. Then it was steep climbing for a few tough miles, right before easing downhill to camp. A hiker we met on the way down told me the spot we were aiming for was “pretty full” but I don’t think he was a thru-hiker. There were only three tents here and plenty of space. Jay, a hiker we’ve been camping around the past couple days, greeted us on arrival and chatted while we set up until after we ate. It was nice to hang out with him for a longer time.

Heard our neighbors pack up and get out early but I needed more rest and managed to sleep until 7:30. A pit toilet and laundry day was the motivator this morning and we were hiking in no time. Jake went ahead and we met up at the frog lake parking lot. On the way there were some of the closest views of mt hood we have had. I met another hiker, Susie, who’s headed south and we chatted for a while. Eventually I made it to where Jake was waiting and we started trying to hitch to Government Camp. We got a ride pretty quickly from a woman who was very excited to hear about what we were doing but could only take us part of the way. She dropped us by the side of the highway and we debated just walking the rest of the way but I got nervous about walking on such a fast road so we stuck our thumbs out again and got another hitch into town from a nice guy named Christopher.

Once in Govy we walked directly to the laundromat, got changed real quick in the room while the other person was a lookout, and went to find a burger after the laundry was started. We found those burgers and a big salad at Charlie’s Mountain House, Char Bar, the locals hangout. They had a huge wall of outlets so we could easily charge our devices and check in with family. We stayed here eating and catching up with real life until our laundry was done. The plan was to stay in town until the 4pm bus could take us up to Timberline for the night so we had plenty of time to hang.

A small resupply was all I needed from the “grocery” which was good, I was so full I couldn’t think straight about what I needed/wanted to eat for lunch the next two days. Once we got our shopping done we walked all the way to the end of town (maybe a mile) to the brewery & spent the rest of the afternoon there drinking, snacking, and planning. We grabbed dinner to go and hopped on the bus for the short ride up to the lodge. A bunch of hikers were already camped up the mountain behind the lodge so we joined them and just spent the evening chatting and enjoying being in the shadow of Mt. Hood.

Had an okay night of sleep after waking up at 10:30 to throw the rain fly up. That was a hard way to learn we don’t remember how to pitch the tent properly.

Ate a protein pick and chugged a liter of water for breakfast. It’s much cooler and I’m hoping the rest of the day follows suit. The climb out of camp is a little tough on me but I make it through with Jake leading the charge.

We get some cruisey miles to our next water source where we plan to stop for lunch. As I was grabbing water to filter later I lost my balance on the rocks, slammed my arm into a tree and completely submerged my left foot. The lunch stop could not come soon enough. We did hike on for another mile or so before we found a good shady spot overlooking Timothy lake. I ate my last bagel with string cheese and olives then took a nap.

More chill miles after lunch to see little crater lake. Then we are climbing to camp near a spring. Other hikers we met today have told us there are lots of mosquitoes and they are right.

Neighbors were nice enough to try to be as quiet for us as we were tried to be the night before. Another not very restful night, one of the thru hikers apparently left at 4am, I heard him but had no idea what time it was. Access to a pit toilet was a perk of the morning along with pop and snacks from the store. Left camp around 9:30 after chatting with Dayhiker & Zap. A morning Dr. Pepper fueled our fast morning out of Olallie , got to lunch around 1 & took a nap. Very forested, easy grades hiking. Tried to keep up the pace to get to camp early to do some chores. Rolled in around 6:30, set up the tent, washed up, had a fancy dinner of bagel, string cheese and olives…desert was some Oreos. I’m still not drinking enough, it’s so hard with the heat. My feet, legs & lower back are sore, lots of cuts and bruises on my legs. Some sunburn on the backs of my knees.

We camped right near the trail so we were woken up by a trickle of early risers. I was awake most of the night anyways thinking I was hearing critters near us.

Today is more climbing through burn zones in the heat. It am truly unprepared for how much this heat is zapping all of my energy.

More incredible views today almost make up for the parts that suck.

