PCT #3: First 20 mile day! Miles 77-154

The flora is constantly changing on the PCT. Each day brings unique plants that we will only see that day. These giant, fun cactus fall into that category - we only saw them on the short climb out of Julian and would never see them again.

We sleep in, enjoying the feeling of clean, cozy sheets. We are in Julian, having just spent our first night in a hotel. The plan for today is to resupply for our two day walk to Warner Springs, but most importantly to go back to the brewery for lunch. It’s just that good.

Both Syd and I have been having foot problems. The top of my left foot hurts from wearing my sandals around Mt. Laguna a few days ago. I’ve had this pain before, but it typically wouldn’t get this bad and would only last a few hours, not days. We haven’t slow down to give my foot time to heal, and I don’t want to. I spent years walking in my hiking shoes, making sure they worked for my feet and it is my camp shoes that cause the injury.

Syd, on the other hand, has ten painful blisters. She is wearing hiking shoes she loves in BC, but likely the heat and endless miles has caused her feet to swell making her shoes too small. We stop by the gear store for advice - they recommend trying Altras which are know for a wide toe box but also being zero drop. A zero drop shoe is unusual, most shoes have millimetres of difference between the height of the toe and the heel. Altras have none, which can be hard to adjust to as sometimes the back of your calf has to stretch to accommodate the change.

Syd is wavering. We’ve been hiking with someone, Eric, who has been having a hellish time with his Altras - his arches and calves are recked. By a stroke of luck, Raingle finds a similar sized pair of Altras in the hiker box.

Hiker boxes are bins found in businesses along the trail that hold hiker’s discarded gear. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure! In the hiker box at our hotel, we found coffee, a great pair of socks, Patagonia merino t-shirt (score!) and granola bars. You’ll also find useless things like unlabeled ziplocks of food, undistinguishable white powder (milk powder, mashed potatoes or detergent?), and lots of almost-empty fuel cans.

We load our stuffed packs into Raingle’s truck, complete with leftover pizza and beers, and head back to trail. Unfortunately our clothes haven’t dried yet so they are dangling from our packs and the added weight of wet clothes and fresh food, make our bags heavy.

The trail starts with a 700 foot climb, so we leave after lunch when the sun isn’t as strong. Much to our excitement, there is a new kind of cactus on this hill and it is huge! They’re tall and look like something out of a Disney movie, with giant spikes.

The hike out involves many switch backs as you climb to elevation. Then you walk along a small, one foot wide path cut into the mountain. The wind starts to pick up and the sun is about to set, which leads to us camping at the first available spot. It’s tucked into the corner of the mountain, between two peaks where the water would drain. It’s as protected a spot as we will find, and again we only have room for one tent.

A good 45 minutes is spent setting up the tent in the wind. We barricade the sides with rocks, our bags and rain gear, hoping to prevent the wind from entering. Just before sunset, we grab the pizza and beer and enjoy the view. It’s moments like these that make me love hiking. Sitting on top of a mountain, eating pizza, drinking a beer and chatting with a friend.

We agree to wake up even earlier the next day. I get up at 4:45am, Syd at 4:30am because she has 10 blisters to tape. We stopped short yesterday, so today we plan to make up for lost miles. We need to be in Warner Springs when the post office opens. As usual, in the morning the miles come easy. We cruise along ridges, into valleys, out of valleys and reach our first water cache.

In the desert, it can be miles between natural or government-supplied water sources so kind people setup water caches on long waterless stretches. This section would have been an 24 mile water carry if it wasn’t for the trail angles that maintain this cache. Whenever we find decent shade, Syd and I take a break. At the water cache, we take off our shoes and socks, lay down on our ground sheet and lay with our feet resting on our packs. It almost feels like you are sitting in a lawn chair. At 17 miles we are tired and at our last water source of the day. We debate camping here, but the water is right beside a road. We didn’t walk all this way to camp beside cars so we trek on making this our longest day on trail yet.

