Sorry it has been so long since I've done a solid update, a lot has been going on, and I have been busy, hiking, and living life!
After leaving Deep Creek, I put in one hell of a day, going 23+ miles for my longest day of the hike. I hiked completely alone and only saw 2 hikers all day, one was Columbus who was taking a break down below the Mojave Lake Dam. I met up with him later that night and he told me he saw a mt lion right where he was taking a break when I had passed. It was about an hour after he'd seen me, he saw the lion about 15 feet above the trail on some rocks, so I was surely being spied on by the mountain cat... So after spending the night at Silverwood Law doing some 'stealth' camping in the picnic area, I had 16 miles to push to make it to Cajon Pass on I-15 where McDonalds and chevron awaited. It was a long hot grind, with like a million snakes jamming the trail, but I made it and had a small meal, but about 6 trips to the drink area to refill my pop. (Oh yeah, I call it 'pop' now instead of soda. I don't know why but I think californians are the only ones who call it soda in the first place, but everyone out here calls it pop.) So while waiting to push on further, I was lured by an awesome guy named DIP (dad in pain) who is hiking the PCT himself this year and is recovering still from an injury early on that required some rest... DIP lives about 30 minutes from Cajon Pass and took 5 of us in for the rest of the day and a zero day the next day. He has an awesome pool, and BBQ area, an amazing family, and is very generous, wouldn't let us lift a finger and made us do nothing but relax. By far some of the best 'magic' I will receive this trip. The rest, showers, and clean clothes were amazing, not to mention the 20k calories I must have eaten/drank in 40+ hours of relaxation. Thanks again DIP ~ you, Becky, Callie, James, and Katie were awesome!
So like I said, DIP took 5 of us in. I have been hiking regularly with a group of folks now. Scarecrow and Blood Bank are a couple, and two other guys Christian and Sheldon (now GOODTIMES). We have been hiking together for a couple weeks now. At Agua Dulce (mile 454) you come across some true angels: The Saufleys.
They are amazing. Their property is truly a machine! Their garage is a legitimate Post Office, they host upwards of 50+ hikers a night and is an amazing a cheap option to get lots of stuff done (hiker chores) before making the push to the High Sierra and get out of SoCal. From hiker heaven, it's 2 weeks until Kennedy Meadows where you are in the mountains, and out of the desert, so lots of gear and changes are made here to be ready. The great thing about places like this is the social aspect! Seeing all the hikers you have come across and catching up, hanging out, and all while not even hiking! So awesome. I had pizza for the first time in a month and it was amazing! The rest was very nice after pushing 150 miles through the Los Angeles forest in the area where the STATION FIRE of 2009 was. So sad to see and walk through such destruction. A by-product of a forest fire is a plant called 'poodle dog bush' and it is horrid. It dominates areas that have been burned, it takes about 2 years to appear, and only lasts about 1-2- but it is out of control. It irritates your skin worse than poison oak, and calamine and technu wont touch it. So lame. We even had to detour around it because it is growing so bad right now....
I'm rambling and tired. More later.
Thanks
Kristo
