Big Bear – Wrightwood.

Mile 266 – 363.

Days 15 – 18.

After Big Bear, the trail gradually descends from the San Gorgonio Range. As the trail makes its way out of the mountains, it follows Deep Creek, home of Deep Creek Hot Springs, a popular stop for thru-hikers. The descent bottoms out at Cajon Pass, where the trail crosses Interstate Highway 15. From there, it’s a long, gradual climb up switchbacks into the San Gabriel Range up an exposed and dry mountain face.

Day 15

My zero day had the desired effect. This morning, I awoke rested and mentally refreshed, excited to hit the trail. I made myself a skillet-sized pancake in the hostel kitchen and enjoyed a final cup of hot coffee before returning to the wilderness.

I arranged for trail angel Tiana to give me, Jack, and Twitch a ride from Big Bear Lake back to the trailhead. Tiana was wonderful and I enjoyed our chat while she drove us back out to the trail crossing on Highway 18,

As soon as I began walking, I could feel the impact of my time off. Once again, I found myself marveling at each mountain view and appreciating every new wildflower and plant I came across. I saw some tiny pink cushion flowers, which look almost exactly like the phlox in my yard at home. I also started seeing towering, branching yuccas. I learned that these are Joshua trees, from a flora guide at the hostel! How exciting! I had no idea I would see these unique plants on the PCT.

Best of all, my mind was once again more quiet today. People sometimes ask me what I think about while hiking, and most often, the answer is not much. My thoughts slow dramatically, even as the miles fly by. That was certainly the case today!

I carry a pair of Bluetooth earbuds, but have yet to use them on this trip. On the Appalachian Trail. I don’t think I listened to music until the final 100 miles or so of the hike. For me, they are really an in-case-of-emergency item. I carry bandaids in case I need to patch up a cut. I carry earphones in case I need a pick-me-up for low morale or extreme boredom.

The trail was a dream today. Beautiful pine forests and easy breezy, perfectly manicured trails. People told me that the PCT has easier terrain than the AT, and this certainly seems true so far. However, based on my experience so far, I wouldn’t say the PCT is overall easier than the AT. There are just a different set of challenges. Where the AT has rain and steep climbs, the PCT has long water carries and heat.

Thanks to the easy terrain, I didn’t mind so much that my pack was heavily overstuffed with an unreasonable amount of food. I overcompensated because I ran out heading into Big Bear. My final dinner before reaching town was corn tortilla crumbs, a tuna packet, and licking out the lid of my peanut butter tube. Not great. I overcorrected, which isn’t great either.

After hiking for an hour or two, I settled in the shade for a quiet lunch by myself; I indulged myself in probably 1000 or more calories, not so much because I was super hungry, but to lighten my load.

I also lightened my load by returning lost items to other hikers that I’d found. First, I returned a hiker’s beloved titanium spark that he’d left in our hostel’s communal kitchen. Next, I ran into a thru-hiker named Swish who I’d shared a cabin with in Idyllwild. I’d been carrying his lost cork ball ever since and finally was able to return it.

I reached my planned campsite at 5 pm or so. Not bad for a 20-mile day starting at 10:30 am! It felt wrong to stop so early. As I’ve said before, sunset is my favorite time of day to hike. I love how peaceful it feels, and how the mountains glow pink. Swish and I both opted to hike a few more miles and found a nice dry campsite on a small hill with a view.

Once again, I cowboy camped under the stars without pitching my tent. My fancy DCF tarp has become just a very expensive pillow.

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Day 16

Today was a very relaxed day. And still, somehow, I managed to hike almost 20 miles.

I woke up when the sun hit my sleeping bag around 6 am, which is starting to feel like sleeping in! A lot of hikers out here get going before the sun even rises.

Today, there was a lot of downhill, dropping out of the San Gorgonio Range. Normally I would be bummed about leaving the mountains, but today, I had something even better to look forward to: hot springs!

My destination for the evening was Deep Creek Hot Springs. It’s a natural hot spring in the backcountry, and the PCT goes right by it!

The morning miles were mostly uneventful, apart from seeing a snake and a massive hive of huge black bees. Around lunch time, I stopped for a quick swim in the creek. Cooling off in the freezing water was just what I needed to tackle the last few miles before the hot springs.

