So much is happening to me so fast out here! I wish I had a bit of time to process it each day, but it is too much… And we need to keep moving!
In the last couple of days, I’ve been doing some math. There’s no time to mess around on this trail! I still have more than the entire length of the Appalachian Trail to hike and 2 months less time to do it in! That’s A LOT of miles to hike each and every day!
So far, my body is holding up well. My calf muscle was hurting quite badly a couple of days ago, but before bed that night, I rubbed a little arnica on it, lied down for 9 hours, and in the morning it felt much better! It is amazing to me how quickly things change and move out of you out here- colds clear up faster, injuries heal more quickly, and there is no time to dwell in emotions or get depressed. We just keep moving and I love it! I feel happy!

I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the people I have met on my journey so far who have given me a boost. A simple hello and smile are enough, but anyone who shows interest in what I am doing really helps pick up my energy levels and get me further down the trail. Several people have taken my picture and a few have even shared some of their food with me! I have already received much more on this hike than I did on the entire AT, and I know that this is partly due to me being more open and ready to receive, and partly due to the more relaxed and friendly attitude of people on the west coast. (Coming out of Big Bear, I started crying when the thought of returning to Boston came into my mind. I live unseen and unnoticed in Boston and my spirit suffocates). So far out here, I have been given a kiwi and a package of sliced salami and cheese from Trader Joe’s (thanks Sam!) on Mt. Jacinto, two avocados, a half gallon of ice cream, a banana from a trunk (!) of trail magic on a tough day for me, and a slice of cheese pizza, a banana, some orange juice, and a donut from JT’s mom (best break ever!). And Mike, who offered me a ride back to the trail from Wrightwood, gave me $10! All of these gifts, I accept humbly and gratefully and I hope everyone knows how much they mean to me.

I also so greatly appreciate all of the trail angels along the trail who go out of their way and donate their own time and money to help us achieve our dream of walking from Mexico to Canada. Many of them stock water caches for us in otherwise very long shadeless, waterless sections. Sometimes, thinking about what these people do for us brings tears to my eyes. All we are doing is walking…

Right now, I am at the home of the Saufley’s (famous trail angels on the PCT, who do our laundry, let us shower, and have tents set up with cots inside them for us to sleep on). I have hiked 454 miles, with 27 being my biggest day so far. I am getting to the point where 23-25 miles is an average day for me. Surprisingly, I managed to pass everyone I know on the trail coming into Agua Dolce! Several guys seem to be taking a day or two to visit their girlfriends in LA (we are the closest to LA that we will ever be on the trail right now). Drama is one of those people. He will be behind me when he gets back on the trail! Sprinkles and Spoonman came in this morning, UB came in early afternoon, and Muk Muk will arrive tonight. I love UB and Muk Muk. Even though we only see each other in town, they are my trail family. They love me for who I am without me having to do anything. I can just be and laugh, and they give me hugs and say loving things to me. I appreciate this so incredibly much because I have had so very little of this in my life. I didn’t have loving parents and I lived a very isolated life with no people in it. And everyone I have opened my heart up to and given my love to shuts down and treats me badly. That is what I need to turn around. I need to learn not to open my heart to people who don’t have open hearts themselves and who in turn criticize me and don’t treat me nicely.
Muk Muk told me that I have the biggest heart of anyone on the trail and that I am also the strongest. She said that sometimes, I am too strong for my own good. I agree with her.

I received a piece of news on the evening of the 13th, towards the end of my 27 mile day from the McDonalds to Wrightwood. My sister called and left a voicemail. It was the first time I had heard from her since I had been on the trail. She said she had some news she thought I would like to hear, but didn’t say what it was. I stopped and called her back with the wind blowing strongly, dusk approaching, and several more miles to hike. She lingered a bit and I hoped it was not something that I needed to leave the trail for. Was it Dad or our older sister…? Was someone sick or did someone die? She finally said that our mother passed away on the 7th. Our older sister waited almost a week to tell our father the news. He, in turn, told my younger sister, and she informed me.
For years, I had thought about what my reaction to this news would be. I always thought I would feel happy, and that was indeed the case in reality. It was simply a piece of news, and the only feeling associated with it was one of peace.
I know this is hard for anyone who did not grow up with an abusive mother to understand, but this is and has been my reality. I never had a mother. I never had anyone to listen to me or wrap their arms around me. I was never given love or acceptance. Instead, I was surrounded by hate and isolated from anything loving. I was criticized for every move I made and every word I spoke. I was born to someone that only wanted to control me.
My mother suffocated herself with hate. My last interaction with her was in 2002 when my sister and I called a family meeting to deal with my brother’s possessions years after his death. My mother had been using them as a final means to control us by locking up and keeping away from us my brother’s belongings- his remaining earthly connection. At the “meeting”, she threatened to call the police if we ever came near her house.
She since went to live with my older sister, and thereafter began to lose her mental capacities. With no connection to anyone or anything in life, this wasn’t hard for me to understand. Apparently, she had been recently living in a nursing home, knowing not much more than her own name. Now, her soul can finally rest in peace, and those of us who were abused and held down by her can finally begin to breathe a bit more freely. She no longer has any control over me.

The real question to me is whether these four individual pillars left of this nuclear family will ever be able to connect with each other again.
(I asked my sister if my father knew I was hiking the PCT. She said yes, and I asked what his reaction was. She didn’t say anything. When I pressed her, she said he just thinks you are living an independent life. (That’s his only reaction???). The tremendous disconnection greatly saddens me.

For someone who was never given love, I am so, so thankful for my heart and all of the love I have inside of me. I can’t wait for the day to finally give it to someone who will return it back to me. I can’t wait to finally be nurtured.

Day 29
May 17
430.6-454.4
23.8 miles

The night wasn’t too cold. I got up at 5:30, made coffee, and ate my poptarts with it. Everyone else was in their tents. I was able to get on the trail by 6:20! The pretty views weren’t allowing me to get far, though, as I kept stopping to take pictures. I started to worry about the time this was costing me.

Again, the trail was full of obstacles to avoid in the form of sharp prickly bushes, poison oak, and poodle dog bush!

A fallen tree that I had to get over drew blood from the skin above my knee. I found some rocks to sit on and eat a power bar and some almond butter.

I had one mile to get to the ranger’s station, where the nice ranger, Todd, put out water for PCT hikers. I was surprised to find Elizabeth there! She had also camped at Messenger Flats, but not in the area I was in. I found the water in big, heavy water cooler jugs, and had a difficult time pouring some into my water bottles. I used the restroom and resumed hiking, feeling good and energetic. I hadn’t expected the views to be so beautiful!

