By: Luke Baum
Though our journey changes every day, I'm so excited to keep everyone updated along the way! Our third week on this adventure was full of twists and turns and various challenges that allowed us to grow as backpackers.
As my hike continues, so grows my inspiration to outline and write my planned book on trial! All my daily notes of where I am, what I'm doing, who I'm meeting and what I'm learning are vital to the whole process!
Therefore, as always, I'm so excited to share this whirlwind of a week we've had on the PCT!
Week 3 Journal Part 1 PCT 2023:
Day Fifteen
The first day of week three began at the bottom of Nance Canyon (Mile 140), the day after our awesome night at Mike's Place.
Through a hot and scarcely shaded climb, we made it 5 miles to Mary's Place. By then, the wind was picking up quite a bit, which was excellent in cooling us off as we filled up on water and rested under the canopies provided by our absent Trail Angel. In addition, Mary stages cutout of famous nature writers, has a trail register, and a mini library exchange, offering a faint feeling of calm in the middle of the desert.
From there, all that was on my mind to make it up the last 6 mile climb, down to CA 74 (Mile 151.8) and 2 miles off trail to the fabled Paradise Valley Cafe (PVC). it was long and grueling. 1 mile felt like 5, the sun was so hot, and we were thirsty.
Finally, we made it to the road where a bit of trail magic was waiting for us: ice cold spring water, assumably left by a Trail Angel. It's the little stuff that keeps us going, and boy did we need it! The 2 miles to the cafe from trail, though flat, were still dry and would take us close to 45 minutes. We were both so tired, but we had to keep on! The promise of being served cooked food is quite the motivator.
Unfortunately, the restaurant was out of fuel, which meant no cooked meal for us. It seriously bummed me out, but sometimes, we end up getting what we need instead. The Cesar salad I enjoyed was very good; I realized had really been missing fresh vegetables out here on trail.
There was pleasent live country music playing outside, and as soon as we wanted a ride, we got on our packs, went outside, and saw a bus with moutains painted on the sides. We didn't know what it was, but we were hopeful it might be a shuttle into Idyllwild. Upon striking up a conversation with the driver, we learned that he was supporting his wife who was hiking the PCT.
At the same time, another lady approached the bus having seen them post on the local FaceBook groups telling people to say hi! She turned to us and asked us if we needed a ride into town, and we took her up on the trip! She was a resident Trail Angel who lived in Idyllwild, and it was a 15 min drive to Bluebird Cottage Inn.
Hayley and I rented a night at the cottage in with another hiker called Fred from Berlin to help lower the cost. I'm sure you could imagine how expensive hotel stays in California can get! Greatfully, it was a nice room and clean, but mostly I was just happy to have shelter.
However, having a day in town doesn't mean that we have much time for relaxation. Almost immediately, we headed to town to do laundry. There, a descendant of the famous Californian explorer John Muir pulled up the the laundromat. His name is Robert Muir and he's a very nice man with lots of stories! knows mark hamills family well! "Been here since ‘57".
Still at the laundromat, a guy we recognized from trail informed me that Mags (our friend from Lake Morena day three and again in Julian when she gifted me Leuko tape) had gotten heat exhaustion the day before!! On her way from Mike’s to Mary’s place, apparently she fell down and passed out, all with enough food and water in her system. She seemed fine at one moment, and then all of a sudden she wasn’t.
I was sad to hear that she had to get off trail until next year. I grabbed Jet from outside and had him tell her about Mags. Jet had also hopped to see Mags again on trail as part of our hiker bubble, but of course, prioritizing your health comes first, especially out here.
After our clothes were done washing and with a kind farewell with Rob Muir, we decided to head a couple blocks over to the burger joint in town. It was a smaller restaurant, and every table was full. Fred joined us and we learned a little bit more about our German friend. I enjoyed a delicious veggie burger, and once we were all finished with dinner and beers, we set back to the Blue Bird Cottage Inn (a little under two miles away).
We didn’t get very far, however, because just as we were about ten yards from the burger joint, who other than Rob pulls up and offers us a ride back to the cottage inn! For saving our feet (and our calories), I was so grateful to him.
Once we pulled up to the place we called home for the next couple of nights, he gave us his number and told us that he would be happy to give us a ride back to trail, whenever that may be. He’s a true trail Angel.
With thanks, we returned into our room, I showered, relaxed to a movie on tv, and slept well; ready for our zero day tomorrow!!
Day Sixteen: Zero Day
I woke on day sixteen at 7:30 well rested and ready to see the Major of Idyllwild. The day before, we heard a rumor at the laundromat that Mayor Max, the only dog Major in the world, was going to be at Amelia’s Donut’s in town at 9am. Of course we had to see Max! (And I couldn’t think of a better breakfast than donuts.)
Max and his Deputy Mayor Meadow were adorable golden retrievers who loved taking pictures and licking peoples’ faces. And, yes, the donuts were really good.
