Note: Below is the PCT Journal being put on PureBound.com...please be patient. I will let you know when the posting is complete.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

The PCT was always on the agenda and it gets harder and harder to find the time for these things as you get older – at least until you retire and I’m really not that patient. So while my friends are busy getting married, forging careers and such, I shall spend the better part of 2006 doing my best to freeze to death up a mountain thousands of miles from home with only an umbrella and a plastic skirt to stave off the elements. I expect it will be a very good year.

So, preparations are beginning in earnest: Billy and I are back to bickering just like in the good old days, equipment choices are being scrutinised in terrifying detail, concerned loved ones are being reassured (not with much conviction), and I am somehow dragging my sorry self out of bed at 5am every morning to run round and round my local park in weather that would make a sane man weep.

So, if you’re interested in what we’re doing – whether you’re a well-wisher, a fellow hiker, or just a sadist watching us suffer for kicks – keep following on PureBound. We like the attention really.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

The trip is starting to feel very much like a reality now. I’m already getting worried about making all the preparations. At the moment we seem to have a long list of things we ‘must do’ and an endless list of things we’d love to do for the hike. There are plenty of things to give us headaches. Mostly the equipment and training side is fine – it’s the logistics that are proving difficult for us to sort out. We’re currently looking at the options we have for producing the best possible record of our trip and getting it up on PureBound for all you lucky folks to enjoy or deride at your leisure. I hope the finished product is worth it…

Our Pacific Crest Trail hike still seems far away in time, but the planning aspect of the hike is enormous (just weight contemplation alone). It is not the mile-by-mile aspect of the trail I spend all day analyzing, but rather how we can bring back the best memories thru technology. I know that writing a journal is very hard work- from the adventures I have experienced. Many times you may feel pressured to write something, just anything to get a memory down. In retrospect, the little extra seems worth it, especially when you get those appreciative emails telling of how your journey inspired others to at least live vicariously. And now I want even more accomplishments than just hiking the trail. The trail is a huge accomplishment in one's life, never to be forgotten. But I would like to create just one more way to remember the adventure besides my fading memory- Helping me see what Ben sees, what I have forgotten, and one more reason to dream.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

01/06/06

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

I’ve been fitting in as much as I can, though my time is limited by work at the moment. This will change towards the end of February when I move back to Malvern to begin full-time preparation. I have now done enough reading about the PCT that I feel I have enough of an idea of what is required of me and my equipment. If I’m worried about anything it’s water treatment and getting into town for resupply, and I’m not losing sleep over these.

Training:

A comprehensive physical training regime is essential for this trip. I expect I’d probably be ok starting with my current level of fitness, but for the fact I’m hiking with Billy. I’m no slouch, but Billy is a natural hiking machine and I want to be able to at least keep up with him.

Since late summer, I have been out running several times a week in order to improve my basic fitness. Running is very convenient when time and space are limited and it does a good job of improving your cardiovascular fitness. However, it is no replacement for hiking miles over hills with a pack on. I’m now starting to add some strength and balance training and doing what I can to ensure that I don’t have a recurrence of the back problem that threatened to end my AT thru-hike. I’ve done plenty of reading into back-care in recent years and have been unimpressed by a large amount of what I have read. I have come to the conclusion that posture and how we use our bodies are the most important factor in back health and, as such, a system such as the Alexander Technique is the most promising way to go about preventing problems.

Once I return to Malvern I will have the beautiful Malvern Hills on which to begin putting in some long hikes. The Malvern range may not be particularly big by the standards of the PCT, but it is easy to put together routes that feature enough up-and-down and uneven going to do an admirable job of trail conditioning. You’re also never more than thirty minutes walk from a pub. In April I’ll be hiking in the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland with friend and experienced winter mountain hiker, Jake. This should get me a little more used to dealing with snow and should provide a useful test of some of my equipment. I also hope to have a bit of a play at ice-axe self-arrest.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

I have finally booked my flights and shall be heading to Atlanta on the 3rd of May. I have a flexible return from Vancouver - nominally booked for the 10th of October, but I'm not even going to think about when we might actually finish. The plan is to fly into San Diego on the 13th, which gives us time together at chez Billy to make any final preparations and to get a head start on learning to hate the sight of one another. We'll also have a day or so in San Diego to check out the city and pick up fuel.

