Hannah the hiker

Day 49 started off later than our usual mornings. We all woke up in our room around 6:30 and relaxed in the comfy beds. Around 8:30 the bunkhouse delivered juice, apples, and warm homemade donuts to our room. It was tasty. The donuts were from town and delicious.

We all left the room around 9 and went on our various errands. I bought my resupply food at the grocery store, I bought ramen for the first time since last year when I was on trail. Gams told me about a miso ramen she really liked so I thought I’d give it a try.

After the market I went to the thrift store to look for new shorts. I totally scored and found black Columbia hiking shorts. They are longer than the blue ones I had so I think they will be more comfortable.

Gams also found a hiking costume for when they are on trail during Halloween.

Gams and I went to a coffee tasting room too where we tried two types of cold brew. We didn’t know you had to make a reservation to do a full coffee tasting but the barista was nice enough to let us try cold brew. Maybe I haven’t had good coffee in a while, but this coffee was amazing.

The owner also gave us each a free sticker, that was nice.

Northbound hikers always have PCT hang tags for their backpacks, there is a volunteer that sits at the southern border and hands them out when people start. SOBOS don’t get that luxury. Zack got a pct hang tag from a forest ranger a while ago, since then Gams has been asking rangers for a tag. No one had any tags. Until she called the San Jacinto ranger station and they had tags left over from 2020! I headed over there and picked up three bag tags for Stewart, Gams, and I. It’s just a plastic PCT trail marker tag that you zip tie to your backpack. But it kind of makes things feel more official. I was happy to get it.

We left town around noon, Stewart arranged a ride for us with a local trail angel, Sara. Sara picked us up in her Westfalia. It was a nice ride back to trail.

We got on trail around 12:40. I don’t think we could have picked a worse time to start hiking. It was so hot out. I felt like I was melting. While I was hiking I kept day dreaming about cold glasses of ice water. That’s how hot and thirsty I was.

We eventually took a break with some shade around 3:30. It made me feel a little bit better.

Then we walked 4.5 more miles to the Concrete cistern. This was a strange water source. It was just this smashed hole into a cistern. It was buzzing with the sound of bees and you couldn’t see the bottom of the tank. It was eerie dipping my water bottle into the tank. I kept thinking I’d see a hand come up and grab my water bottle.

I was still thankful it was there though, it was somewhat cool water.

I kept walking and made it to our campsite 2.8 miles later. It was a pretty cruisey day. Stewart, Gams, and I walked 15.1 miles with about 1,400 feet elevation gain and 2,800 loss. Zack walked a bit farther past camp to take advantage of the cool night hiking. I enjoyed my miso ramen and went to sleep around 8.

Also, on day 48 Gams and I met Mayor Max III! He’s the dog mayor of Idyllwild, I felt honored to give him a pet.

Day 50 started early. I woke up at 3:30 and left camp by 4. I wanted to get an early start on our only climb for the day, so I wouldn’t be hiking uphill when the sun was up. I lost the trail a couple of times which is natural for me when hiking in the dark. I also freaked myself out by thinking about this spooky Halloween video I had watched a couple nights before. I normally don’t get creeped out when I’m hiking but for some reason I got spooked. I thought about flaying fetch with Cash which took my mind off of it.

I met up with Zack around 7:30. I continued on to Mikes place where the first water of the day was. Mikes place is somebody’s property that they let hikers camp on and take water from. I filled up my water bottles from the huge water tanks and took a nice break at the picnic table.

I left around 8:40. The trail was still a little overgrown but pretty cruisey. It was getting warm out but not unbearable. There was an occasional breeze and shade which made me feel a bit more comfortable.

I stopped around 11:30 for a lunch break. At that point I had gone about 17 ish miles. Gams caught up shortly after and we talked about the morning and plans for Warner Springs. Zack continued on to the next water source. Stewart hung out until 12:40. Game left around 12 to head to the next water source and take a nap.

Stewart and I had a nice lunch enjoying the shade and views.

I left around 1. My feet started to hurt a little bit and I think it’s because of a new anti chafe cream I used on them. It wasn’t too awful though, I could still walk.

I got cool water at Agua Caliente creek and then continued on. It was about 3 and I had 3 miles til the road.

Gams, Stewart, and I joined Zack on the road around 3:40. We had another glorious road walk 1 mile to the gas station in Warner Springs. There wasn’t much in Warner Springs. Seemed to be the post office, gas station, and community center.

