Trial by Fire Closure

Rambo, Kate, Shannon and I each finished a football-sized breakfast burrito and then got a hitch into Idyllwild for our hard earned zero day. We were picked up by a cheery woman named Diane, who regaled us with a story of her and her sister being stalked by a mountain lion during an evening hike in the area. So far on our trip, we've encountered beetles, gnats, squirrels, and even a rattlesnake, who gave us plenty of warning of his presence. As improbable as it may be though, we each had mixed feelings about encountering a mountain lion. As for me, I debated carrying cat nip for a worst case scenario.

After replenishing lost calories and relaxing in Idyllwild, we hiked back up to the ridge to rejoin the PCT. Before us lay the highest peak in southern California, the majestic and still snow-covered San Jacinto Peak. Rambo and Kate were intent on making the 3 mile side trip up to the summit, but since I knew of a long stretch without water immediately after that I didn't want to camp in, I was on the fence. The sky was getting hazy, we would be receiving many more views on the PCT itself. I got about a third of the way up and decided not to tire myself out before clearing the waterless stretch.

The San Jacinto ridge presented a different kind of forest from the typical sage brush, yucca, cacti, and other prickly bushes that we had been used to seeing. We found ourselves surrounded by enormous ponderosa pines with trunks the width of queen size beds and firs that let off an aroma similar to what I've become used to in the northeast. I liked being up here, but eventually it was time to descend back to the desert biome. And descend we did, as we lost nearly seven thousand feet by the end of the day. We gradually switchbacked our way down, and I was starting to miss the quick and straight descents I've also become used to in the northeast.

The next couple of days presented us a problem: there was a 16 mile fire closure that PCT hikers could hike through, but could not camp due to the risk of a dead tree blowing over onto an unsuspecting hikers tent. The closure began 30 miles from our second day, meaning we had to either do two short days right up to the closure, or two long days to clear it. In this game of skill, we opted to do two long days cause we felt we could do it. Well, here goes nothing. Our first day started with a trail magic breakfast of cinnamon buns and root beer floats, which propelled us up the windy ridge and down to a wide, rocky river bed which proved difficult to follow the trail up through.

The second day immediately started with a posterior-kicking incline up to a ridge, which we followed for the rest of the day. Back among the ponderosa pines and firs, we stopped for a break and saw our first "horseback hiker" doing a section of the PCT. So that explains the intermittent piles of poop along this trail. Because Shannon was starting to develop shin splints, she hitched into the nearest town to rest up. At the end of the day, the rest of us came across a metal box filled with soda and oreo packets, which was a great way to celebrate the end of the fire closure. We pumped out miles the next morning to a road crossing and hitched into Big Bear Lake to meet up with Shannon and call our mothers. After all, who else would be rightfully nervous of us hiking from Mexico to Canada and encountering mountain lions?