For various reasons my training regime has been suffering recently and I'm having trouble getting out to run in the week. I'm not too concerned as the most important part of my training doesn't start until I get back to Malvern next month and I am still getting some indoor work done. As Will and I are both leaving London in February, we probably have an awful lot of goodbye drinks and karaoke to survive over the next few weeks before I can concentrate on trying to become fitter. Will has now made plans to tour South America from the end of February until sometime in May, so I'm going to be saying goodbye to him for a long while, though hopefully he'll still make it out for a while in Washington.

Not much else to report at the moment. Ever since I handed in my notice at work, they've been sending me off around the country to get their money's worth out of me before I'm gone. I still need to think up some paid work I can do to tide me over while I'm living in Malvern - suggestions welcome on this one. My copies of the PCT Data Book and Town Guide arrived recently and I'll get around to studying them over the next few weeks. Both seem to be well-produced and I'm sure I'm going to get far too well acquainted with them both over the next few months.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

This weekend, Will and I sang our final drunken karaoke together, said our farewells, and left London. Will is now touring South America – leaving God-knows-what carnage in his wake – while I am back at the family homestead in Worcestershire. The big training push finally began today after two months of idleness that have seen my fitness level plummet. I remain confident though – especially now that my secret motivational weapon has arrived – the complete Rocky DVD box set (minus the abominable Rocky V). Combined with a continuous loop of ‘Hearts on Fire’ on my MP3 player, I can’t fail…

Now that I’m once more happily unemployed, I have all the time I need to make arrangements and prepare for the trip. Whether that’ll happen is another matter - we can but hope. All that there remains to do is: get fit enough to walk three thousand miles without breaking down, book our flights to the trail, order our wilderness passes, organise insurance, see doctor/dentist/optician, source the remainder of my equipment and find some way to entertain myself for ten weeks in a town that all my friends deserted years ago. No doubt my mother’s endearing habit of cracking open the gin before lunch will aid on this final point, if not any of the others.

It sounds like Billy’s been busy recently – much too busy to speak to me anyway – and I’m excited that he’s beginning to post pages on creating your own kit. This is much more Billy’s field of expertise than my own and he has made some great stuff (his homemade bug netting/groundsheet inspires envy wherever he pitches it) – so let’s hope he stops slacking and gets to work posting more.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

So far so good: Most of my major tasks to prepare for the PCT are complete already: We’ve done the critical business of booking flights and applying for wilderness passes. Billy’s still slacking, but I’ve even raced ahead and sent off my Canadian entry permit. I’m easily confused by forms, but this one almost threw me entirely with its somewhat ambiguous request for my ‘Appearance’. Oh the possibilities that raced through my mind… I think it probably triggered some sort of seizure like in the Andromeda Strain when the female scientist is confronted by a red light flashing at a particular frequency. All I know is that when I came-to, it was dark and there was so much drool on the form I had to print off another. I tried my best to empathise with the authorities who had commissioned the form to figure out what information they were hoping to get from it. I was worried that I’d get to the border and be turned away for not looking sufficiently ‘dashing’, ‘pensive’, or ‘shambolic’ to match the information they had on file for me. I felt reasonably safe with this last one, but a lot can change in 6 months and I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. I finally settled on the dull, but safe ‘white’ - I can't forsee any quibbling over that one. I like to think that whoever designed the form was chuckling away to himself as he added this field.

Visits to the dentist and doctor confirmed me to be in better health than I can possibly deserve to be and my training is proceeding on schedule. All in all, I’m having a great time back in the countryside. I was wrong to think that I’d be solely reliant on my mother plying me with gin to get by – she’s taken to plying me with wine and beer too. I usually fit a few hours of exercise in before the first cork is popped and have got a nice little training route set up – a 4.5 mile run over gentle hills, followed by a 5.5 mile hike back across the ridge of the Malverns. We’ve had lovely clear weather recently, though temperatures have been stubbornly stuck in the 30s and we even got a little snow. I’ve been getting some funny looks from hill walkers kitted out in 3-ply Gore-Tex, mountain boots and knee-length gaiters as I breeze by in my short-shorts, sneakers and ankle-socks. Why so many feel the need to dress as though they’re mounting an assault on the North face of the Eiger I have no idea – it’s not as though they’re ever even out of sight of a pub up there.