As the morning wore on, it got sunnier and warmer, but not brutally hot, and a little breeze kept me comfortable. I passed Elizabeth feeling strong. After another mile, however, my stomach really started to hurt! I had no idea why! As I continued to walk, it felt more and more like the pain I had experienced when I had giardia after the AT. I kept thinking that I needed to get to Agua Dulce and find a watermelon with seeds in it! Ahead, I saw a guy shooting video from his hiking pole. He backtracked to do some filming. I hoped it was UB, but it turned out to be Craig. He told me that he started regretting his decision to hike on last night and nearly turned around, but then saw the most beautiful sunset that he had ever seen in his life and knew that is why he had gone on.
I had set a goal of walking five more miles before taking my next break, but couldn’t manage to make it with my hurting stomach. I sat down in a shady patch of brown grass on a hill and ate a bagel, some chocolate almond butter, and a Snickers bar. I knew my stomach probably wouldn’t like this food, but I needed energy. Elizabeth came by and wanted to join me as I ate my Snickers. I apologized for not being such great company due to my pain.
I moved on and felt my energy pick up, but my tummy continued to hurt. If it weren’t for the pain, it would have been an absolutely lovely day. I took so many pictures of the incredible scenery. The terrain was largely downhill, but it was interspersed with small climbs, which I appreciated. I climbed the spine of several mountains and wound around the rims of others as I made my way down toward the road.

When I arrived, I found an outhouse and a single shaded picnic table and trash can in a parking lot. I hadn’t planned on stopping there, but decided to take advantage of this perfect place to eat. It was now 12:20. I ate a packet of salmon and some whole grain crackers and then had a second Snickers bar. I went back and forth deciding whether or not to take the time to make a second cup of coffee for the day and eventually decided to have one with a miniature peppermint pattie and a couple of Starbursts.

I left the area at one, crossed the road, and then arrived at an eerie junkyard where the KOA was supposed to be! A boarded up RV with no wheels sat nearby. I passed through this spooky area and went through a short section that was very jungle-like before crossing over a set of railroad tracks.

It was now time to climb again! I decided to listen to some music to help me out. I listened to my “Dance” playlist on shuffle and felt my body starting to lighten and loosen up after having only performed one repetitive motion over the last month. I realized that the dancing part of myself had gone away. I found a makeshift bench, and as I listened to a particular song, I thought about three people in my life who all had similarly closed hearts, but still somehow remained connected to me. I hiked on with the music keeping me moving. I found that I didn’t need to stop as much to drink water with this distraction. I had five more miles to get to Agua Dulce and I danced my way down the mountain. Trucks drove by on the highway and I imagined being their entertainment.
I entered a new environment of canyons, in which wooden signs were set up to identify some of the flora in the area.

I took my last break and ate some candy, which made my already black hands sticky! Muk Muk texted me and I found out she was 31 miles behind me!
As I entered the Vasquez Rocks area, my battery ran out in my phone, which meant I could no longer use my GPS. I had only 2 and a half miles left and figured I could make it. However, I couldn’t find the trail after the picnic area! I heard voices in the distance but couldn’t see where the people were. After walking around hopelessly, I set my pack down and took everything out of it with my sticky hands to find my external adaptor to recharge my phone. I waited for it to charge a bit and then started searching out the trail- going this way and then that. I was wasting so much time, and after a very long day, my frustration was growing. Finally, I found the path, but soon got confused again! For the next mile and a half, I went backwards and forwards, losing more time and patience. I hated that area! Finally, I reached the road and began the walk into the farmland of Agua Dulce.

It went on and on… At some point, I saw a sign for Sweetwater Farms and then saw some bikes! I knew they were being used by PCT hikers! I was almost there! It was now 5:15. A lady in a car pulled over and asked me if she could shake my hand! I looked down at it and told her it was sticky. “From what?” she coiled back. Before I could say it was from candy, she said, “That’s okay. I’m about to eat dinner.” She wanted to take my picture and asked me why I was doing this and how old I was. She said that a lot of people did this kind of thing to get over a broken heart, or were trying to figure out how to make a job change.” I tried to summarize my story. She said that she thought what we were doing was great. “Why?” I asked.
She pointed out the restaurant across the street and said that there were trail angels in town who would let us sleep at their houses.
I headed over to the restaurant and looked at the menu. It said, “Cowboy Cafe” and I stared at it for a long time, wondering if I was in the wrong restaurant! Then the waitress gave me the regular menu. I order a California burger and a chocolate milkshake for dessert. A lady came over to me after she was finished eating and asked how many miles I had hiked today. I told her 24 and she said, “Wow! Are you tired?”
“Yes.”
She told her husband that I had hiked a marathon today.
I went outside to collect my pack and started walking up the road. The Saufley’s, who welcomed PCT hikers to stay on their property for a night or two, lived a mile away. A man on a mule cart offered me a ride and I happily accepted! “Is this a golf cart?”
“No. It’s a mule cart.”
I opened the gate and saw someone I didn’t know sitting there. He welcomed me and offered to give me a tour. I followed him around, and grew more and more overwhelmed and confused. I didn’t know any of the hikers there and the place didn’t look like what I had seen in videos of this stop. I expected to sleep in a white canvas tent with 4 cots each, but I saw none of these tents- only a few smaller ones of different colors. It was almost dark by now and I didn’t know what to do. I found the last empty cot in a tent with two others and set my things down, then collected my dirty clothes to be washed. I was encouraged to take a shower first, change into some loaner clothes, and then give the guy my clothes that needed to be washed. I found a very small shirt and some very large pants to change into before I took my shower, and put my clothes in the bin I was instructed to put them in. I had to write down on a post-it note whether I had anything wool that couldn’t be put in the drier, so I wrote down, “wool.” Then, I took a shower, found my resupply box, and went to my cot to wait for my laundry. They weren’t able to dry my clothes before I went to bed however. When I saw the helper, he asked me if my name was wool. He wanted to know why I hadn’t written my name on the post-it or what article of clothing was made of wool… I guess I was too exhausted to understand the directions. I was also too exhausted to remember to pull out my sleeping bag liner, sleeping socks, or hat, so I shivered in my sleeping bag all night long.

Day 28
May 16
mile 407-430.6
23.6 miles

I was feeling very tired, so I slept in until 6:22. It was 35.7 degrees out! I had my favorite breakfast of love crunch granola and then made some coffee. Yum! Postholer was long gone.
I was on the trail at 7:13 and got hot quickly. I had to stop and peel off some layers by 7:30. The trail climbed, but did so gradually, and the first few miles passed by quickly and nicely. Thoughts were flowing through my head and I wasn’t concerned with what mile I was at (a rarity!). The lizards were my companions and I would stop and talk to them. Some did push-ups for me. I showed one of them how big my skirt was getting on me. Finally, I was losing some fat!