After coming down some slick, snowy slopes we stop to have lunch in the one spot of shade. Since the mosquitoes are pretty bad here we set up part of the tent so we can eat in peace but we misjudge where the sun might be and end up being in the sun for most of lunch.

We decided to push through this last burn zone and get to Olallie tonight. There is a PCT camping spot there, a pit toilet and a tiny general store. The miles aren’t too tough but it is still not as quick as I’d like and we pull into camp kind of late. It’s only 8 but lots of hikers are already in bed so we are trying to be quiet but we can only do so much. After dark some guys are walking through camp offering fish tacos to campers…I get very excited and go get some. They are delicious! I’m the only one who takes them up on their offer and they try to give me all the fish to give to my “friends” in the morning. I decline because I don’t know any of the other hikers and I’m not carrying around 2lbs of fried fish in my pack. Finally I settle in for a fitful night of sleep.

The sun woke me up again around 5:30 but I tried to fall back asleep for a while since the wind kept waking me most of the night. I’m tired and feeling discouraged about another hot day ahead of us. After doing our morning things we got to hiking through more burn over blowdowns.

Our first stop was a pond and we were both excited to take a little dip when we arrived. We set up the tent because the mosquitoes were a little too welcoming and both chugged some water before getting in to cool off. While we were chillin another hiker, Storytime (I think), arrived and started chatting with us. She gave us some homemade cookies her mom sent her! This break turned out to be a little longer than we expected but very much needed.

Onwards through a lot more snow than we had seen, a couple sketchy sections but nothing too bad. Having wet feet from snow isn’t fun. We got to the top of a ridge after a tough climb where there was a nice breeze and it was so beautiful so I had a little cry about the hard climb and the beauty.

A slow start to the day since we were in a hotel in Sisters. I woke feeling much better than yesterday, chafe mostly taken care of or taped up, rehydrated, and ready to get back out of town. Before heading down to breakfast I did some gear maintenance, cutting the lining out of my shorts and throwing away my sad, old pillow.

After packing up we walked over to the outdoor shop in Sisters to buy a new pillow. Then we stopped into the bike shop for an anti-chafe stick. On the walk back to the highway I decided we should get powerades so Jake popped into the gas station to grab some for us. We managed to chug them before we started hitching back up to the pass.

We didn’t have to wait too long before a truck pulled over and picked us up. A very nice guy who lives and works at one of the summer camps said he saw us at the gas station and was going to offer us a ride there but we left too fast. He took us to the Suttle Lake turnoff so we had to get a second hitch, which luckily happened fairly quickly. A nice couple who was on their way to the Oregon Country Fair gave us a ride to the trailhead and even sent us off with a little treat!

Our goal was super small for the day since yesterday was a struggle and temps were hitting 90 again. We took it pretty easy, drinking water and stopping in the shade. Finally made it up to where there was some snow and I put some in my hat & my shirt…what a lifesaver. Instant mood boost! Since it was still early we decided to push on to the next spot. At the next spot I half laid in the snow pile, the heat is not my friend. Again we decided we should push on, this time to a further goal, the next water source.

Stretches of snow started popping up for us to traverse, nothing too sketchy but still slowed us down. Then we stared getting into blowdowns, I’ve never hiked in such bad blowdown before! It is slow going. Constantly having to stop, figure out a route, climb over several large trees, then start hiking for a moment before you do it again. It is the worst obstacle course. There were some incredible views to make up for all the scratches and tiny stabs my legs were getting.

As we were getting along I stopped in the shade on a steep slope to drink some water and missed my pocket when I went to put my bottle back. Down the slope my bottle went but did stop not too far down. Thankfully Jake was able to get it back safely! We left this area and crossed over a ridge to an incredible view so i decided we should sit down for a couple minutes to regroup and have a snack.