We stop just shy of 18 miles or 29 km. Today we’ve decided to try cowboy camping. Cowboy camping is where you sleep directly under the stars, not in a tent. I had yet to see the stars as we were typically vertical by 8pm and awake at dawn. The idea was intriguing and terrifying. Would a coyote come say hi at 3am? We stared up at the sky, wrapped up like burritos and watched as the stars slowly came into focus. It was beautiful. At first we spotted the usual suspects, the Big and Little Dipper, but as the sun’s light disappeared we could see lots of little stars all speckled between. I woke up unexpectedly in the middle of the night, put on my glasses, and couldn’t figure out where the Big Dipper was.

We were both super snuggled up and all was great until morning when we woke in a cloud. Yup, fog had entered the valley removing visibility and soaking our sleeping bags and everything else that was exposed. We stay curled up, hoping the sun would burn the clouds off.

The walk is chilly yet refreshing. We hike through fog on fields filled with cows. We can barely make out their shapes in the fog. The field looks haunted and the cow’s low moos really set the mood. There is no fence separating us from the cows, and we walk through their turf stepping over cow patties as we go up and down rolling hills. I spot a bull not too far from the trail, and it spots me. I try to ignore the slight panic and feign a relaxed state as I use my side eye to watch his horns as I pass.

Miles later we would run into a man called Beef Boy, who is from northern England and scared of cows. Rightfully so! He tells us a few stories and it turns out cows are known to stampede towards people. Once one cow moves, they all follow like sheep and they don’t stop until they trample you or you get out of the way.

Before we know it, we are at eagle rock, a landmark of the PCT. It’s a rock formation that has weathered away into the shape of an eagle. We pause for photos and meet two ladies in their 70s who are hiking the PCT together. Over the next few days we would play leap frog with these ladies, taking turns to pass each other during the day. The goal is to get to Warner Springs in the early morning, so we can pick up our resupply box, dry out our sleeping bags and eat lunch.

At the road crossing for Warner Springs, we try to hitch for about 10 minutes before giving up and starting the one mile walk into town. Although one mile doesn’t sound like much, it is an extra mile and it doesn’t get us closer to our goal. Non-trail miles are painful miles. About three quarters of the way there, a guy pulls over to give us a ride and a free banana. Score! He’s just starting his day of shuttling hikers to and from the trail head and we are his first hitch of the day.

In Warner Springs, we pick up our box and it is like Christmas as we open it. We both can’t remember what we put in there and are pleasantly surprised by the soap, baggies and food. I’m also excited because this is my first chance to mail my “extra” gear. My foot hasn’t improved, so I’m dropping everything I can to help it heal. On the chopping block are my camp sandals, the hip belt pockets (only a couple of ounces but I don’t use them), my fuzzy wind protector for recording video (which I have never used), a giant charger (which I have replaced with a smaller one sent to Idyllwild) and lastly, I sadly deconstruct my leather journal. The leather is too heavy so I carefully cut the binding cord and took out just the paper sections I need. I’m very crafty so won’t have a problem reconstructing it. I write in the journal every night - one page per day writing mileage and highlights.

We aren't the only ones with soaking wet gear. It turns out those who slept in tents also have wet sleeping bags and tents. We enjoy a 4$ gas station hot dog with other hikers as all of our tents and sleeping bags, strewn throughout the parking lot, dry out in the sun.

The first few miles out of Warner are stunning - the fields are yellow and rolling. I blast the song "I Got You (I Feel Good)" by James Brown, and am loving every minute of this walk. Today we will walk near an idyllic stream, crossing it almost every mile. Right before we say goodbye to the stream, Syd and I stop to collect water for the climb. We notice a natural pool carved from the rocks and take the opportunity to soak our feet in the cool running water. Before we know it, we are both sitting in it, trying to both wash our clothes and cool our muscles.