At 9:40, I found a nice rock to take a break on just before the Station Fire detour. I saw that I had reception, but there were no incoming texts, which made me feel a bit sad. A guy carrying a ridiculous amount of weight on his back walked by in the other direction. He wasn’t interested in chatting. I wondered what he was doing with all that stuff! I thought about what food I wished for and found that I had a craving for Reese’s Pieces.
I took the detour and headed down a gravel path. I stopped to try to take a picture of a bird in a tree when Meredith came along and asked if she could hike with me. She told me that she had wanted to hike the trail since she was 13 years old in 1968! Back then, the trail wasn’t even complete. After the legislature had passed, she found herself busy being a mother, and it was only now that she felt she was free enough to go ahead and hike the trail. I found her story fascinating! I felt like she was a true pioneer of backpacking. She talked about how she would go out with friends in Montana, choosing their own route based on wanting to climb a certain mountain that they saw or get to a particular lake just because it looked interesting, and then figure out a route to get there! I had never done anything like that. I have only ever followed a trail already in place. She informed me about the history of the PCT and how the boy scouts went out to find certain sections of the trail before WWII, a little about what went into choosing a route around a mountain, and about checkerboard ownership. There was so much I had no idea about! We walked along a ridge and could look down below to see the PCT which was closed due to the amount of poodle dog bush that grows in burned areas. I was glad I had taken the detour route this time because it seemed like we had a better view.

Meredith kept looking to see if she could see Postholer walking down below. At 11:49, we reached the fire station, where her husband was picking her up for the day. She would be going back to do an earlier section of the trail with her daughter the following day. I spotted Dinnertime on the porch below and called out to him. Meredith and I said goodbye and I went down to the porch to find JT and his mom, as well as Craig and Dinnertime.

I sat down at a picnic table and looked into my food bag, knowing there was nothing appetizing in there. Then, JT asked if I wanted the last piece of pizza. I was so thankful for that! I ended up joining them at their table and got a banana, an orange juice, and a donut, as well! This was the best break ever!
Dinnertime said he was going to hike 17 more miles today. The thought made me groan out loud. No way would I be doing that! He said that he might never see us again, but would more likely see us tomorrow- and if not, then on Facebook! Anastacia, Archie, and Leftover came in and took their lunch break. The girls made fun of Leftover for still having a dehydrated meal that he started with at the Mexican Border in his food bag.
I took off after having spent an hour there and used the restrooms down by the road. The traffic attendant offered me water, but I had filled up at the water station. He wanted to know why I wasn’t hiking with the guy ahead, and then wanted to know how often we got showers and how many miles and hours we hiked a day. I appreciated his interest! As soon as I was about to start the climb, three day hikers came down and talked to me. One of them told me I was crazy! They asked if they could take my picture and then told me about some of the wildflowers I would be seeing (another thing I knew nothing about), including scarlet bugler, which Meredith thought was called firecracker. The hike started slowly for me as I decided to post some flower pictures on facebook. It always takes a long time to upload photos, and I later wondered why I was wasting my time doing that, because no one seemed to care about what flowers I was seeing! JT and I kept passing one another. At one point, I headed off on the wrong trail and JT called after me to tell me that the PCT was down there! (Thanks, JT!). I climbed another hill and for some reason, completely missed the Station Fire memorial! The trail was overgrown with prickly bushes and poodle dog bush, making my progress slow. I saw many beautiful flowers, though, which gave my mood a boost and counteract the frustration I was feeling.

Mountain lilac lined the sides of the trail on my final mile of the day and it was hard not to keep stopping to take pictures.

Finally, I reached Messenger Flats campground, where I would stop for the night. Before doing anything, I took out some wet wipes to try to wash off the poodle dog bush oils on my hands and legs! I found it impossible to avoid this bush. I found the tar from a tree was almost impossible to remove! I found a little area to set up my groundcloth and sleeping bag and then cooked my pasta at the picnic table, adding some tuna fish for protein, and crackers for a different taste. Then I had a little trail mix and a peppermint pattie for dessert! JT had come in after me, followed by the three from Redding, and Lullabi. Archie wanted to know how to get the poodle dog oil off her body. Lullabi jokingly asked JT if his mom could come pick us up and have 11 people take showers at her house! They were originally planning to make it to the Saufley’s tomorrow, but had changed their minds and decided to stop at the KOA campground instead. There was lots of worried talk about washing their clothes in a washing machine that might have poodle dog bush oils from other hikers’ clothing in it .
Craig passed by and decided to keep hiking. He said he had set a goal for himself of listening to the entire set of Led Zeppelin albums by the end of the day.
Through the trees, I watched an amazingly beautiful array of colors from the setting sun and then got into my sleeping bag.

Day 27
May 15
Little Jimmy Spring- to mile 407 (sulphur springs)
23 miles

I was in a deep sleep, dreaming about teaching yoga when I heard voices talking. I awoke to find Meredith and Postholer packing up at 5:37. It was 43 degrees out. No bears had visited during the night. I took my foodbag over to the picnic table and ate breakfast there. It turns out that the sidepath I started down but that everyone thought lead nowhere was indeed the spring. So we all had to walk back to collect water. It turned out to be a lovely spring! I carried the water back to a picnic table closer to the trail and the big group of thru-hikers to filter the water. There, a man who was out for the weekend put out a trash bag so we could dump anything we were finished with. How nice! He then began talking about watermelon seeds being the natural cure for giardia, but that it was very tough to find a watermelon with seeds in it these days because the drug companies want us to be dependent on them. I felt like it was significant to be hearing this and very interesting that I was at the right place and the right time to do so. Hmmmm….
I hit the trail at 7:07, descending switchbacks to a road and then making my way back up into the mountains.

A few hours later, I had reached a picnic area at the start of the endangered species detour where a road walk was set up to bypass a 10 mile section of the PCT in order to protect the frogs in the area. I found Meredith and Elizabeth at the picnic table and joined them as I snacked. Meredith’s husband was providing support for her along her hike and was coming by to transport her up the road to avoid the detour section. Elizabeth and another hiker decided to skip the section as well. I decided to hike the regular trail, as my friend that had hiked last year said that he had not taken any of the detours. A couple of other guys made the same decision as me.
The trail was quite overgrown and there were a lot of fallen trees to step over, making the hiking slow. There were several nice water sources along the way, though. When I reached the main creek, I found Postholer and “The Kid” relaxing. Postholer said that I shouldn’t be on this part of the trail and I quickly said, “Neither should you!” An Asian couple with a big white dog came down to the creek from the other side. The dog got wet and then came right over to us, eager to share our food. The owners didn’t say anything. I headed back up the trail and met a father and his toddler son. The man asked me if there was anything of interest ahead. The only thing I could think of was the creek. He seemed happy enough with that. The trail didn’t seem to be marked as closed from this side.
Ahead, I reached a dirt road and didn’t see where the trail continued. I started up an obvious path and turned on my GPS to make sure this was correct. In fact, it was not. So, I backtracked and eventually found the PCT across the road. The miles seemed to drag on. I got hungry and found a rock to sit on while I ate my disgusting packet of tuna, followed by a Snickers bar as my reward. Archie, Leftovers, and Anastacia passed by. It wasn’t long before I found them resting on the trail right beside the number ‘400’ spelled out with rocks! “We didn’t make it very far,” they said. I was lucky to have people nearby to take my picture at this milestone.

I soon reached the Camp Glenwood water source and found a few other hikers gathered there. Everyone seemed tired. It turned out that the water from the pump was incredibly warm, which was not thirst-quenching! As more hikers came in, I said, “I hope you like warm water!”.