Onwards through more blowdown! In one of the logs we crawled under I found a water filter and CNOC bag and picked it up to carry with us, hopefully we can get it back to the owner. Finally we started seeing ponds, hoping the next one was the water source. We found it and scared a deer who was poking around in the flowers. I asked the four campers above the lake about the filter but none were the owner. Back at the pond I leaned down to fill my bottle and came face to face with a cute little snake…so I moved a little down the shore to give it some space. As we were chilling there discussing whether to stay or hike on I swatted at something crawling on my upper thigh and got stung by a bumblebee. It hurt really bad for a bit and Jake helped pull the stinger out. It swelled up a little but I was fine overall and it made the decision to move on easier.

Two more miles through the worst blowdown yet to try to find a safe, flat spot to camp. We picked one that should be okay but still a little sketchy since it’s windy tonight and there is so many trees down in the area. We both spaced on soaking anything for dinner so we ate snacks and bars for dinner. It’s a little chilly but I am cozy in my quilt and hopeful for a less eventful day tomorrow.

I tossed and turned all night trying to get comfortable with my makeshift pillow of my puffy wrapped in my fleece. It worked okay but it wasn’t great. There was also some sort of animal making a crazy noise all night long. I wish I could figure out what is making this noise because I heard it the last time we were hiking here in Oregon. Some people said it was bears and one person said Bigfoot but it seems more like a bird based on the way the sound moves. I’ve scoured the internet and still cannot find an answer.

Woke up to take a picture of the beautiful sunrise around 5:30 and then went back to sleep for about an hour. Around 6:30 or 7 I needed to pee so I got up, put my shoes half on and promptly scraped my foot on the sharp lava rocks.

We finally got to hiking around 8, climbing immediately and with little water I was struggling a bit. Luckily the climb was a short one and we were soon in a cool forest heading down to Big Lake Youth Camp. There was a spring before the camp so we stopped here for some water. It was cold and delicious. We cruised into BLYC in pretty good spirits.

Everyone we encountered at this camp was kind, willing to go above and beyond for PCT hikers. We grabbed some water and hung out for about an hour, maybe a little more. They served lunch at 1 but we have so much food we didn’t want to stay for it. I planned for us to stop at a pond a little up the way for our lunch. On our way there I noticed that I was having some more severe chafe issues than I thought and was hoping maybe going for a swim would help calm that down.

Once we got to the pond we realized the mosquitoes were out to feast and there was no brush/rock free spot to set up the tent for cover. We also tried to decide how much water to grab from the pond because we had a big climb and no water for several miles. The temperature was 90 if not hotter. Alaska did not prepare us for these temperatures! Finally we found a flat, shaded spot almost on the trail to have a rest. We ate some food and I dozed for a bit.

Once we were back to hiking I was having more issues with the chafe and the remedies I had tried. Mosquitoes were attacking every time we slowed down so I could readjust things and then Jake got a nosebleed. Luckily he was able to get that under control pretty quickly. I was suffering though and finally started thinking about needing to go back to town to reset. After agonizing about it and maybe having a little frustration cry I booked a room in Sisters for the night. We headed over to the highway to start hitching and after not too long we got a hitch. (Thanks Matt!)

We will spend the night and regroup tomorrow, visiting the local gear shop and then hopefully heading back out to trail with a fresh perspective.

Woke up in seattle, caught train to Portland, walked to Safeway & chipotle, back to train station to catch bus, long bus ride to Sisters, so hot in sisters, walk to MacKenzie pass rd, hitching, super nice guy originally from Moline, hiked through lava rocks, struggling a bit at 5-6000ft, some blowdown & small patches of snow, lovely camp spot on soft sand next to lava rocks, set up stargazer kit, ate a fruit bar, granola bar and some olives for dinner, water is running low, next definite water in 6miles, goodnight around 10

And that’s all the energy I have to write tonight.

Since our 2021 hike didn’t end the way we had hoped we’ve been thinking and planning how to get back on trail. We moved to Anchorage, AK for 1.5 years and this week made the long road trip back to the lower 48 with the Subaru packed to the brim. The road trip took us to Tok, Whitehorse, Skagway, Liard Hot Springs, Ft St John, Williams Lake, Vancouver and finally Anacortes where our generous friend let us store our things for a bit. (Thanks Heidi!)