The mayors left just before 10, which was when most of the shops on Idyllwild opened. I needed to buy a hat to use for when I’m sleeping at night, injini toe socks to protect my feet from blisters, a new power bank to replace our failing solar charger, a general resupply at the town market.
Before starting our errands, Dora came to town! She walked right passed us as we sat on the front porch, and as soon as I saw her, I was so happy and shouted her name. She came running over and we greeted each other with a hug, exchanged stories, and planned dinner for that night. These are the reasons I love town days: you see the friends you’ve made on trail, you meet new friends to bring with you on trail, and there’s so much to do!
Because I was staying at the Bluebird, I got a discount at the local hat store: Woolies. I feel pretty lucky that the exact place I needed to go was offering me a discount just for the place I was staying! Turns out, a pair of brothers each own one of the businesses and try to draw people to each other. I love that kind of charm you get from a small town! I bought a nice lightweight had for sleep-time and continued on my way.
Next, we both went to the gear shop. There I got the toe socks and the trail-renowned power bank: the Nightcore 10000, which is the among the lightest, most powerful, reliable, and cheapest of the kind on market. A lot of people have one out here, and since I’ve tried one out for myself, I’m very happy with its performance.
Still unsure about where to stay the night before we headed back to trail and really having enjoyed our night at the Inn, I convinced Hayley to rebook the room in exchange for paying all but $5 of her share. Hey… what can I say? I was desperate for another night in what I considered luxury at that point: a bed, a tv, shower, toilet, sink, and a roof… what more could you ask for. I gave Fred a quick phone call to ask him if he too wanted another night, and we was immediately on board and very enthusiastic sounding. We arranged another night and returned our gear, bags, and supplies back to the room after going grocery shopping.
All our our chores we completed by 2pm, and from then on, the front porch of that inn felt like a prime vacation destination. Finally I could relax and take in the true wonder of what was around us. Close in the distance, the San Jacinto Mountain range kept watch over the cute wooded town of Idyllwild. From our time here, I had really began to enjoy it, and I knew Idyllwild was my favorite town so far.
The mountains in the distance, reminded us however that we needed to plan on which route to take the upcoming days. After deliberation and consideration of all we had learned, we decided to go around the apparently sketchy mountains and continue the trail via the Black Mountain Road. The is a trail that begins on the other side of the mountains and reconnects with the PCT at the point after all of the sketchy peaks after 8 miles. Neither of us have had any mountaineering experience, and even though we had purchased ice spikes in Julian for snow and ice walking, neither of us had an ice axe nor the training to use one properly. Besides, we both fell in love with this little cute town at the foot of Mount San Jacinto, and have made some plans to come back in July or August sometime in the future and summit those peaks safely.
We relaxed on the porch a little longer and then laid in bed before going to meet Dora for dinner at an Italian restaurant in town called Fratellos.
I enjoyed a delicious pasta dish and an even better conversation between Jet, Dora, myself, and another gentleman who goes by the trail name of Smiles. Both guests are in their 50s, and it was very nice and well rounded discussions on social topics that took into consideration several seemingly opposing views to find common ground. We ended dinner feeling grateful for good times, good people, and good discussions; may we continue to share our experiences openly.
We walked the two miles back to the Inn from dinner and went to bed immediately, happy for a lovely day in town and ready to crush the trail the next day! night night
Day Seventeen
I awoke at 6:30, got ready, and packed up in the room. It’s always so hard to leave.
Rob Muir picked us up at 7:30, and we headed up and around San Jacinto to reach the Black Mountain Road. All along the way, Rob told us stories of all the places around the mountain including the homes and who owned them and stories about the mountains and the valleys. Rob guided us on a tour around the mountain; him and his dad had a lot of hands in building the town and houses, he knew a lot of history! Once we arrived at the road, Rob showed no signs of stopping in the face of the terribly destroyed road. He plowed his way up that mountain in his huge SUV, and even picked up two other hikers on our way up! He only stopped when he couldn’t drive any further: we had finally reached the mountain snow.
We all had a heartfelt goodbye with Mr. Muir. Hope to see him again when we plan to visit Idyllwild in July to summit San Jacinto!
Now, it was our first snow walk! We climbed about 3 miles up and over the snow-covered trail and set up lunch at a breathtaking summit and relaxed for 45 mins.
After our lunch, it was back down the hill!! We met another hiker called Layla at this time, and she told us of her near death experience up in the mountains just two days ago! She decided to go up into the mountains to summit the peaks with her hiker family, even though she is afraid of heights. She told us that she almost fell to her death when avoiding a steep and icy part of the trail by instead choosing to step on a boulder. But boulder fell loose and she fell with it! Her ice axe ended up lodging into the icy cliff side just moments later… and she wasn’t even holding the ice axe! It was the wrist strap securely tied around her that saved her, otherwise she would’ve fallen!