It turned out that I wasn’t the only one to have gotten confused at the road. Bambi had taken the other trail to the top of the climb until there was no longer a trail and had to turn around. It had cost him four hours.
As I continued, the inside of my right calf started hurting. The more I walked, the more the pain grew and it started to worry me. I decided to listen to some music to give my mind something different to focus on. My mood was becoming more internal. I found a place to sit down at a bend in the trail and my arms took the shape of a cradle as my body swayed from side to side. I had never done anything like that before and wondered if it was my mother’s spirit descending down to me in remorse, or if it was a symbol from myself of needing to be my own caregiver. I stood up and continued on. I saw Postholer in front of me, seemingly wanting to interact. I didn’t know why he wanted to say something to me, but it turned out that he wanted to point out a trunk full of trail magic under a tree that I might not have seen! I had never seen anything like it before!

It was huge and filled with carrots and apples and bananas! Goodness! Even though I always feel pressed to make miles, I sat down and ate a banana. It helped lift my spirits. Fresh fruit on the trail is the greatest gift! My calf was still hurting. Archie and Anastasia came by, looking for a place to go to the bathroom. It turned out that just up the hill, there was an outhouse! Wow!
Another little treat.

I caught up to and passed Postholer as I started looking for a place to end the day. As I climbed along a ridge, I could see a flat area down below. It looked like there were picnic tables below. I wondered if I should backtrack and take the Stock route to get down there. Postholer came along and I pointed the area out. He also wanted to camp there. I was surprised that he didn’t know about this area after having had hiked this part of the trail many times before! We found a sandy area where we could camp, but it wasn’t what I had seen from above. I went to take a look and came back to tell him that there was an even bigger area with picnic tables across the way. We chose opposite ends of the area to camp in. I made use of the picnic table to eat my dinner and cowboy camped next to it.

I calculated that with the days off, I was averaging 15 miles a day, and that I would need to average 18 per day if I wanted to reach Canada by September 20th. Today had been a tough day and I hoped my calf would feel better in the morning!

(It was 52.5 degrees at 8:46pm)

Day 26
May 14
mile 369.5-384.4 (Little Jimmy Spring)
14.9 miles

We all got up early after not sleeping well. Muk Muk and I headed to the Evergreen cafe for breakfast, while UB went to the coffee shop to work on his videos. I was surprised that there weren’t a lot of hikers in there already for breakfast! Muk Muk wanted to know what happened with my visitor, so I told her the story. She had had a bad feeling about it from what I told her in Big Bear and it turned out that she was right. She said that I should be feeling a lot more upset and angry than I was and that I should not communicate with this person anymore. She told me that I have the biggest heart of anyone on the trail and that I am also the strongest. Sometimes, I am too strong for my own good. She said that I deserve to be treated like a princess! (She could tell that I wasn’t really allowing her words to sink in…)
As we talked, hikers began to come in one by one. Cowboy walked by our table and asked if my visitor had showed up, since I hadn’t seen him since. I said he had. He asked if it was a good visit and I said no and that I would tell him about it later. “Is it short?”.
“No”.
Dinnertime came in and I told him that I did 27 miles yesterday and gave him a high five! I was the only person who had stayed at I-15 while they all started the climb from McDonald’s in the afternoon. I felt proud that I had already caught up. “And we’re Facebook friends now!” he added. I was happy for the positive distraction from my unpleasant story.

Lion King came in and ate everything remaining on our plates and then we headed out on our own way. I needed to pick up my resupply box at the hardware store (I was expecting it to be an outfitters from the name of it!) and also had to find a new pair of sunglasses, as one of the screws had come out of my pair and it was now longer functional. I ended up finding a purple-hued pair to match my outfit! It amused me that the post office had put a sticker that said “Caution- Heavy parcel- Lift carefully” on it! I saw Cowboy heading back towards the motel and called after him. I nearly got us hit by a car trying to cross the road! Paying attention to oncoming traffic is one of the things we have no need to be concerned about on the trail… Cowboy headed to the natural foods store and I headed back to the room to sort through my box and re-pack. UB was the first one to be ready and he started dancing to an Adele song. “This is how I pump myself up for hiking!” he said. Muk Muk told him he was going to make himself tired doing that!
They had taken the Acorn trail to get into Wrightwood, which is 4.5 miles long and several miles before the point at which I had gotten off the trail, so they were going to be behind me again. We all thought we could meet on top of Baden Powell to camp. Before I tried to get a ride back to the trail, I decided to grab something to eat. I went to the coffee shop and ordered a breakfast sandwich. And then who showed up, but Muk Muk and UB! I joined them outside while they pondered how they were going to get back to the Acorn Trail. Then, another hiker showed up who had been waiting to hike with them and said she had found them a ride. We said goodbye and a couple of minutes later, a man came by and asked me if I needed a ride back to the trail! I wasn’t quite ready, but took a last bite and put my pack in his truck. When he dropped me off, I asked if I could give him some gas money. He refused and gave me $10 instead! How kind! I had already had more good things happen to me on this hike than on the entire AT!
I took a moment to look out from the overview and collect myself before heading up the trail. Everyone had talked up the difficult climb we had ahead of us to Baden-Powell. At 12:42, I resumed my hike, passing Lion King and finding my own space. It felt good. The wind picked up and I found myself looking for a sheltered spot to take a short break. I wedged myself in between some pine trees, but the wind made it too uncomfortable to rest there, so I moved on. As I climbed, I passed Lullabi, and then he passed me back when I took a snack break. I was enjoying the climb and felt like I was in my element. Two older gentlemen were making their way down from the summit and as they approached me, asked, “You got this thing whipped?”. I smiled and confidently nodded. “Yup!”. He said that I have the right attitude.

I continued climbing until I reached the intersection of the PCT and the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell, which was a third of a mile off the trail. I love summits, so I dropped my pack, put on a warmer jacket, and headed up. There was a big group already sitting up there. One of them called out my name and I raised my poles in the air. I checked out the monument and the views and then asked Anastacia if she could take my picture.


I felt like an outsider with this big group, who were all sitting in a line.

I sat at one end and listened to a few of their jokes, which I didn’t find funny. Group humor tends to dissolve into a couple of subjects which don’t interest me. It was far too windy to camp up there and the next obvious place to camp and get water was Little Jimmy Springs, which was six miles away. The group planned on heading there and didn’t seem concerned about the time. It was now 5:05 and I found the thought of hiking six miles before the sun set to be stressful! I was the first one to get going. After a mile and a third, I got hungry and needed a snack break. Cowboy and Birdman passed me while I was eating a powerbar. I moved on, trying to keep a strong pace as I climbed. My breathing was loud. I saw that Birdman and Cowboy had stopped to admire the view. They said they liked to look back and see where they had come from, as do I. Cowboy pointed out the direction and I said I thought we had come from that way. He joked about not really knowing and to pay no attention to them. We moved on, and I was happy that I could keep up. As I walked along a ridge behind Birdman, I thought about how lucky I was to be out here doing this.