I’ve been busy working with Billy to produce some new material for PureBound. We’ve got a few projects underway and new material should be added to the site over the next couple of weeks. Billy finally sprang the ‘surprise’ he’d been alluding to for some weeks. It was a biggy in the scheme of things, but not an unwelcome one. - I’ll leave it to Billy to make announcements as and when they’re appropriate.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Good to hear you're upbeat today! Dang it dude, we're hiking the PCT in 2 months - it doesn't get much sweeter than that. Five months of smelling like ass!

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Both the thru-permit and my Canada entry permit have now arrived and each was accompanied by a few friendly words wishing me well for the hike. The PCTA even sent a separate letter thanking me for my donation - though they seem to have blown most of it on postage charges and stationary.

The training remains good and good fun. I have finally graduated to running the Hills themselves - having been spurred on last weekend by fresh snow that brought with it the prospect of re-living the climactic scene from the Rocky IV training montage. It was going well until I reached the ridge of the hills to find myself running through a blizzard and fighting to prevent some of my most precious anatomy icing up.

I have decided to travel up to Scotland in a couple of weeks to attempt a shakedown hike of the West Highland Way before heading to Aberdeen to see Jake. I have a week or so to hike the trail and get my body used to doing reasonable distance again. The trail runs for 95 miles and is described by Jake as 'a bit of a low level motorway', i.e. easy. The only thing that should make life tricky is the weather - West coast Scotland in April is liable to be revoltingly wet and cold, but that should help make a man of me. I intend to do a partial 'yo-yo' - hiking South to North, then turning around and seeing how far I get heading back the other way before my time's up. The plans with Jake are still a little vague - there's been various mention of beer, curry, mountain hiking, biking, and entering the Clachnaben Hill Race - but mostly beer and curry. Jake has now launched his own website dedicated to his cycling pursuits - the excellent Farm-Boy. It currently features journals, photos, gear and more from Jake's many cycling adventures and new content is being added every day.

I've been sufficiently inspired by Billy's Sewing Tips to finally take a rummage in the garage and have dug up an old Singer sewing machine. With a little guidance from my mother I have already created a sil-nylon water carrier that I hope to use as part of a gravity filter system, and am set to begin work on a bug-netting solution for the PCT - we'll see just how much of a hash I make of the project, but for now I'm enjoying the challenge.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

In a couple of days I’ll be heading up to Glasgow for the start of the West Highland Way. The weather forecast is predictably bleak, with night time temperatures of 25°F and rain expected every day. My old Marmot sleeping bag is not looking its best and I can’t be bothered to do anything about it so I expect to be cold. My only real concern is whether there will be enough places for me to camp along the way – I’m carrying a tarp and haven’t taken the time to investigate whether there are many trees to pitch up with. Doubtless I’ll figure it out as I go along - as usual.

This week, Billy and I experimented with the medium of “podcasting” - the result is available to listen to on PureBound. This largely served as a trial to see what might be possible in the future – one day maybe we’ll come up with something that justifies the effort. We enjoyed the process of making this one if nothing else.

My other pet project, now that the weather has warmed up slightly here, has been to try hiking barefoot. I’ve been out a couple of times now and had no problem completing a 7 mile walk without feeling any need to resort to shoes again. It’s proved to be a very enjoyable experience and much easier than I had expected. A distinct reduction in traction and a need to cut my pace on some of the rockier sections have been the only notable restrictions I’ve experienced. These aren’t really issues on my pleasure jaunts over the Malverns and they’re more than outweighed by the very pleasant feeling of the ground beneath my feet. Needless to say I’ve been getting some very strange looks and more than a few people have stopped, stared, pointed and laughed at me as I passed. Thankfully I’m long past caring about such attention. Doubtless, hiking large sections of the PCT barefoot would be a very different proposition to a stroll on my grassy hills, so I’m not ready to abandon my trusty trail runners just yet.

Work on PureBound is continuing sporadically. The ‘State-by-State’ account of our Appalachian Trail journey has reached as far as New Hampshire now and, though Billy is still playing catch-up with adding the photos, there is a real chance that it will be complete by the time we head off to San Diego. The idea behind this addition is to tell the story of our hike in a manner that is more accessible and cohesive than wading through the journal entries. It is also written with hindsight and allows us to focus on the significant events and challenges of each section as well as providing more of an overview of the journey as a whole. The ability to add relevant photographs to the narrative is another advantage. Hopefully it will prove interesting to those same individuals who enjoyed following the journal and possibly be a more appealing prospect to those of a less hardcore nature. How I look forward to going through this whole process again for the PCT when we’re done with it…

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Ben sent this in today.