Shortly before reaching the hot spring, I got stung by a honeybee on my finger while hiking. I haven’t had a bee sting in years and I was surprised to be attacked so suddenly. Honeybees are usually not aggressive, as they die shortly after they sting a person, unlike wasps which can sting multiple times and survive.

I arrived at the hot spring before 3 pm – the earliest I’ve arrived at a campsite on this trip. Furthermore, this would also be my first night not dry camping (camping away from a water source), but rather camping next to a creek. So far, I’ve seen very few bugs on this trip because I’ve avoided camping next to water.

The hot springs are located within the aptly named Deep Creek. There were several small man-made rock pools along the edge of the creek filled with warm water. The largest main pool was roughly the temperature of a hot tub.

Many thru-hikers take a trail zero or nero at this location (day off or partial day off). It’s a fantastic place to relax and recharge. Best of all, it’s free, unlike taking a day off in town. Even on a Tuesday, there were quite a few people there. Some were locals (mostly nudists, oddly enough) who day-hiked hiked there to soak in the hot water. The rest were thru-hikers like me, including several I hadn’t met yet and several I’ve hiked with recently.

When I first arrived, I had no desire to get into the hot spring, due to the daytime high temperatures in the 80s. But it was still nice to spend an afternoon relaxing in the shade under the large trees on the riverbank.

Eventually, in the evening, I sat in the hot spring. It was so relaxing to just soak in the warm water after a day of hiking. When I got in my sleeping bag, cowboy camping on the riverbank next to friends, I felt like my body was radiating heat. As if I’d absorbed warmth from the hot water and sun all day and slowly it was seeping back out of my body.

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Day 17

I awoke at the hot spring campsite in the predawn light. It wasn’t even 5 am, but I woke up feeling like I’d slept for a week! The hot spring worked its healing powers on my tired body and soul. I felt recharged and excited to go! And I wasn’t the only one feeling ready to hike – GTA, Swish, and I all decided to try to hike 27 miles today.

I packed up quickly and sat with my feet in the hot pool while I ate my breakfast, enjoying one last bit of warm water. I stayed longer than I meant to, but still hit the trail as the sun was barely illuminating the tops of the canyon walls.

The hike out of Deep Creek was stunning, and one of my favorite bits of the trail so far. The trail winded high along the sheer canyon wall, with views down to the creek below. It was all a very gradual downhill too, and easy hiking.

After leaving the canyon, we met a Trail Angel named SeaGypsy, who was doing trail magic at a road crossing: doughnuts, fruit, and soda. Trail magic is when a person surprises thru-hikers with something good at a road crossing. Usually food or drink. It was a fantastic treat!

Fueled up and on flat terrain, the miles flew by! This was probably some of the fastest hiking I’ve done so far, despite the temps in the 80s. I was a little nervous about the heat today, but I found it wasn’t too bad. There were a few locations where I could dip my dress and hat in water and a nice cooling breeze. Perhaps my body is starting to adapt to the desert just a little bit.

After a while, the trail began following along the edge of a large reservoir. The light breeze coming off the water was very nice. Around 1:30 pm, we arrived at a lakefront picnic area. With only 9 miles left to hike, we all decided to stop for an extra-long lunch break during the hottest part of the day. I took a nice refreshing dip in the lake and ate through some of the food in my still exceptionally large food bag.

Despite this being one of my longer days so far on the trail, I still arrived at camp in the light. My site is situated perfectly to hit Cajon Pass tomorrow morning, for breakfast at McDonald’s on the highway near the trail!

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Day 18

Today was a hot one, and at a low elevation, too. So far, it seems I’ve been unlucky – every time there’s a hot spell I’m at low elevation, and every time there’s a cool spell, I’m up high. Consequently, I feel like I’ve been either too hot or too cold for most of my trip so far. The temperature extremes of this trail are mind-boggling!

I started hiking early, and by 8 am, I was already sweating. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before I arrived at Cajon Pass. From there, I walked a quarter mile or so off the trail to reach a McDonald’s. A popular side trip for thru-hikers at this point on trail.