Cowboy fell behind and Bambi joined our little group. We heard Lullabi playing his flute in the far distance. Once we reached the top of the climb, Birdman stopped to observe some birds with his binoculars. Bambi took the lead ahead of me. I asked him how he got his name and he told me it was because of his very lightweight shoes and the ability to spring over obstacles in his path with them. We reached a confusing intersection and wondered which way to go. I thought it was the higher path, but Bambi wasn’t sure. He was examining his map when Birdman and Cowboy reached us. They joined in on the map reading and the consensus was the lower path! I lead the way. There was a big fallen tree on the trail, which was difficult to get over gracefully. We reached a side trail later on and wondered if that was the spring. I started down it, but the others continued along the main path, so I backtracked and followed them. We came to a camping area as darkness descended. There were a mixture of thru-hikers and locals camping within a large area. I spotted Dinnertime’s tent and he made his owl call to me. I went over to join him at the picnic table where he was having dinner. It was already after 7:30. The others stayed back at another area. I cooked some pasta and shared some of my Starbursts with Dinnertime. Another hiker was also eating there and had taken out box after box of individual pies that he had bought in Wrightwood and stacked them up right in front of me. I wish he hadn’t!
I didn’t feel like setting up my tent at such a late hour, so I laid out my ground cloth to cowboy camp. This area was notorious for bear activity, but I wasn’t concerned.
“The Kid”, who was camping nearby told me to yell if a bear came over to me. He said he had his phone on airplane mode and was ready to take video of it!

Day 25
May 13
mile 342.5-369.5 (Wrightwood)
27 miles

An alarm in the room next to mine began blaring at 4am. Too early for me! I got up sometime after 5, packed up the last few things, and headed to the continental breakfast in the lobby, where I found the three older men already eating. Chip was enjoying a bowl of raisin bran and every time he had finished, he would get up and refill it again. (He later said that this was the first sugar he had allowed himself on this journey and it seemed like his body couldn’t get enough!). We had a little extra walking to do to get back to the McDonald’s and then a little more to get back to the trail.

Chip and Mark were going to fill up their water bottles at the McDonald’s, so I decided to do the same, although I kept worrying that they wouldn’t let me if I didn’t buy something! The road to McDonald’s was a historical site from the days of wagon travel, and we stopped to take photos at the monument.

Mark was telling a story about being overtaken by four girls on the climb the day before and how it really hurt his ego. I suggested he let that one go…
I filled up 4 liters of water from the machine and used the restroom. Chip and Mark had found a woman who was interested in their journey and they were showing off their lightweight backpacks. They were each carrying only one liter of water!
We headed back to the trail together, through a tunnel, and then across some train tracks.

I let them know that I had to stop often to relieve my shoulders from the weight of my pack, and that I didn’t want to hold them back. They seemed to agree that they would go on ahead of me, but every time I needed to take my pack off, they said it was a good time for them to take a break as well!

These two had begun their hikes separately, but decided to hike together after discovering that they had similar paces and were of a similar age. Their dynamics were interesting to witness. Chip had clearly claimed the role of leader and dictated where they would stop for resupplies and harped on the pace they were moving. He was extremely proud of his resupply strategy and rattled off how many 2, 3, 4, and 5 (his maximum) stops he had. (I didn’t find this so fascinating to listen to, myself…). Mark was afraid of hitchhiking and hoped to hike the entire trail without ever hitching (I’m not sure how…), so Chip had his work cut out for him in convincing Mark to follow along with his plan. Mark was tracking his progress on his GPS and always knew what pace they were hiking. If the pace seemed slow, Chip would call out with a frustrated voice, “Are we only hiking 2 miles per hour right now?” and Mark would look at the numbers and tell him that it was actually 2.83 miles per hour. Chip quickly drank his one liter of water, so I offered him some of mine at one of our break spots. He drank right out of my bottle!
Mark dropped behind and Chip decided to tell me lots of stories about his dysfunctional family, which I really didn’t need to hear. I gave him some sympathy, but it was very clear that he was choosing to stay in a situation that he could have very easily removed himself from. When he asked about my family and I told him I really didn’t have one, he asked what was it that I had done. What had I done??? I explained as best I could, knowing that he wouldn’t understand, and that it didn’t matter anyway. I was proud of myself for creating a barrier around myself so as not to let his dysfunctional stories penetrate my energy field too much.
We reached a water cache where four other hikers were hanging out, smoking marijuana. I took a bit of this water as Chip talked to the hikers and then told Mark I was taking off. I wanted a bit of space. However, Mark said, “I’m coming, too!” and jumped right up.

He called out to Chip, “We’re leaving!” and Chip said he would be right behind us! That plan didn’t work so well… Both Chip and Mark had downed between one and two liters of water at the cache so they didn’t have to carry any water. The day was hot and we had 5,000 feet of climbing to do, but I felt pretty good.
We reached a second water cache and found several other hikers resting there. I ate some lunch, collected some more water, and got back on the trail. This time, Mark and Chip remained where they were! I finally had some space to myself! As I walked along, I could see the smoke of a wildfire in the distance.

Postholer and his friend were a little ways behind me. All of a sudden, I heard a loud hissing to my left. Another rattlesnake! I talked to it for awhile, trying to calm it down, and telling it to go one way while I went the other. It worked!

A little later on, I came across another startling sight- a man lying face down in the middle of the trail, with his head towards me! What on earth! He lifted his head up when he heard me, revealing a bloody cut on his forehead. I asked him if he was all right. He said he was fine, just tired, and apologized for being in the way. I would expect to come across such a scene on a city street, but not on the trail!
Pine cones blanketed the trail around a bend and I returned to a more peaceful mindset.

I had one more piece of the climb and then I would have to figure out where I would get my water. The only water source in the area was a distance off the trail and only seemed to be trickling according to the water reports. I decided to bypass that side trip and make it to the top of the climb and the campground up there. A man greeted me on the return from his day hike and asked me if I needed some water. How amazing! I followed him to his trailer, where he introduced me to his wife and dogs. His wife was running low on water, herself, so I told her I was fine- that I didn’t want to take their water. She thought about how much water she needed for washing the dishes and said she could spare a liter. I was so thankful, as she confirmed that the water source was barely trickling and that it had taken two thru-hikers an hour to fill up six liters! I happily went on my way. At one point, I was confused as to which way the trail went and turned on my GPS to help me. I discovered that I had a voicemail and learned that my sister had called (for the first time on this hike) telling me that she had some information that I would want to hear and to call her back. The wind had picked up strongly, so I made my way over to a patch of trees and called her back. She did a lot of stalling and I wondered what had happened and to who… Was my father sick and did I need to go home? Or was it our older sister? I wished she would just tell me! Finally, she said that our mother had passed away a week ago and that our older sister had just informed our father, who then told her. I felt relieved in many ways- relieved that I didn’t have to do anything, that I could continue on with my hike, and relieved for the many people who were abused by her that she has finally left this earth. I felt no sadness and really no emotion at all. It was a piece of news that was delivered to me and one that had more of a freeing feeling than anything. Now, I really had no excuse to be held down by her in any way. She had no ability to exert any control over me. It was time to fully live my own life. My sister said she felt similarly. I told her that I had to get going as I was getting very cold from the wind and because darkness was coming and I still had several miles to hike. As I walked, I reflected on the timing of my mother’s passing. This journey was already a significant one.
At some point, I began wondering if I should try to make it into town that evening where I knew Muk Muk was already. I texted her and told her that I didn’t know what to do- sleep in the woods or try to make it all the way. I hadn’t planned on spending money to stay in town again. She said that I should stay with them. The room was already full because UB and Lion King were there, but I was still welcome. So, I moved as fast as I could. I still had three more miles to hike and the sun was setting.