We met Taz, the cashier who was super sweet. She filled up our water bottles with ice cold water and even gave us a ride to the community center at the end of her shift.

At the community center there are some hiker amenities. These include bucket showers/ laundry, charging stations, bathrooms, and water. We did some laundry and took bucket baths. It felt really great to wash my feet. It also just felt nice to rinse the sweat off.

We did 27.2 miles on this day with 3,400 feet elevation gain and 3,900 loss. I went to sleep around 8, I was pretty tired.

We started a bit later on day 51. Stewart’s friend, Scott, met us in Warner Springs to hike a bit. We left camp around 8:30 and headed for Eagle Rock. This is a popular landmark on the PCT. It’s a rock formation that perfectly resembles an eagle. We took some photos here and met a bunch of hikers. Probably the most people I have seen on trail since the Sierras. I continued on and got water from a creek. Scott was able to organize a ride back to his car from one of the hikers we met so he could hike another 5 miles with us. It was nice to have another hiker for a little bit.

The trail was nice and cruisey. We walked through a large meadow which I really enjoyed.

He got picked up at the road to Montezuma around 12. I went to the piped spring .1 after the road for lunch.

I ate a bunch here, I was feeling pretty hungry. This was also our last water source for 10 miles. After the water we had a gradual uphill for about 5 miles. The weather was perfect. Not too hot with a nice breeze and some shade. We all met up at the cave next to the trail. It was the perfect size to lay down in which was a little weird.

We hiked on!

We got to a water cache that’s .2 off trail around 5. This was a huge water cache, at least 50 gallon jugs full! We are pretty fortunate that trail angels go out of their way to put water here, or else it would be 18 miles with no water.

We all took a break and the rest of the Glee Club had their dinner. I don’t get jealous of cold soaking that often, but I have been a little jealous because of how effortless they make it look. They just put the food in an hour or two before a break and can just pop it out and eat it. Maybe my next long hike I will cold soak.

We saw some big clouds roll in over the mountains to our right too. They looked a bit storm like.

I only walked a mile and a half past the cache to camp. I set up my entire tent, including the rain fly, just in case. The rest of the glee club kept walking. Before Gams kept walking we screamed for a moment. I told the club about how Max and I use to scream at the same time when we were younger just to hear how the sound waves seemed to collide. So Gams and I tried it out. It was funny to just scream for no reason. Stewart and Zack screamed back from farther down the trail. I hope we didn’t freak anyone out.

I didn’t want to get to camp in the dark again so I was happy to set up before sunset. I had a nice dinner of ramen and peanut butter cookies.

I walked 19.8 miles with 2,400 feet elevation gain and 2,000 loss. It was a nice and easy cruisey day.

My campsite wasn’t the best in the wind. I got maybe 2 hours of solid sleep. The wind was whipping around and sounded like it was going to rip my tent in two.

I tried to just relax and at least take advantage of not being on my feet.

I got up at 4 and left camp by 5. It was still windy and starting to sprinkle so I wore my rain jacket and put my pack cover on my backpack.

I walked past Stewart’s camp site and then saw a kangaroo rat! I must have spooked it a bit because it ran around a bunch but I managed to get a picture. I also found Gams’s hat on the trail and carried it to her campsite.

The trail was exposed and there were tons of the barbed wire branches. These tore some more scratches into my legs.

As the sun came up I could see stormy clouds ahead of me and the sunrise to my right. It was beautiful. It’s not always fun hiking in bad weather but the views make up for it.

I also met Naps, another SOBO.

I took a break around 8. It was still a bit chilly so I kept my rain jacket on and tried to get in the sun. I had some granola bars and sharp cheddar cheese for my second breakfast! Eventually I saw Gams, Naps, and Zack. We had a cruisey 2.8 miles down to Scissors crossings. There were cacti and lots of windy switchbacks. Eventually we made it to the road and played a game of butthole toss while waiting for a ride. We timed it pretty well because the trail Angel we were staying with drove by us just as we were walking to the intersection. She drove us to Julian and our first stop was Moms Pies!

Here pct hikers get a free slice of pie, scoop of ice cream, and drink when they show their permit! I got chocolate pecan pie, ice cream, and hot apple cider! It was so tasty and warmed me up since the trail was pretty cold.

We will take the rest of the day off and then a zero tomorrow to eat some pie and meet some of Stewart’s friends.

We have 77 miles left on the trail. It doesn’t feel real.