By chance, Angler and Lightening Bolt walk by and we are given an opportunity to catch up! Now it is late in the day and Syd and I have to give up our goal of miles that day. However, Angler and Lightening Bolt let us know that the famous Paradise Valley Cafe closes at 3pm, not at 8pm which is listed on their website. With this calculation in mind, we realize we will need to try and hit 21 miles tomorrow so we only have 14 trail miles and a 1 mile road walk to paradise valley cafe.

It’s going to be a tough couple of days. We decide to cowboy camp to hopefully speed up our morning. We know to make this goal, we will have to make good progress in the morning, when we are our fastest and most pain free. We begin our trek just after 6am and devise a goal to try and hit 14 miles before 12pm. We hold strong for the first half of the morning, completing 7 miles by 8:45, but lose momentum as the sun intensifies. We then spend too long in the shade as we collect water and mingle with other hikers. We are passing and being passed by the same groups of hikers and begin to recognize faces. Mike is a trail angle, who has multiple water tanks for hikers and since this is the only water for miles, we all congregate.

The hike out of Mikes is straight up and we leave at almost the peak of the day. We planned to rest at 12, but want to finished the climb first. It’s hot and steep and our umbrellas provide just enough sun protection to keep a decent pace. By the time we break, it’s closer to 2pm and we didn’t reach our goal of doing 14 miles by 12pm. Instead we have gone slightly over 14 by 2pm. We settle into the shade, let our bodies rest and eat lunch. We start hiking again at 3:30pm and know we have a gruelling 7 miles ahead. My feet and knees haven’t been this sore and each mile takes an eternity. We usually walk three miles an hour in the morning and right now we are walking less than two. Those seven miles take three and a half hours. We are wiped when we get to camp and silently setup our tents, prepare our dinner and stretch. We know tomorrow is another big day to get to those burgers. We have 15 miles to Paradise Valley Cafe and need to get there before closing at 3pm. Considering how today went, we decide to we need to get going even earlier and aim to leave camp at 5am. It’s almost 8pm when I’m in bed and I try to fall asleep as it’s a 4am wake up tomorrow.

It’s our first time hiking in the dark and we use our headlights to see the path. My fear is stepping on a rattle snake, so I walk slow and careful. Slowly, the sunlight seeps over the mountains. We make good progress, as usual for mornings, and get to the last 1500 foot climb of the day around 11am. I’m exhausted but know shade, a bathroom, a beer and a burger are the end of this climb. The last one mile walk to the cafe is painful. The trail follows the highway with no shade. We stumble into the cafe at 1pm, just excited to sit down and rest our feet.

At the cafe, all the waiters call us honey and dear as they wait on all the smelly hikers. We sneak a spot inside and order tangerine beers, so good. The menu is car themed, so Syd orders the BMW burger and I the Austin Martin. We finish but don’t want to leave so I order a chocolate milk shake to put myself into food coma. The cafe is super hiker friendly. They provide trash, water, shade and allow hikers to spend the night on their patio. We lounge around outside until 4pm, chatting with other hikers. Almost everyone is hitching into Idyllwild and we certainly see the appeal. We are tired and sore and the most gruelling section since the start is ahead of us. It’s only 28 miles, but we will gain almost 4000 feet of elevation with many ups and downs in between.

I’m feeling nervous as I know a few PCT hikers have lost their life in this section. I’m comforted by the fact that we are entering late and the snow that causes issues is gone. We end up doing 5 miles from the cafe and set up camp in a protected spot. I can’t wait for bed. The sunset is gorgeous, and lights up the sky as we get ready for bed. I was so tired I burnt my pot during dinner and am grumpy. I can’t enjoy the beauty that’s in front of me.

Section Stats

Day 7: May 1st 77.3-84.5 (7.2 miles)

Day 8: May 2nd 84.5-102.6 (18.1 miles)

Day 9: May 3rd 102.6-117.3 (14.7 miles)

Day 10: May 4th 117.3-138.1 (20.8 miles)

Day 11: May 5th 138.1-154.4 (16.3 miles )

Best of FarOut

Referring to the Cows:

Here I stopped to pee
Bessy lowed at me
Moo-ved by her plead
I turned my back as I peed - ULTRA