As I emerged from the woods, the sky revealed clouds of pink and blue.

I knew I had to make it to the road before darkness fell in order for it to be possible to get a ride. Eventually, I could see the road ahead of me. As I got closer, I saw a car drive ahead. I needed to flag it down but I was steps too late! I walked down the road and saw that it had pulled into an overlook. I still had a chance! I made my way towards it, but then saw the people get into the car and drive off! Nooo! I knew no one would be coming up here in the dark. Then, I saw the car heading towards me on the other side of the road! I crossed the road and waved to the driver. She stopped and I asked if she was going to Wrightwood. She was! She opened her trunk for me and I got in, so thankful that the timing worked out perfectly. She and her daughter were very nice people and we had pleasant conversation about the trail. I asked if she could drop me off at the Pines Motel and she pulled up to one of the cabins. I didn’t know which one Muk Muk was in, but in the window of the one we had pulled up to, I could see UB’s signature red hat! She took me right to them! I excitedly got out and tapped on the window. UB jumped up, came outside, and gave me a big hug, and told the woman that she was awesome for giving me a ride. I took my things in and reunited with Muk Muk. It was so good to be around my friends again! The three of them were in the middle of resupply organizing and the floor was covered with food and gear! I looked down at my legs and couldn’t believe how dirty I was!

Still, I didn’t feel like I NEEDED to take a shower because I hadn’t planned on taking one there. I was able to get one, though, which was really nice. We all took turns taking an epsom salt footbath and Muk Muk popped some of UBs blisters.

We laughed and laughed when they talked about the lingering smell of Muk Muk’s cooked rice from the trail that she had dumped in the toilet, and finally, we got ready for bed. The guys said the girls could have the bed while they slept on the floor. UB said he needed to practice his set up. Lion King showed us some of his videos and Muk Muk did some blogging and then it was time for a little sleep after a very long day!

Day 24
May 12
mile 328.5-342.5 (McDonald’s)
14 miles

I woke up to find my “friend” staring at me from his table. I covered my face up with my sleeping bag and stayed there for a couple of minutes before getting up. Last night, when I asked him why he couldn’t hike with us today, he said he had to get back to LA to iron his clothes before his training tomorrow. I was astounded. Iron his clothes?! He couldn’t do that in the evening?
For some reason, he let me lead him through a little yoga before we parted. The grass was very wet and it was cool out, so I wore my rain pants and jacket. That way, I could stay dry! It was his first time trying yoga, so I kept it the basics, but it ended up being a bit too repetitive. All of the hikers who stayed overnight had by now hit the trail. As I finished packing, my friend was visibly growing more and more antsy to get going. I walked to his car with him, which was parked quite a distance away, beyond where the trail left off. It was amusing to see his gigantic toiletries in the trunk. I don’t like saying goodbye in the first place, and when factoring in the upsetting circumstances, my tears couldn’t be contained. I looked at my hands after I wiped my eyes and noticed that even my tears were filled with dirt! He said something about what I needed to do to finish the trail and I brushed it off, saying that I wasn’t worried at all. “But this trail is different than the AT. Snow is involved.” I shrugged. Since the start of this hike, I never once questioned my ability to finish. He told me to let him know if I needed him to send me a package and we gave each other a hug goodbye. Then, he drove me the short distance back to the trail head with heavy music blaring from the radio. It was all so upsetting. (Another thing that I hoped for was that he could take us to sushi instead of having to eat at McDonald’s, which added to the disappointment).
I was left to resume my hike alone. I had missed the opportunity to climb while it was still cool out. The sun was already burning down on me. He had said that there was a nice view from the top, but I didn’t find it so amazing. I looked for a spot of shade to take a break and didn’t see anything. Another guy had reached the top and probably thought I looked confused. He suggested I could walk a bit off trail to some trees. I ended up doing that, but decided I had better keep going.

It was a long descent. A couple of other guys passed me as I took short breaks. On and on, I walked. And then, I saw the sign pointing to McDonald’s. I took a picture and sent it to my friend. (He did not respond).

I was almost done with my hiking for the day, as in my planning, I had chosen to have my resupply box sent to the Best Western off the interstate rather than Wrightwood. I walked along the road to the McDonald’s and found a huge group of hikers sitting under an awning on the grass next to McDonald’s!

After stopping to say hello, I went in for something to eat. I had no ravenous hiker hunger, so I ordered something modest and sat alone to eat it. This isn’t what I had imagined.

I went back outside to join the others and Dinnertime told me that our friend had just left here a little while ago after making a stop here and finding a hiker to talk with. I couldn’t believe it…
The others joked about coming back to the hotel with me to use the pool. I eventually went in search of the hotel and said goodbye to the others. While I was crossing the road, an orange car pulled into the gas station and asked, “PCT”? and then said, “Yeah!”. I walked along the highway, over a bridge, and turned into the parking lot leading to the Best Western. All of a sudden, a car pulled in right behind me! It was the guy in the orange car. He said that he didn’t mean to stalk me, but he and his friends were looking for a 4th person to climb Denali with in August. He assumed I would probably still be hiking then, but thought he would give it a shot anyway. I told him that I wouldn’t be finished until sometime in September. Before he sped off, he reached over to the passenger seat and handed me a king sized bag of skittles. “Sugar!” he said. I smiled and thanked him. It was a bright spot in an otherwise very difficult day.
I checked into my room, got my resupply box, took a shower, and started rinsing out my clothes. I was going to find the washing machine, but was suddenly overcome by a tremendous feeling of tiredness and lied down on the bed. I quickly fell asleep.
My friend had posted on facebook that he had played disc golf in Wrightwood before heading back to LA.
When I woke up, I went to the lobby to find out where the washing machine was and was asked by a couple of older hikers if I would like to join them for dinner. They were heading to Subway across the street. I walked over with them and order a sub, and we brought the food back to eat at a table in the lobby. The entire time I sat there with them, I felt so disconnected and lonely.
After putting my clothes in the dryer, I went out to sit in the hot tub- the reason why I had chosen this place to stay over Wrightwood. I couldn’t sit there long, however, because I needed to organize all of my stuff and start packing for an early start tomorrow. We had another huge exposed climb and were advised not to hike it during the day.