After spending a few days relaxing, catching up with friends, and repacking our bags we boarded the train to Seattle. We’re spending the night here in a hotel right next to the train station with a great view of Lumen Field!

Tomorrow we head to Portland bright and early where we will hop on a bus headed to Sisters, OR. In Sisters we are hoping to be able to hitch a ride to the Dee Wright Observatory where we will start hiking north to the border!

I’ve made a few changes to the things I’m bringing this time…most notably I’m not bringing a stove. Jake decided a while ago he was going to go stoveless and I scoffed at the idea…why would I want to suffer like this? Turns out, I love a good sufferfest! I’m hopeful it will be a good decision because carrying less weight is always nice. I’ve upgraded my puffy jacket, my fleece, and got new hiking clothes & shoes. Most of the big stuff stayed the same since I had no complaints last time.

Here’s to big adventures and thanks again for following along on our PCT journey!

We weren’t moving very quickly this morning but did manage to gather our things and get out of the room right on time for checkout. Before that though we were sitting in bed planning our day when the owner unlocked our door and surprised us. She felt terrible and apologized profusely for the mistake. Not a huge deal, just a little weird.

We headed back over to Cheryl’s for breakfast with all of our gear. Had another delicious breakfast and then headed out to find some shade by the river while we waited for our afternoon bus. There were a lot of families having little gatherings by the river with floats and rafts. It looked like a lot of fun. We had one beer leftover that we weren’t going to drink so I took it over to one group who gladly accepted the donation.

After a while I walked over to the food place across the way and bought a BLT and a Hawaiian ice. It took forever to get my order and while I was waiting some creepy dude walked over and asked if they were hiring…how would I know, I don’t work here, please leave me alone. Finally the food was ready and I took the Hawaiian ice over to Jake to quickly eat before we headed over to the bus stop.

We waited for a really long time and then finally I called the transit dispatcher to ask where our bus was. He told me that it seemed that our request had gotten deleted but he was going to make it right. I was super annoyed because we had to make a connection to get to the pass and we definitely were past that time. Thankfully a bus showed up and the driver had a plan. We made it to a different connection point and the other bus came on time. The driver made a snide remark about us not being prepared or something so I let him know that it was Kern Transit that messed up and not us. I was not in the mood.

Finally we were at the pass and could start hiking. The temperature wasn’t cool but it at least wasn’t 104 like earlier in the day. We hiked for a bit and decided to stop for dinner at a spot where some other hikers had set up for the night. We chatted for a bit and decided to keep going. Hiking until midnight past a lot of other sleeping hikers we made it to our spot. There was a curious mouse when we were setting up and we both hoped it wouldn’t be a problem overnight.

I’m up early for no reason so I just lay quietly and catch up on the internet until Jake wakes up. Once he does wake up I make coffee in the keurig and bring it back to bed along with a Milano cookie that was provided in the coffee station. It’s glorious. Coffee & cookies in bed is a great way to wake up.

Eventually we made our way over to Cheryl’s Diner for breakfast. There were a lot of other hikers there, some we recognized and a lot of new ones. After breakfast we walked to the outfitters for some things and ran into Ana outside. She was headed out of town but it was nice to quickly catch up. The outfitter was stocked with anything we needed and some stuff that was a luxury purchase…like the sale tshirt I bought so I wouldn’t have to wear my hot jacket all day.

Back to the room to gather our laundry and head over to the grocery for a small resupply. Luckily this town is super small so we never have to go very far for anything. We walked across the street to start our laundry and then next door to the grocery. You can tell they don’t get a ton of hikers because the selection was fine but not great. We only needed a couple days of food this time so we were done shopping in a short amount of time. Jake ran over to switch our clothes to a dryer while I checked out and then met him at the laundromat.