The best part about McDonald’s was the air conditioning! It was great to cool off indoors. I ordered a coffee which really hit the spot. I had a little food too but tried not to order too much. I still have a lot in my food bag to eat through, and I’ll hit my next resupply stop in Wrightwood, CA, very soon.

I dilly dallied at the McDonalds for perhaps a little too long. After leaving the restaurant, the trail passed under the highway and some train tracks. From there, I began a 14-mile exposed climb that would take me up 4,000 feet or so to Gobbler’s Knob. Even in the late morning, it was scorching hot going up the hill.

About 5 miles into the big climb, I came to a water cache and some shady shrubs on the side of a dirt road. It was around noon, and I was already feeling hotter than I liked. I decided to wait out the heat for a few hours in the shade, before tackling the remaining 9 miles of treeless climbing.

I’m finding when it comes to heat, I have a lower tolerance than most. I don’t like wasting energy or risking heat exhaustion by trying to hike at high temps. I’ve been surprised to find that very few thru-hikers siesta, even on hot days in the high 80s and 90s. The siesta schedule seems to work best for me, but it can be a lonely way to hike.

To keep myself from getting restless as I waited at the water cache in the shade, I did some camp chores. Things that I’d otherwise do at night. I took stock of my food bag so I’d know how much to buy in Wrightwood for the upcoming stretch of trail to Agua Dulce. I also looked at the trail on FarOut (the trail guide app) for the upcoming section, re-braided my hair, and got caught up on blog writing.

Around 3 pm, I topped off my water bottles at the cache and started up the big climb. Thankfully, it was partially shaded now and I felt strong and hydrated as I ascended.

As I rounded the corner on a steep cliff edge, I suddenly heard a noise like a rain stick. I came face to face with a small rattlesnake, perched on a rocky ledge at eye level. I backed up a step. I stomped my feet and yelled, but the creature did not slither away. We were now in a standoff.

With a sheer drop on one side of the trail and a rocky face on the other, there was no way for me to walk around the snake. I’d have to either wait for it to leave of its own accord (which it didn’t seem keen on doing) or go past it.

I backed up a few more steps, and waited for the snake to relax and lose interest. When it finally did, I held my tracking poles out between my face and the snake and sprinted past it. Made it!

As I darted away, I heard the enraged reptile rattling furiously behind me! Phew! Fueled by adrenaline, I powered up the rest of the climb at top speed.

At the top of the climb, I reached the beginning of a trail closure, for the Bridge Fire Burn area. This is a place where the PCT is too damaged for hikers to travel on it. Instead, we must leave the PCT and go down a nearly 3-mile-long dirt road, which takes us to a paved highway where we can hitch into the trail town of Wrightwood. From there, we can hitch to the other side of the fire closure and get back on the PCT.  I planned to stay in Wrightwood for the night, before finding a ride to the other end of the closure.

I turned onto the dirt road, a long gradual descent. Deciding to use my 36L FastPack the way it’s intended for once, I began slowly jogging the long downhill. I’m pretty sure my physical therapist would not approve of this behavior. But my legs and feet have held up amazingly so far, even on my longest days. So I decided to risk it.

A little over a half hour later, I arrived at the paved highway. This would be my first solo hitch of my trip. Standing alone on the side of the road, I stuck out my thumb.

Right away, two cars sped by me. The second car to go by was a white jeep. It flew by, without stopping, and slowly shrank into the distance… Wait no, it was getting closer again. Sure enough, the jeep was driving down the highway in reverse, back towards me.

The driver and his wife, a first-grade teacher, drove me directly to my destination for the night – a cabin in Wrightwood. This was an exciting stop for me, because I had caught up with my friend Miranda, who is also hiking the PCT this year but started slightly before me. It was great to see her!

I arrived in town well before 7 pm, which is still later than I usually like to get to town on a resupply day. With only limited time left in the evening, I made quick work of grocery shopping, showering, doing laundry, and my other various town chores.

I even took what I consider my first proper shower of trail: complete with shampoo, body wash, and conditioner instead of camp soap or mysterious hostel liquids, and a towel. Well actually, I used a spare bath mat – with 9 of us in the cabin, there weren’t quite enough actual towels to go around. But close enough!

I stayed up later than I should have, considering my long, 20+ mile day.