Dude,

Writing you from Fort William. I finished the West Highland Way yesterday lunchtime and have decided not to bother yo-yoing. In reality, I think it would be an anti-climax and I've picked up an ankle niggle that I want to rest. The scenery the last few days was awesome and I filled my camera. I got stressed about finding somewhere to camp - too much farmland and waterlogged ground, so the last two days on trail I stayed at hostels - the spacing meant I finished early (4pm) every day, but that is probably best for me and meant I didn't freeze my ass off. Starting Wednesday afternoon, I think I did: 15, 22, 22, 21, 15. Felt good to be hiking properly and I got some wicked flashbacks to the AT. Weather was terrible for a couple of days - lots of rain, sleet and snow - and barely above freezing the whole time. However, going through the mountains, the snow had settled and the sun came out and it was perfect. I got sunburned though - god help me on the PCT if I can get sunburned in Scotland in April! I had to hike through more stuff like we found in VA - my feet have the exact same smell they did before! It really is disgusting...

The bag looks great - let me know how it works. I'm excited about it and was dreaming about my own as I shivered in my Marmot - that thing isn't good below 40F anymore, that or I've gotten soft.

Off to Jake's today - he'll have to put up with me for a whole week now and will be working in the day, but sure it'll be ok. I'll think about TJs and try and find somewhere to mail you from in Aberdeen - Jake doesn't have internet (or even a phone) as he chooses to live practically Amish - or he would if Amish people lived in a room full of bikes...

Good to see you got your lazy butt out hiking.

Later

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Just a few days left now until Billy and I are reunited in Atlanta – it’s scary to think it’s been two and a half years already, but I’m excited to be going back.

Scotland proved to be great fun - I enjoyed the West Highland Way, though the ankle injury I picked up has proved to be worse than I first thought. Once I made it up to Fort William, I went on to see Jake in Aberdeen for a week. Jake hired a car and we took off on an excursion across Scotland. We had a few forays up mountains at Lochnager and up towards Torridon. I got to practice hiking on steep snowy mountainsides and, more amusingly, throwing myself back down them on my belly. We were beaten back from a couple of summits by some low cloud and blizzards – minutes earlier it had been blue skies and clear, but it changes very quickly up there. We weren’t (deliberately) taking any chances, so chose not to blunder on regardless. We had some stunning views and the whole trip was great fun. I’m not sure if these expeditions were the best thing for my ankle, which became very swollen, but I’ve been resting it since and managed an 8 mile walk yesterday without pain. Although I’ve suddenly stopped exercising, my body has yet to catch up and I’ve still been putting away colossal platefuls of food. It’s no surprise that I’ve put on a few pounds this week, but hopefully not enough to dent my fitness too badly.

I think (or at least hope) that most of my preparations are now done. The bug-netting is still incomplete, but I’m hoping to enlist my mother’s help in finishing that off tomorrow. I’ve sorted out my insurance, bought additional batteries and memory for my camera, got some $$$ and travellers cheques and am now within spitting distance of finishing off the work on the Appalachian Trail State-by-State. Going through the statistics from the Appalachian trip has reminded me just how very, very long that was. Hindsight has done a wonderful job of compressing it down to the point where I bemoan how quickly it was all over. As the PCT looms, 2650 miles suddenly seems a lot further than it did a few months back, when the hike was a distant prospect; now we’ve got to actually hike the thing it seems like an awfully big ask. Hopefully we’re going to enjoy this year every bit as much as we did 2003.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

After some frantic last-minute sewing at home and some rather less frantic last-minute drinking in London, I flew into Atlanta last Wednesday. Billy was waiting at the airport and it was good to see him again - a mere thirty-one months since we parted ways in Maine at the end of our Appalachian Trail trip. Since our reunion, we’ve been pretty busy one way or another. On top of all our hiking-related errands, Billy’s still had work to do and we’ve been repairing inflatable slides, as well as organising and cooking up a picnic for a thousand people. It’s all been crazy busy and we’re going to be cutting it fine to have everything done by the time we fly on Saturday morning. It has been fun though and I’ve gotten to learn a lot about sewing canvas, setting up giant tents and grilling for the masses. I even got to find out what it’s like to be inside of an enormous inflatable slide (for those wondering - it’s pretty cool).