After all our chores were done we decided to walk over to the brewery for lunch. The food was very good and so was the beer. We didn’t get as many weird looks as we did last night when we went in there all dirty and stinky. Soon we headed back to the room where Jake convinced me to get in the pool with him. We ran into pricepoint and Honeybear on our way in and made plans to go to dinner together. We swam around for a little bit while I finished my can of wine and then headed upstairs to shower and try to look presentable for dinner.

Dinner was okay, I don’t think anyone was very impressed with the food but oh well. It was fun to hang out and chat with pricepoint & Honeybear. We all walked back to the motel together and went our separate ways for the night. It sounds like they are going to try to take the early bus out to Walker Pass but it’s supposed to be another scorcher so we won’t be doing that.

Up early and trying to be quiet packing up at 3am. It was slightly windy all night so I don’t think either of us slept great. We were both motivated to get going though because the promise of a bed and shower was just at the end of these 19 miles.

We started hiking around 4 and of course we were climbing right away. I saw my first scorpion just hanging out on the trail! It was a big one and creeped me out so I ran away before I could get a picture. It was still a little windy so there were points where most of what I could see in my headlamp light was just dust. Soon we got near the top of the climb and could catch the sunrise so we stopped for a snack and watched it for a bit.

More hiking up and down dusty hills as it was getting hotter. We were really pushing to get these miles done by 2pm because that’s when the bus was supposed to be at Walker Pass. Around 10 am I was hurting and just had a moment. My right foot was hurting with every step and I was having a hard time keeping up with Jake. I had a little breakdown and then was fine to keep going. In a little bit we found a shady rock to lay down on, elevated my foot, and ate a snack. I get ready to get the rest of these miles done.

Around 12:30 we realized we were making great time and took another break under a shady tree. Another hiker cruised by like it was nothing and I couldn’t believe he didn’t look like the heat was bothering him at all. As we were laying there we noticed a helicopter coming low into the canyon. It seemed like they were maybe looking for someone but we couldn’t be sure. I hoped they didn’t confuse us with the lost or injured hikers but had no idea what you signal to say “it’s not us! We look like we need help because it’s 1000 degrees but it’s not us!”.

We decided to get moving and watched the helicopter circle around and eventually lower someone to the ground. It was so cool to see but we still had no idea what was going on. We finally made it to the trail register close to the road and someone started waving us down from the campground. It was Carlos and his wife with Trail Magic! We walked down and both had a Pepsi. It was perfect. They had a great spread but we didn’t want to take much because we were heading into town. Soon we moved along to the road to get reception and figure out the bus.

At the road I called the Kern transit and learned the bus wasn’t coming until 3pm so we had almost an hour to wait. We were heading to Kernville so I made sure to specifically ask if the bus went there and the dispatcher assured me it did. We went up the hill to hide in the tiny bit of shade of a Joshua tree. It was apparently a popular pee spot off the highway because it didn’t smell great but we found a tiny pee-free area to wait for the bus. Once it got closer to pickup time we walked down the hill to wait on the road. All of a sudden we hear a disembodied voice come from the other side of the road asking if we knew what the high was supposed to be today. I replied, “Yes, 107”, the voice told us it was 108 in Ridgecrest and then finally a person appeared. It was the “trail angel” Mark who we had seen at a couple places before. He was down at the campground earlier and I saw him come up here but it was weird how he just appeared out of the bushes. We both wondered if he was just watching us from the other side this whole time. A little creepy for sure.

We hop on the bus and I find a phone, I quickly jump off and ask the hikers who just exited if they lost a phone & of course, someone had. I’m glad that guy didn’t lose his phone! Finally on our way to town. After a while the bus driver asks where we are heading and I tell him Kernville, well wouldn’t you know, this bus doesn’t go there. Great. He gives me directions on how to request a Dial a ride and drops us at the Lake Isabella senior center. We have to wait for an hour or so for another bus to a town that’s 14 minutes away by car.

