Phone pics

Running low on time been quite a while since I've had service. High sierra is top 5 on the most beautiful places I've been. Whitney was awesome even with 30 MPH winds, 17 degree ambient temps and the sky opening up with snow on arrival to camp. Don't have a lot of time, so much to do when you get to town. Uploading all these pics from my phone many more and better to come when I can upload ones from my camera. If you ever want to do a trip like this, john Muir trail all the way. Sorry for the sloppy post enjoy the pictures.

Faster or Slower?

Sitting in the driveway of casa de Luna I am a little antsy to be back on the trail. I want to be in the sierras, supposed cherry on top on the pct sundae, but I have to remind myself to smell the roses and take a nero in stride. My last two days have been my highest mileage yet and I guess I deserve a little reward.

I've run into quite a few more hikers now. Rolling into agua dulce and the wonderful sauffley heaven, seven new faces were already peering over adult beverages and enjoying comfy couches. I was given the option of shacking up in a horse trailer or a couch. I stupidly chose the couch. How many chances will I get to sleep in a horse trailer? I broke the cardinal rule of turning down something new. I cannot say enough about the sauffley's and the amazing set up they have there, truly wonderful people! Skipping this place is much more than criminal.

As I descended out of the San Gabriel's the pines slowly faded to chapparel and the unfortunately familiar desert. The hike into agua dulce was filled with hills of yellow flowers and amazing rock formations. The San Andreas fault has has crushed this place for ages and produced stunning work.

I'm not looking forward to the 250 more miles of desert but the dude abides and beautiful mountains await!

P.S. Casa de Luna is awesome, so much love flows through the house and beautiful manzanita garden! We also got a tour of the town. It's a tiny little place but Justified, an awesome tv show, is filmed at several locations here and the Butterfield Stage Coach used to have a route through the main drag. We were also the first hikers to sign this years banner.

Good Vibrations

Decent enough weather + Beautiful views + Good music + 3 candy bars from an electric company employee on lunch + The highest mileage day yet + A cold beer in a warm trail angel house = A wonderful day and pure hiking bliss.

The flowers provided the sunshine for an otherwise cloudy but thankfully cool day.

Interim update

Nasty weather moved in fast after the Baden Powell climb. The wind was a constant 20 to 30 miles an hour with significantly higher gusts. The clouds whipped by on the ridge I was descending at 9000 ft. Rain and sleet started late in the afternoon and continued into the night. I awoke to a half inch of wintery mix with rain coming down in the morning. I met Alex's dad for a ride to the pct kick off had a great time there in much warmer weather. I'll leave with a few pictures and fill in the details when I get to a computer.

Baden Powell Climb

Steep snowy and very icy. Earning my climbing merit badge today! More pics and an update to come tonight if I have service.

Its coming...

So many of you may be wondering how the hell I got this far and what happened on the trail for the month that I have already been out here. The task of writing a month of blog posts with all that happens is a little daunting but not to worry I will be doing a series of flashbacks with details and stories from the first month.
For now I will provide a quick and dirty overview. I started from the border March 20th ran into serveal border patrol agents the first day and got my first dose of snow in Mount Laguna a few days later. Most of the next 100 miles were in the tiring desert. A high point was sleeping in a cave on a cold and rainy night, while the low was watching the Gators blow the final four in some random California barbeque joint.  From there I climbed San Jacinto and traversed a very snowy Fuller Ridge. I stayed with trail angels in windy Cabazon, CA. Got a delicious meal from Troop 315 after trapsing through wind farms and big horn sheep country all day. I was lured  into a week in Big Bear by a foot and a half of snow, free snowboarding, a super chill hostel, and incredible people. Messed up my foot trail running 14 miles of the trail around Big Bear and almost got hypothermia when my ride didnt show up till well after dark.
OK so that's the overview more to come.

Tough Days Part 2

The trail always crosses interstates at the most inconspicuous of places. Picture a wet and dirty underpass a hobo would think twice about sleeping in and you'll get the idea. I did not originally intend to stop at I-15 except for maybe some nasty McDonald's and a cold drink but I knew I might start thinking about quitting altogether if I kept pushing my foot.
I had been hiking off and on with two hikers Joe and Alex since Big Bear. Alex had told me earlier that he lived in the area and would be taking a few days off when he got to cajon pass. I gave him a call after wolfing down 20 chicken nuggets and for cups of HI-C, and the for the next day and half Alex and his family made the nicest gesture I have received on the the trail. His family welcomed me with a place to sleep, delicious burgers, and a bone chilling but healing ice bath.
To make sure nothing was seriously injured with my foot Alex graciously gave me a ride to a clinic. Limping into the clinic I drew plenty of stares with my trekking pole cane. Almost the instant the doctor saw my feet he said I would need to stay off my feet for at least two weeks. I told him that wouldn't be an option and he just kept giving me looks reserved only for the dumbest of dumb. He shuffled me over to the x-ray technician, who chewed my ear off about Tebow because of my Florida hat. I tried to carry on the conversation but I was more concerned with him making sure my foot would be okay than Tebow's wonder. My expression imeadiately eased into a big smile when the doc came back with good news, only a few bone bruises and severely sprained tendons. He tried to make it sound as grave as possible so I would heed his earlier two week advice but he could tell it was no use. As he wrote a script for antibiotics I tried to convince him I wasn't some crazy idiot, telling him that many have done this before, but my words fell on already decided ears.

I was able to rest my foot the next day at Alex's parents house. They are the kindest of people, my feet and I would like to thank all of the Zinda's for helping me out so much.

 Water Source?

San Gorgonio and Jacinto in the background