We haven’t done any training for the hike at all and a diet of exclusively Bar-B-Q, Chick-Fil-A and ice-cream has probably undone all the good work I’ve put in over the last few months. Still, it’s been fun and at least we’ve got our equipment pretty much together now. We’ve been shopping like crazy: I’ve bought new shoes, a new rain jacket, new shorts, water filters and more. With a Lot of help from my mother I also got my bug netting/groundsheet finished in the nick of time. It looks like it’s going to do the job well enough for my liking. The second sleeping bag and both vests arrived a couple of days ago too. The bags look amazing and I can’t wait to test mine in anger - we’ll be posting full reviews once we’ve finished the Trail, but they seem to be exactly what we wanted and I can’t see them disappointing.

Starting out a few weeks after the crowds has meant that we’ve been able to follow the progress of our fellow hikers. It sounds like it’s going to be hot and snowy – and that we’re going to get lost. Still, it’ll make men of us (something better) and we’ll probably still enjoy ourselves.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Saturday 05/13/06

--- The Pacific Crest Trail Thru Hike---

We left my house at 6:30 AM to catch our 8:30 AM flight to Minnesota. Pretty uneventful getting to the Atlanta airport. We checked in online and had to self check our bags at the airport. We both made it through TSA without being searched. On the plane I thought we would get an extra seat, as Ashley had bailed on us, but a 30 something, hot female, requested her seat was with us. I questioned how she had come upon the ticket, but I didn’t quite get her reply. Anyhow, I laughed as Ben and she talked thru me (I sat silent). I dubbed the hot chick “Mainstream Mary” for her all-to-average appeals in life. She was from Powder Springs and venturing to Montana with a 50 plus group of girls for “girls' week” at an Arthur Blank Ranch resort. The three of us talked little on the 2 hour plane ride, but it will probably be our last conversation with a hot chick for 5 months. “Mainstream Mary” parted ways wearing her cowgirl hat. We failed to get a picture with her.

From Minnesota to San Diego (3.45 hours) there is not much to remember. We hoped to sit next to another “Mary”, but we got some old guy who we didn’t speak to. Flying over the Rockies was pretty sweet. San Diego –- We picked up Ben’s backpack and the bounce box, then headed outside to catch a bus to El Cajon. I called San Diego the “Town of Fences”. I question why people move into the city to put up fences? San Diego and El Cajon seem to be a mixture of Miami, Monterrey and San Francisco. The city streets don’t look so appealing, and I think we stood out pretty well carrying a packaged box and wearing short-shorts walking through the towns. The trolley ride from San Diego to El Cajon let us mingle with locals from Homeless to scam artists trying to sell us candy for school (they ducked when they saw cops), trying to apply us for a job, and asking to use our cell phones. I fear for the country but hope the hike will raise my spirits toward humanity. We’re staying at the Super 8 (cost is $64.00 a night). The motel sits next to Interstate 8. We have to cross under the bridge to get to any kind of respectable neighborhood, but we’re finding our way around. The Westfield Mall isn’t far away (Broadway Street) and is large enough to house a WalMart. We have gotten our supplies for the first 3 or 4 days on trail at Food For Less and now we must just sit and wait for the Monday morning bus ride to Campo.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's --

14th May - 9:00 AM

Writing from my Super 8 bed here in El Cajon. Billy is asleep again after taking me on a trip to Krispy Kreme at 6:00 this morning. The journey to get here was pretty long and seems to have tuckered the guy out. Billy’s mother was kind enough to drop us at the Atlanta Airport for 7:00 AM. We said our goodbyes at the curbside and went in to check my bag and the bounce box.

We had hoped we would have the entire row of 3 seats to ourselves as Ashley had a ticket booked with us. Although this wasn’t to be, we could have done worse. “Mainstream Mary”, as Billy christened her, was pretty hot by most standards and quite friendly with it. She was on her way to Montana to spend the week at a ranch with 20 of her female friends.   She was somewhat interested in our hike and asked lots of questions - whether she could really relate to what we were doing is doubtful, but she was pleasant company for the leg to Minneapolis/St. Paul.

I took advantage of our hour-long stopover to load up at McDonald’s. While I ate, I got the pleasure of watching a guy cleaning the wax out of his ear with the antenna of his cell phone. I decided against sharing this experience with Billy for fear it might traumatize him for days to come.

Back on the plane, I gave Billy the window seat in the hope that another hot girl would be joining us...no such luck of course. I got to spend the next few hours next to a guy with mad, staring eyes and a tendency to snore.