We wait in the shade for a while and then Jake notices a sign advertising ice cream just around the fence from where we are. We go over but can’t find an ice cream place. There’s a subway there with cold Gatorade so we do that instead and head back to our spot to wait. It gets close to the time so we head to the bus stop to wait there. A couple shows up and asks if we are headed to Bakersfield. We tell them no, we are waiting for dial a ride. The woman tells us we have to wait at a different stop. We thank her for the info and move over to the other stop, hoping we haven’t missed the bus. We thankfully didn’t and soon enough were on our way to Kernville.

We made it to the motel without incident but when we got there no one was around to let us into a room. It had been a really long day at this point but we were both able to keep our cool until we got our room information. Finally it was time to drop our stuff, go pick up pizza, shower and relax.

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of scratching outside the tent near my head. I turned on my headlamp to find hundreds of ants crawling all over my bag and in the vestibule area. I was stressing and Jake told me that we could deal with it in the morning.

Waking up in the morning to deal with the ants was annoying. At least 10 large ants had gotten themselves into the end of my Sawyer water filter so I spent about 20 minutes knocking the filter against a rock and back flushing to get them all out. So much for getting an early start. Finally I got all the ants out of my things and we were ready to roll out to our first water cache of the day.

The water cache was fully stocked and we loaded up with what we thought was enough water to get us to the next cache. Turns out the high for the day was going to be 103 and I didn’t have enough water to not have to ration. We made it to our lunch spot as the heat was the worst and tried to find some shade. We first tried the old mining equipment but soon were over run by ants so we moved over to the shade of some Joshua trees. Jake got restless and said he was ready to go to our camping destination around 3. I wasn’t ready yet so I told him to go ahead and I would see him later. When he left I took a nap and tried to pump myself up to get back into the heat.

I left the spot around 3:40 and started hiking. I was cruisin at first because it was all downhill. Soon I was climbing and the clouds had dissipated enough to make it very warm again. I tried eating candy to distract myself from my thirst and put on some music but it was still a slog. About 2.5 miles from camp I was done with the climb and needed to know how much water I had left because I was struggling. I was excited and a little annoyed to find out I had an entire liter in my hydration pack. I started chugging water and almost running the downhill to camp. I ran out of water just as I got to the last turn to the campsite and water cache.

Jake was sitting near the cache waiting for me to show up. I filled some bottles and started drinking to catch up from the day of not enough water. We stayed in this spot for a while to eat dinner. Soon other hikers started showing up and saying there were at least 8 people behind coming here to camp. I heard this and moved my stuff over to the spot we thought would be good for the night. When we were getting ready to head over to our spot another hiker started chatting with Jake for a long while and I looked up to see Honeybear coming down the trail. It was great to see a friendly face and catch up for a while.

Finally we got all set up right before the sun completely went down and got mentally prepared for a 3am wake up call. We are planning to hike by 4am to try to not suffer too much in the 107 degree day.

Woke up itching to get to the water source 9 miles away. We were both going to have to conserve water because we didn’t carry enough the day before. I can’t wait to be in places where water is less of a concern. It was hot again and I was dragging. There was a lot of hiking on hot dirt roads with very little shade. I kept trying to make it to the next bit of shade just for a little break.

As we were getting closer to the water source I came around the corner surprised to find Jake waiting there. It was mile 600! We were both absolutely beat and so close to water so it wasn’t much of a celebration. I think I said “oh!” when Jake pointed out the mile marker, not very enthusiastic.

We finally made it to the water source only to find a small trickle and cow poop all over. The pipe that was there had gotten clogged with mud but neither of us knew that until another hiker showed up and started investigating. I had already gathered some water from the trickle and filtered and drank some. I was tempted to treat this water after I filtered it but I also just couldn’t wait 4 hours so I took my chances. Thankfully I didn’t have any issues. We filled a few bottles and decided to move up the trail a bit to find shade for lunch.

It was an immediate climb from water and I was needing to eat so I picked one of the first flat spots I could find. Unfortunately it was in tall grass and we were soon being visited by ticks. Gross. We quickly packed up and moved along to another spot where we just had to deal with ants. I was able to take a short nap so I was feeling much better by the time we took off to finish our afternoon miles.