After all of that, she bailed off the mountain and took the Black Mountain Road the rest of the way. Since then, Layla claimed she felt possessive of any and all dirt seen on trail, because after all that snow, all she wanted was solid ground. She made a joke that it was like Captain Jack Sparrow and his possessiveness for his jar of soil from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
And so, I gave her a trial name: Captain Jack. She laughed and loved her new name claiming it as her own.
On our way down just as the trail reconnected with the PCT, I slipped, and not even on snow! I slipped on a thick layer of long pine needles that blanketed the slopped trail. But it’s nothing too bad, it just makes the pack a bit more uncomfortable around my shoulders.
Anyway, Captain Jack ended up finding the rest of her hiker family after she guided us about another 3 miles down the snow! Once the snow cleared the trail was where she found her people.
Jet and I continued alone, happy to have met her, but we still had about 7 miles of downhill to go.
We continued on, taking in the views and loving the downhill climb off the north face of the mountain.
After passing milestone marker 200, we camped about 5 miles downhill on side of the mountain in a little hideaway camp with two other hikers.
But we were not the last to join the crew of backpackers that night! Tiki Bird Tracey AKA “Condor” from day two came to camp!! She taught us all those days ago about proper footing when climbing and about breath control and techniques to keep your blood-oxygen levels high. This time, she informed us of tomorrow’s heat, and therefore, we planned on taking a siesta the next day before it got too hot.
At camp, I enjoyed a good meal and good times, but the hiker hunger is kicking in: I NEED MORE FAT!!!
Night night
Day Eighteen
We woke and left camp by 6:30 that morning in anticipation for the heat.
We made it the rest of the way down the mountain and to the next water source. Condor was there again, and we were clued into the fact that we were approaching Cabezon and the I-10 overpass (about 10 miles from where we camped night before).That day, it was forecasted to have a heatwave with temperatures around 95 degrees, and we knew for sure we needed to escape this heat.
With the help of some phone service, Hayley had the idea for her Tio to meet us in Cabezon with all of the resupply he generously kept at his home for when we were ready. Because this was the closest spot to his house from trail, it only seemed to make sense. We still had several miles through the hot, flat, and sandy stretch of terrain from the base of Mount San Jacinto and the I-10 overpass though.
The space under the bridge which the PCT ran through was well maintained by a trail angel with water and posters on the wall to sign names for the PCT class of ‘23. By the time we arrived, he was there to get us within just a few minutes! Condor asked if she could come into town with us, and we happily took her along.
It was a short drive to the casino and the grouping of restaurants around it where I had my first ever In-N-Out!!! Oh wow it was so good; just the fat I needed to satisfy my ever growing hiker hunger!! I got the grilled cheese with all the toppings and animal style fries with a drink. Just typing it out makes me so hungry…
Next, we went to the store for a small resupply for food and calories and then opened the care packages from my parents at home. Thanks mom and dad!! With my new supplies, I reorganized my bag, replacing gear and dropping gear.
After that, we stopped into Starbucks to charge our electronics a bit and got milkshakes before we were taken back to under the bridge by 4:00.
Under that bridge, it felt like the Hobo life, especially with all of the other hikers passing through, everyone chilling or laying on ground, not to mention the frequent trains that would go passing by, forcing us all to speak in a yell if we were to hear each other. During that time, Jet, Condor, and I booked an Airbnb together for Big Bear City coming up in about 50 miles. Therefore, we all decided to hike together until then.
We waited out the heat under that bridge until about 6:45, and at that point, we were all ready for our first sunset and night hiking!! It was cooler but still sooo hot. It was all worth it though; the setting sun blanketed the entire land in golden light that was so beautiful. I continue to be amazed by the beauty and wonder of the earth day after day.
We all had a good time and it was an easy hike to the wind farm (about 5 miles from the I-10 overpass). It was dark when we arrived around 11, kind of sketchy, and very noisy from the wind turbines constantly in motion cutting through the air. I found camp just off trail, and we all plan on resting until about 4:30am. When we wake, we’ll continue on another 6 miles to the White Water Preserve where we can wait out tomorrows heat before continuing on.
That night, I heard a lot of wildlife including howling coyotes calling back and forth on either side of the valley we camped in. I wasn’t worried, especially because I had my tent, and was able to fall asleep well and quickly.
It was such a nice day, and now, I’m so excited for our hike along the Whitewater River before arriving to our Airbnb in Big Bear City.
Afterward
This time, I decided I needed to post my third week on the trail on two parts, especially because so much happened, and I want to be able to have manageable and digestible chunks of my journal both for myself and everyone following along on the blog.
The wilderness is often a place for hard truths, and I know I’ve had several presented to me while on my time here. I’m really excited to keep sharing my adventures and everything I learn and feel about myself along the way!
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