I thought the journey from San Diego airport to our motel in El Cajon was pretty straight forward, but I think Billy found it stressful. I guess he just isn’t used to riding public transport. To be fair to him, the people on the trolley to El Cajon transit center and neighborhoods we passed through were probably some of the worst I’ve experienced outside of Hackney. Still, it was no big deal - even if we stood out like sore thumbs in our hiking short-shorts. From the transit center we had a 2 mile walk to the motel. The immediate vicinity of the bus station was pretty grim but once we were a couple of blocks away we were fine - but very hot. The sun was very strong and gave us a warning of what to expect on the trail.

The motel is okay and turns out to be in walking distance of shops, eateries and a mall so big that it took us a while to find the WalMart that is inside it. I failed to send a suitable heat-bearing long sleeve shirt, so am going with a short sleeve/sun block combo, which should be fine with the umbrella.

Billy finally got a new watchband at a kiosk in the mall. We had fun talking with the people that worked there - the girl was disgusted by Billy’s original strap when he handed his watch to her, “It’s soaking wet!” exclaimed Nicole as she held the thing at arm’s length. This was why Billy wanted a new one - it was pretty gross. Again we got to discuss our trip and Billy seemed to enjoy telling our new friends at the kiosk about what we’re doing - I worry he may be in danger of becoming sociable.

We did our grocery shopping at the Food For Less. We don’t have fuel yet and had trouble finding much to eat beyond bread and something on it. I’m sure we used to do better but neither of us could remember how.

We picked up pizza from a small place about 30 yards away from our room. It was staffed by a father and his teenage daughter who I guess were relatively recent immigrants from somewhere in the Middle East. They were both engrossed in the movie “A Time to Kill” which our man informed us enthusiastically was a very, very good movie with many, many Big Hollywood stars. They seemed like nice people and at $7 for a decent large pizza provided us with bargain dining too. We ate the pizza in our room while watching the Princess Bride on TV. Billy fell asleep before they had even scaled the cliffs of insanity.

14th May - 9:45 PM

Very uneventful day. I went out for breakfast, lunch and dinner and watched TV in between - Billy mostly slept. Tomorrow we hike - Woo!

Slept in and ate Sunday breakfast, at Krispy Kreme in El Cajon at 6:30 AM. We came back and slept some more then went to the mall to do some shopping. Slept again and laid around the rest of the day watching television. Tomorrow is the big day.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

Day 1 - Mexican border to Lake Morena (Miles: 20.6)

See photos of the day

This felt like a long day. Our journey to Campo went easily. There were two other prospective thru-hikers at the transit center. I spoke briefly to one - Jeremy from Washington. He seemed nice enough but I doubt we’ll see him again. He’s a novice hiker and was carrying a huge external frame pack. Good luck to him but I felt for him, lugging that thing in the heat today. At Campo we shipped our bounce box at the post office and went to get something for lunch and got water at the railway museum - it was closed, but there was a spigot outside and a picnic table. We had a minor navigational glitch before we made it to the southern terminus. Somehow we ended up on the trail but heading north. We figured out our mistake after a mile or so and got to retrace our steps. It was very hot in the middle of the day and a two mile detour represented a lot of effort and wasted water (we each had six liters for the twenty mile stretch). Finally, made it to the border and marker around 1:30 PM. Saw lots of border patrol today and a minuteman camp in the distance. We took photos and goofed around a while before setting out around 2:00 PM.

I felt low on energy all day and struggled in the heat - our error left us short on time to make it to Morena so we had to keep up a solid pace through. My back and shoulder have been drenched in sweat most of the day, even though the going has been moderate. We only had one serious climb - 1200 feet in 1.4 miles.

Got a shock at one point when a rattlesnake took exception to Billy. It rattled loud but was two feet off trail so I think we were safe enough. Trod cautiously for the rest of the day though. Stumbled into this campsite in the dark. We’ve now spoken to two other hikers that started today. They’re camped nearby. They tell me that we don’t need to bother finding the ranger to let her know we’re here, so we aren’t. There’s a spigot right here - Billy’s washed his filthy legs already - they were black with mud. We ate and are now laid on the ground to sleep. Billy was too tired to write and is asleep already. I am fading fast too (it’s 10:00 PM) and am going to call it a night. We have another long day tomorrow and I expect my legs to be tired from the outset.