We got down into a more tree filled area so that was a relief. As we got closer to our next water source we heard some distant gun shots which was jarring coming from the quiet seclusion of the forest. Moving along quickly through that area got us to the turnoff to the spring. This was the best spring yet! Super cold and clear water flowing fast from a pipe. It was fantastic.

After filtering water we picked up and headed another few miles to camp. It wasn’t far but it was still hot so it felt like it took a while. Finally we made it to the spot and it was perfect. The views were nice and there were no other hikers around. We made dinner and called it a night. Late in the night I woke up to the sounds of hikers going by and one of them was clearly upset that we were in the spot they were aiming for. I guess in the dark they couldn’t tell that there was space for several other tents near us. Oh well.

It was a quick and easy 5 mile hike to the road where we could try to hitch into town so we had a little bit of a lazy morning. The miles went by fast as we walked around the ski resort and before we knew it we were at the road with three other hikers waiting for a ride. They had already called for a shuttle from the place they were staying and told us we could try to squeeze in with them. Eventually the ride showed up and the driver definitely looked like he had just woken up. Oh well, he agreed to take us to town before dropping off the other hikers.

Wrightwood isn’t very big so we were easily able to walk everywhere. We went across the street from where we were dropped for a big breakfast. We took our time eating and hanging here because the brewery wasn’t open yet and we weren’t able to check into our room until later in the afternoon. Once the brewery opened we headed over there to drink beers on the deck and plan our next section of miles. After beers we needed to get packages from the post office so we could go check in. On our way to the Mt. View Cabins we saw a bunch of hikers we hadn’t seen in a week or so when we took a zero in Big Bear lake. It was nice to catch up with everyone.

The cabin was a little weird but it was totally fine for us stinky hikers. The owner walked us over and took us inside to show us around. There were a long list of rules posted by the door and little notes around the entire place about what not to do. The bed was comfy though!

We unpacked our boxes & decided to take showers. One of the boxes was a surprise and was full of birthday treats so of course we had to dig right in and try everything. After showers we decided to walk over to the Mexican restaurant for dinner. We went to the grocery for a few things and then it was back to the room to be lazy until bedtime.

We got out of camp a little later than normal but not very late. It was going to be a hot day so we wanted to get some miles done before taking a lunch break. As we were hiking we passed a tent that looks just like ours and wondered if it was pricepoint and Honeybear. I thought for sure there was no way they were at the same mileage as us but Jake said he thought he saw them on trail a little ahead of last night.

We were heading to water and it was already stupid hot at 8am. Once we finally made it to the spring we started filling up and decided to take a short snack break in the nice shade there. I was almost done filtering water when two loud bikes pulled up the road. I was hoping they were just passing by but they came down to the spring driving right through a campsite and stirring up a ton of dust. They seemed nice at first but then when Jake was out of earshot the one guy made some weird comments to me about who was carrying my bag for me and other crap so I quickly grabbed my things and made my way down to a tree away from the hikers.

Onwards to lunch through a burn and next to a construction site where they are rebuilding some power lines. We could see a stand of trees down the way and made a beeline down the trail to it. Lunch was a three hour affair just trying to wait out the heat a little. I took a nap and listened to some podcasts while we hung out there. Soon some clouds started rolling in and we decided to get moving. Hiking in the afternoon with shade provided by clouds was way better!

We got to camp and settled in and planned to get up a little earlier tomorrow to beat the heat.

Up a little bit early to pack everything up and head over to the diner for breakfast again. There were some people all dressed up in there western best for the Memorial Day dancing party at the VFW. One of the old guys stared at the side of my head until he finally loudly told me we could go dancing all day! I nicely thanked him for the info but said we were headed out of town.

We were planning to catch the bus to the trailhead so we had some time to kill after we ate. Luckily there was a nice shaded park across the street so we hung out at a picnic table and I tried to catch up on the blog. Soon a few hikers we know started trickling over to chat so less and less blog work was getting done.