Day 23
May 11
mile 314.6-328.5
13.9 miles

I got up to pee in the middle of the night and spent a moment taking in the environment I had somehow found myself in. The whole scene was surreal! Where was I and what was I doing out there? All night long, the wind kicked up the dirt, blowing it all over us. I awoke to a layer of dirt coating my sleeping bag, as well as my face! Oh my goodness!! I said a cheery “Good Morning!” to my friend and it was returned with silence. (!!) He went over to talk to Birches and avoid me. While that was not cool of him, I didn’t mind having a bit of personal space to clean up. Dinnertime woke up and began cursing the dirt that had blown into his tent. “Can’t I have at least one enjoyable day out here?!” he yelled out. I was amused that he was more troubled by the dirt than I was! I told him that he was the one who chose to be out here!

After everyone had packed up, we headed back to the road. I walked ahead of everyone on my own. It was the second time I had walked this stretch. Dinnertime needed to get into town to resupply and the others wanted breakfast. It’s hard to turn down an opportunity for a real breakfast! Our friend was already talking about hitching back to his car after today’s hike, which was surprising to me. He had planned to hike for two days and now no longer wanted to do that. His mood was upsetting. But the other two were laid-back and nice to be around and I enjoyed eating with them. Time seemed to stop regarding the constant pressure of miles and moving forward with this unplanned stop. We each paid for our own food and then went to a grocery store so Dinnertime could pick up what he needed. And then we drove back to the parking lot where Birches’ friends would be coming to pick him up. After a lot of waiting, we finally headed back to the trail! Dinnertime somehow dropped back and I lead my “friend”, chatting a good part of the way. I was not used to hiking with anyone and I worried about not being in a good mood in the heat, and about my constant need to take off my backpack (which he agreed was annoying), but I was perfectly pleasant! It turns out that my companion was the grumpy one. He asked if he could use my sun umbrella. I was glad someone could make use of it after carrying it all that way! We came upon some trail magic after a road crossing that included a big container of water with a pump. However, I couldn’t get the pump to work! My friend offered no help and when I asked if he could help me, told me that I went to MIT and could figure it out for myself!! Luckily, Dinnertime caught up and graciously helped me out. (There was something very wrong with this picture!!).

We moved along and later came to a second cooler with some water and fruit on it! Wow! A day of trail magic! My friend sat on the cooler, taking up the entire width, as he read through the registry. I looked around for a place to sit, but couldn’t find one. Instead, I did something really nice for him, and he completely ignored me! Wow! Again, Dinnertime caught up and said we had just missed sandwiches! Apparently, a couple had come by to do trail magic, just as we had started up the hill, and wondered if they should run after us. They made Dinnertime a sandwich.
My friend and I moved on. This time, he took the lead, but did no talking. So, we were both quiet. The day was growing hotter and the temperature was now in the upper 90s. The trail took us around Silverwood Lake, which was incredibly beautiful and a surprising sight for being in the desert! I kept wanting to take pictures! By this time, I was having painful chafing issues, but decided I could make it to our destination and then take care of it. My friend kept saying that we were very close, but I checked my GPS and told him we actually had three more miles.

Finally, we made it down to the Pavillion and bathrooms. I thought we could hang out by the water, but he said he was going to walk to the road and try to hitch back to get his car. Really? Why now? Why did he need to do this right at this moment and even today for that matter? I suggested he ask for a ride from someone in the parking lot, but he was determined to walk to the road and hitch.
I was left alone with a bad feeling permeating the air. Dinnertime came down the hill and said he had run into UB, who had just gotten back on the trail, and asked if he had seen me. He said he hadn’t but that I was “a hell’a cool girl!”. (Thanks, UB!)
Dinnertime and I separately made our way over to the water. Lots of locals were hanging out there. I went in partway and then tried to dry off while lying on my sleeping pad (not very successfully). A few other hikers rolled in and we each claimed our own spot on the grass.
I headed back to the Pavillion and cooked some dinner, although I didn’t have an appetite. My friend returned, even more grumpy because he had a hard time hitching. He said he was going to go for a swim. I asked if I could at least have a hug. This whole day had been upsetting. More and more hikers gathered at the pavillion. I was not at all in the mood to socialize, so I took my things over to a picnic table that would act as my bed. There was a bit of reception at this place, so I texted a friend and asked if he could talk. He finally made a bit of time for me and I got to tell someone what was going on. He told me to stay away from this guy. He didn’t have much time to listen to me, so the call ended very abruptly and I returned to not feeling so well. Then, the “friend” put his sleeping pad on the other table in this section. He still didn’t have anything to say to me. I tried to ignore his presence, wondering if I should just move somewhere else. But I have a hard time not wanting to resolve things. I went over to him and said a few things I needed to say, and while he didn’t have much to say back, at least he heard some of those things.
I went back to my picnic table, got into my sleeping bag, and closed my eyes.

Day 22
May 10
mile 299-314.6
15.6 miles

While I was still in my tent, many of the hikers who had stayed at the gazebo area walked by. Such early birds! I was glad I had moved on a little ways last night because it’s really hard for me to get up in the mornings.
I resumed my walk along the ridge with a view of a large creek well below me and soon found the Swedes having breakfast on a rock, admiring the view.

We said hello and then I moved on, stepping across the 300 mile mark, spelled out with rocks.

It was a warm day and the landscape provided very little shade. The trail wound around brown mountains dotted with green shrubs.

After seven miles, I reached a creek, where I found another hiker lounging. I decided to take off my shoes and cool my feet in the water for a couple of minutes. The Swedes passed through, excited to reach the hot springs a couple of miles away. I felt in no rush to get there.
When I did arrive, I was astounded to see the number of hikers lounging around! I thought that only the group who had slept at the gazebo would be there, but there were hikers who had been camping there for days! I was unsure where to go and then someone called my name, so I headed to that area to drop my pack. I saw Elizabeth who had started the day before me for the first time since I started the hike, as well as Matt (Luke’s cousin). I recognized some other hikers and some I was seeing for the first time. I felt self-conscious about my body and wasn’t comfortable going into the water in my underwear with so many people around. I decided I would go in with my running shorts. There were pools of differing water temperature- one that was much too hot for me to stand, a very, very warm one in which several people were sitting in, and cool water down below. I unsmoothly made my way into the very warm pool and then switched between that and the cold water below. There were locals as well as hikers, and it was easy to tell us apart. One local woman started talking to me about my journey and why I was doing it. I love it when people ask me these kinds of questions. She said that she would love to do what I was doing but didn’t know how with the responsibilities of children and a job. By the end of our conversation, I was worried that she was getting the wrong impression of the hike, as she probably envisioned lounging around in pools of water rather than hiking 12-13 hours a day in extreme conditions!
I returned to my sandy area to snack and collect water, knowing I had to get going to be there for my visitor (but having no idea when he would be arriving!). Some of the hikers nearby encouraged me to spend the night and have my visitor meet me here. But the plan was already in effect. (I still hadn’t seen Dinnertime or Birches).
I packed up and headed back to the trail. It wasn’t too long before a naked man with a backpack on approached me, asking if I knew where a particular trail was. I kept my eyes on his face and pretended that nothing was out of the ordinary, as I apologized for knowing nothing but the way the PCT went. I hiked on alone, winding my way down some switchbacks where I could see the bridge I would cross.

