While in the town of Big Bear Lake, I invited my friend Yankee from the AT to stop by our hotel room because he was in the area. We caught up, and Rambo joined us in reminiscing over how much wetter and steeper the AT was compared to the PCT. To be honest, I have trouble answering when first time thru-hikers ask me which trail I like better, because they each have their own good and bad. The next day though, we got to share in a beloved AT tradition. Yankee slack packed us for 20 miles, meeting us with our stuff and a big sub sandwich at a forest road crossing.
We woke up the next morning to frost on our tents, and we said goodbye to Yankee, who was just waking up comfortably from inside the customized cab of his truck. Filled with climbing gear, he'll be heading up to Mammoth Lakes, CA to climb all summer long. I hope I can meet up with him again in the Sierras, weather permitting. I have to say that this morning didn't surprise me, as I've felt at least a couple gusts of cold wind whipping across the trail each day. I like to tell thru-hikers who have also done the AT that California is warm just like Virginia is flat: in that it mostly isn't. I would've never guessed southern CA would be this cold, but I'm managing. I'm hoping that this is just spring mode and that the higher Sierras will be in summer mode by the time I enter them.
Later that day, we stopped by some hot springs near the trail to take a dip, being careful not to let our heads go underwater due to supposed brain eating amoeba. I was able to reunite with two other guys i had met on the AT who were also hiking the PCT. We caught up and got pictures, which we would send to fellow hiker trash as nostalgia. After warming up and soothing our sore muscles, we air dried before continuing on a bit more because none of us had brought towels. Something I've noticed about PCT hikers is that nearly all of them start the trail prepared, as opposed to the AT where some hikers carry unnecessary and cumbersome gear for weeks. Though I would say towns are about as commonly found at the beginning of both trails, it seems like PCT thru-hikers have more risk to mitigate, which requires then to be smart about their gear. However, they still need to develop their trail legs like AT thru-hikers. Maybe that's why my group has been cruising.
The next day took us near a picnic area with a pavilion, where we saw a group of hikers enjoying a pizza that they had delivered. While Rambo and Shannon decided to hike late into the day to get to a McDonald's near the trail, I decided to camp a bit before it. Eventually, the pizza group mustered up the energy to hike and camped with me. They were very appreciative of my ukelele playing, and there was great conversation that night. I got to the McDonald's the next morning, where I learned that what we thought was a 22 mile stretch without water was actually a 27 mile stretch according to the most recent water report. Since 20 of those miles ascended over five thousand feet and my right achilles tendon was starting to bother me, I opted to hitch ahead, do that section southbound (and thankfully downhill), and meet my friends in Wrightwood when we were all done.
Though it was a pretty tough hitch from just off Interstate 15 where the McDonald's was, I easily got a hitch from Wrightwood further along on trail. I enjoyed doing the section downhill so that I didn't need to carry as much water and I could go easy on my Achilles tendon, but I confused many hikers who saw me going southbound. The next morning, I did 5 more miles back to the McDonald's and hitched back into Wrightwood, where I stayed with a trail angel who had worked as a wilderness firefighter for 40 years. After seeing all the fire damage on the PCT and thinking how much worse it could be, I thanked him for his service. I then realized I had accidentally left a pair of socks at my campsite last night, but he had a pair that a hiker didn't want anymore (cleaned of course). I met up with Rambo and shannon and enjoyed the town or Wrightwood the wright way by gorging on mexican food.
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