Soon enough it was time to catch the bus and we were off on our way back to trail. The bus in Tehachapi was very convenient and easy to use. We got on trail in the late afternoon so it was pretty hot out but we made fairly quick work of the miles.

On the way to camp we started seeing large prints in the sand…it’s a bear! The prints were headed the opposite direction of our camp so we weren’t too concerned. This section had lots of comments about bear sightings so were on alert.

Once at camp we made dinner and relaxed a little. We were treated to a fantastic sunset and then turned in for the night.

Trying to sleep in on our first zero almost never works out for me so of course I was awake a little before 7. We definitely stayed lounging in bed until around 9:30 though. Finally getting around to breakfast at the local diner where I drank way too much coffee as usual.

We had already planned our resupply so we walked straight over to the grocery. It always takes longer to shop when we have a lot of choices and we had tons of choices. We ran into Dean in the store and I gave him some cooking tips because he was worried about how much fuel he had been using. Most of the things we make for dinners don’t need to be simmered for as long as the packaging says, a quick boil and then patience will get you the same results.

Once we were done with groceries we were hungry again so we had to stop at Del Taco before heading back to the room. More relaxing and hanging out before we were planning to get steaks for dinner. Jakes Steakhouse was our destination for the evening. I was so excited after trying in two other towns to get steak and a baked potato. It’s funny the things you get a craving for on trail.

A dirty gin martini, steak & potatoes and a free dessert because we had to wait for about 1.5 hours for our food. There was a moment where I thought for sure we were going to be foiled again but they came through for us and it was everything I hoped.

Zero day #2 started with a trip to the German bakery where we bought way too many pastries and an enormous sandwich for lunch later. Our only plan was to lay around and we stuck to that plan. It was a little boring but it’s so important to truly rest on our days off. The only time we left the room again was to walk over to the Italian restaurant for pasta dinners.

Only 17 miles to go today and thank goodness because everyone was overtired and hot first thing. Sleep wasn’t great again because of the wind. We filtered some water from the tiny stream and headed out to climb through he hot desert again. I was carrying a lot of water because I knew it was going to be hot and our next source was a cache which you can’t always rely on.

Jake pushed ahead of me so he got to the cache before me. He was going to walk right by since he had enough water but Daniel, the cache maintainer, called out to him asking if he’d like some fruit or something. When I got there I was so amazed and excited to see umbrellas providing shade. Daniel was cutting up pineapple for us and I also had a mandarin orange. I drank an entire liter of water while we were stopped there and then grabbed a little package of cheese crackers for the road. It was such a nice surprise!

We only walked a little ways more to find some other shade in the trees to eat our lunch and hangout until late afternoon when it might be cooler. When we got there I needed to go to the bathroom so I started to trudge up the hill into the trees and almost stepped on a huge snake crossing my path. Yikes! It wasn’t a rattler so I wasn’t too worried but still I don’t like snakes and I especially don’t like stepping on them. Once our lunch break was over we headed on to our camp spot.

Along the way we passed Mosey who was having a tough time with her IT band. She was hobbling along, I felt so bad but there wasn’t really anything we could do to help so onwards we went. The wind was bad again in certain areas so I had pulled my hood tight over the brim of my hat and was just looking at the ground trying to get through these last miles. I got to a point where I looked up and there were multiple trails and I panicked for a moment because I didn’t see Jake. For a second I thought maybe I lost the trail but walked just a bit further and saw Jake standing in the shade of some Joshua trees, phew!

Finally we were at our camp spot near the first road to Tehachapi! Once there though we started to worry we were going to have another windy night. Neither of us had the energy to be fighting the wind again and we just wanted to relax so we decided to hitch into town a night early. We didn’t have to wait long before a guy coming home from work kindly picked us up and dropped us at our hotel. We called in a takeout order, went to pick it up, showered and then just laid in bed watching silly stuff on TV, it was glorious.