Cowboy caught up to me while I was taking a break at the end of the bridge. We chatted for a couple of minutes and then he moved on. When I caught up to him, he asked if I wanted to go ahead of him. I said I didn’t care. Really, I was happy for the company. I finally got to ask him about his yoga practice and a little about himself. I told him that I had to stop at the road ahead to meet my visitor and he promised that we could do a little yoga before the end of the day!
We reached the dam and then had a tough time re-finding the trail! Baby eagles flew overhead and Cowboy wished that Birdman was here to confirm their identity. We ended up walking through a creek (the cold water felt good in our shoes!) and then someone pointed us back towards the trail. We climbed up towards the road, hoping that the owner of the RV we could see might offer us some water. And then, suddenly we were there! My friend had texted me, saying that his plane was delayed and that the airline had lost his luggage! I wrote back but he didn’t reply. I had no idea when he would be arriving or whether or not he would even be able to make it! Cowboy asked if I was okay waiting alone and then started to head off, saying that Canada wasn’t going to wait. “But what about our yoga?” I asked. He agreed to do some, so we spread out our sleeping pads and I changed into my shorts. He wanted me to lead, but I wasn’t prepared, so he went ahead and lead us through some Sun A’s. It was his first time leading and he did a really good job! He told me that I was a good friend to wait for this guy and then headed out. Several minutes later, I heard someone call my name. I wasn’t sure who! It was Cowboy letting me know that he had found a small water cache under a bush up the trail.
I spread out some of my things that needed to be dried and waited and waited and waited… Finally, I called the guy to see what was happening. He was on his way, but stuck in traffic. I realized that the Spillway where he wanted to meet us was a mile and a half back on the trail. Dinnertime and Birches would be stopping there. I didn’t see any roads there, though, and didn’t understand how someone could drive there! I explained the situation to my friend and he said he would meet me here first and then go back to visit them. The sun began to drop below the horizon, and still no one showed up…

Finally, a car pulled in.
“It’s been five years,” he said.
“Four,” I corrected.
He opened up his trunk and cracked open a beer. The owner of the RV returned and asked us if we were hiking the PCT. “I am. He did it last year.” He asked if we wanted a rootbeer float! I agreed. After chatting for a few minutes, he said he was going to take off to meet the others and that he would see me here tomorrow. (?!) Birches was being picked up at 10 am. He wanted to leave me at a road alone and make me wait until 10 am (when it would be scorching out) for them to come back here?!
As he started walking off, I said, “Why don’t I just come with you?”. He told me I had two minutes to pack up my stuff! I stuffed most of my things back in my pack and left a couple of things in the trunk of his car, including my tent. Then, I lead the way back in the dark. When we arrived and heard voices, he made an owl call, which was returned by Dinnertime. (I guess that is how they would find one another on the AT). We found Dinnertime and Birches and our friend asked Birches if he wanted a beer. (He was carrying a tiny pack- most of which was a case of beer!). Birches did not recognize him. He said “sure” thinking we might be trail angels. Finally, he figured out that it was his good friend standing in front of him! Dinnertime lead us back to their “sketchy” campsite which turned out to be a wide dirt floor with the biggest cracks that I had ever seen all over it! Oh, my goodness! Dinnertime and Birches already had their tents set up, as did Leftover and Lullabi. I stood in a circle with Dinnertime, Birches, and our friend, who only offered his cans of beer to the guys. (?) We talked until 10, when Dinnertime said it was time for him to go to sleep. I looked around for a place to lay out my groundcloth.

And that is where I will fade this scene.

Day 21
May 9
274.5-299
24.5 miles

I got up around 5:20 in the morning and discovered I was half off my sleeping pad. It was cold! Condensation was all over the inside of my tent and there was even frost on my backpack!

I had granola with powdered milk for breakfast and was on the trail at 6:26. I wound my way down some switchbacks, passing by two tents and a cowboy camper. A couple of miles later, I found the Swedish boys, still in camp! They had stopped at 4:30 yesterday and camped with a big group. As I was chatting with them, a hiker came up to me and said, “I need to talk with you- privately.” I said that I knew, as part of the plan to meet up with the AT hiker was to surprise Dinnertime’s friend who happened to be joining Dinnertime on this stretch of the PCT. The three of them had hiked a big stretch of the AT together. Robin listened as I asked where they were planning on getting to today and tomorrow. The entire time I was talking to him, I somehow thought he was Dinnertime’s friend because I had only seen Dinnertime one time and this guy didn’t look like him. At one point, I asked him, “Who are you?”. He said “Dinnertime” and took off his hat so I could recognize him the way I had met him the day coming into Ziggy and the Bear. He told me that his friend Birches (who we could hear crushing some kind of metal in the distance) was camped a little ahead and that I should say hi and tell him that I also hiked the AT the year they did. “But then he might catch on!” I said.
Everything turned out fine. Before I left, the Swedes warned me about getting lost at Cougar’s Crest. “What’s that?” I asked.
Sure enough, I spend a good deal of time around that intersection trying to find the PCT…
The guy with the funny hat who saw me in the gear shop in Idyllwild and two others passed me while I was snacking on a rock, but I never saw Dinnertime.
As I approached the creek, I was really hoping that no one would be there so I could take care of my girl issues, but the Swedes were taking an extended break there.

Within a couple of minutes, I was perfectly okay with the situation. How could anyone be upset around them? A couple more people came by to fish, as well. I thought I saw some poison oak and asked Rasmus about it, but he said he didn’t know what it looked like either! I filtered some water and then relaxed for a few minutes before heading on. The Swedes wanted to hike six more miles to Splinter’s Cabin, but I was shooting for 8 more.

At the last second, they overtook me on the bridge.

They are fast hikers! A guy on his way out said there was a big group over there. It was off the trail, but I decided I could go over and cook my dinner there and then move on a bit. Cowboy was there and said it was nice to see me! I said thanks. I asked him if he did yoga today and he said he had done some in the morning, but that he didn’t have a set routine. I told him I wanted to do some with him sometime!

I ate dinner with the Swedes, who went down to the creek to do some fishing afterwards. People started jockeying for positions to sleep on the concrete floor under the roof. I packed up and got going after 7. Thunder and dark clouds rolled in and I wondered if I had made a mistake leaving the roof!

As it started to rain, I switched jackets and put my pack cover on. I was walking on a ridge with little possibility of camp spots, but then I found a little path to the right and decided to check it out. There, I found a flat camp spot and was able to set my tent up easily! The rain stopped at 8:45 but started up again several times throughout the night.

Tomorrow we would reach Deep Creek Hot Springs. I was a bit wary about this place from what I had read in the guidebooks. I had 15.6 miles of hiking until I met my visitor.