Which Way Is North?

CAMPSITE AT PCT 129.2 TO PARADISE VALLEY CAFE PCT MILE 151.9 22.6 Miles We had one goal today – to make it to the legendary Paradise Valley Cafe in time to get food before they closed at 8 p.m. It was 22.6 miles on the PCT and one more mile on the road from where we camped high on the ridge below Combs Peak. It was an awesome campsite, and a beautiful sunrise as we packed up this morning. The first few miles were cool and downhill and meandering. We took a break a little before 10 a.m. and then we climbed and climbed and climbed. This section reminded me of hiking out of the Grand Canyon with my family years ago. Red rock, little shade, lots of lizards. Stephen and I saw our first (and fingers crossed only) rattlesnake this morning. We didn't stick around long enough to take a photo. We reached a water cache at mile 145 that was unlike any other. A trail angel named Mary, who we didn't get to meet, not only had water and picnic tables, but also a free little library l...

WARNER SPRINGS 109.5 TO CAMPSITE HIGH AT COMB'S PEAK PCT MILE 129.2 19.7 Miles We started hiking at 6:30 this morning and the first few miles followed a beautiful, shaded creek. It was such a treat after the hot, open meadows yesterday afternoon. We passed through an area that looked like an abandoned hunting camp and after some fast, flat miles we climbed all morning to Lost Valley Spring. By this point, it was 11 a.m. and we set up the tent in the shade to wait out the heat of the day. Thank goodness for the tent –  the flies were unbelievable! (Stephen now writing) They buzzed around our tent like we were an aquarium exhibit; instead of water there was a cloud of stench. Tent time was a treat. I read a few chapters of my David Sedaris book and napped, Kelly mostly napped. We thought the flies might die down over the four hours we were there. They did not. I scrambled out of the tent and threw my rain pants on and passed Kelly hers for bug defense and proceeded to p...

Notice the rock formation! MILE 91.1 TO WARNER SPRINGS 18.4 Miles (Trip Total: 109.5 Miles) We passed the 100 mile mark this morning! Wahoooo! Maybe in the next 100 I'll be strong enough to stand up from this position with my pack on. We started hiking about 6:30 this morning and got to Barrel Spring, the first natural water source we've seen in more than 40 miles, by about 10:30. We filled up there, ate a snack and continued, aiming to get to the town of Warner Springs before the post office closed at 4 p.m. The next section was horribly hot and unshaded. For the first time, we hiked through open, dry meadows, passing a remarkable natural feature, aptly named Eagle Rock. We made it to town by 2:30, picked up our resupply box at the post office, and send home a few extra items. For me, it was my long pants and fleece. I might need them again later, but for now I'll save the weight. From there, a nice lady gave us a ride to the Resource Center, a building ru...

CAMPSITE 71.1 TO WATER CACHE AT SCISSORS CROSSING AT 77.0 SCISSORS CROSSING AT 77.0 TO MILE 91.1 NEAR THIRD GATE WATER CACHE 20 Miles (Trip Total: 91.1 Miles) Waking up at 6 a.m. was tough after hiking into the evening last night, but we knew we had to do it because it gets very hot very fast after the sun rises.  We usually get water at streams along the trail, run it through our filter, and then drink it. In the desert section of the PCT there are stretches that don't have any streams. Thankfully, amazingly generous volunteers stock water caches where hikers can refill their bottles. Today we sat next to a water cache under the highway overpass, like hobos, for the hot part of the day. The hot part of the day lasts a long time in the desert. Six hours. We napped and read, chatted with passing hikers, and ate a big meal. It still felt like a huge waste of time, but hiking at 6 p.m. is far more enjoyable than hiking at 1 p.m. I still ...

SUNRISE HIGHWAY TRAILHEAD TO MILE 71.1 CAMPSITE 11.6 Miles (Trip Total: 71.1) We decided to spend most of the day in the neat little town of Julian to avoid hiking in the heat of the day. Stephen and I bought some hiking food to get us through to Warner Springs, the next town along the trail. Carmen cooked some tasty burritos for breakfast and Stephen and I ate a humongous pizza for lunch. We washed our clothes, soaked our aching feet, enjoyed the company of other hikers, and Carmen's puppy, Rigby! It felt strange to sit around all day, but it was just too hot to hike.  We left Carmen's restaurant in Julian about 4:30 p.m. and walked to the end of town to get a hitch back to where we got off the trail along the Sunrise Highway.  Stephen and I, plus our fellow hikers Baby Squirrel and Sarah, were hiking by just after 5 p.m., and the temperature was finally comfortable. Night hiking might be the solution to the dreadfully hot weather and lack of shade through...

MOUNT LAGUNA TO SUNRISE HIGHWAY 18.4 miles (Trip Total: 59.5) We were packed and ready to go by 5:30 a.m. It was a chilly start but much preferred to the afternoon heat. By about nine it was already hot. The sun is no joke. We've already gone through a tube of sunscreen. We've been wearing hoodies that I'm pretty sure were made for fly-fishing, but they have been great for keeping the sun off our necks and faces. The only reliable water was seven miles in, so we filled up four liters there to get to a road crossing eleven miles further. For most of the day we hiked along the Sunrise Highway and around 11 a.m. we stopped at a day-use area with some nice shade and bedded down for a few hours. Kelly napped while I read a bit of my book. After a couple hours we got our act together, and made some lunch – a packet of lemon pepper tuna, and a tortilla with refried black beans, cheddar, and turkey pepperoni. Our plan was to hike about seven more miles from our lu...