The adventure has begun. We left El Cajon around 9:00 AM and arrived in Campo at 11:00 AM. On the bus we met two other PCT hikers. The ride to the trail is beautiful. Mountainsides with rocky surfaces, curving roads and farm lands.

Campo isn’t much but a store, post office, fire station, train museum and border patrols. We mailed our bounce box and went to if border patrol needed us to check in...they didn’t. After picking up lunch and a few more snacks for the trail we headed over to the train museum which welcomes hikers to stay the night. The museum and facilities were closed but we got to eat at the playground and fill our water bottles. We then headed for the trail.

Around 2:00 PM we started searching for the start of the trail. We of course got lost and hiked a mile north on the trail, to turn around and hike to the start (Mexican/American border). The hiking was hot and sweaty. WE saw two people that were border crossing, one asleep and the other relaxing at a creek. We made it to Lake Morena a little before 9:00 PM. Our first day had us night hiking.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

May 16, 2006

Day 2 - Lake Morena to Laguna/El Prado Campground (Miles: 27.3)

See photos of the day

Very tiring day. Up early and walking before 7:00 AM. By 9:00 it as getting warm and the heat was tough all day. Again, the terrain was easy enough, but the heat and an ambitious schedule made for the hardest day I’ve had in a long time. We knocked off seventeen miles to get to our lunch spot. This meant we were up to around forty miles in our first twenty-four hours. The day’s climbing was either side of this stop and we got to tackle it in the worst of the heat. Billy was light on goods and had to cut short the long lunch break we needed to push on five more miles to a camp store before it closed. I felt sick for the climb after lunch - it was a little after 3:00 PM - very hot and I was struggling to digest a mass of tuna tortillas. I may still be struggling - my appetite isn’t right and I couldn’t stomach dinner. Billy’s having the opposite problem and can’t stop stuffing his face. There was some very attractive hiking and great scenery today. It’s mostly been greener then we expected, but more shade would be welcomed. The plants by the trail smell nice too - like rosemary. This was a nice change from the section yesterday which smelled like somebody had died.

Thinking of yesterday I forgot to write about the two illegals we passed about four miles from the border. They were taking a rest at a creek and didn’t even look startled when we blundered up behind them.

More snakes today - we’re now up to three rattlers and a black snake. I almost trod on a rattler in the trail today - I had to retreat and throw rocks until it got out of the way. The last miles to this campground weren’t much fun. Billy’s sandals are rubbing at the back and both our feet are tender already. We arrived to find that there is a fifteen dollar fee to camp. Thankfully, we’ve been able to share with two other hikers already here and halved the cost. We didn’t want to walk on further.

I’m expecting to have a tough day tomorrow - will be starting tired again and need to hike around twenty-five miles. I have chaffing problems already, so I may not be in my best mood. We’ll see.

Rise and shine early and on the trail by 7:00 AM. I shorted myself food from the start and had to rush to get to the Mount Laguna store before closing. All went well and I arrived thirty minutes early. The hiking today again was hot. By 9:00 in the morning you are sweating. We are staying at a campground which we are splitting with fellow hikers because we did not want to pay full price and they accepted our half as payment. The views are improving with grander elevation. The walking is easy, but I have a pretty good sized blister on the ball of my left foot and blisters forming on both heels. Hiking is tough...will I hold up?

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

May 17, 2006

Day 3 - El Prado to Granite Mountain (Miles: 23.1)

See photos of the day

I think the other hikers we stayed with had the right idea this morning. They rose before 4:00 AM and were hiking by 4:30. We did okay - up at 5:30 AM and hiking by 7:00 AM, but it was still too hot. We did better at taking breaks in the middle of the day, but there weren’t good place to take them. We sat on wooden chairs at the Lucky 5 water cache for one and a half hours. Our only shade was our umbrellas and that wasn’t enough. We hiked another hour in the heat before Billy spotted a place to erect a sunshade from the tarp. It was nice to have a lie-down and I slept for a while.

Didn’t feel too bad hiking until later in the day when I started to crash. My appetite is still messed up and I get nauseous every time I think of eating my bagels and cheese. I managed one at 9:00 AM, but that was it. I even felt sick drinking the warm water - not good when it’s all there is and you’re hiking in ninety degree heat with no shade. I had to keep taking breaks every hour or so, though Billy didn’t mind because his feet are so sore. When we stopped for water at the concrete fire tank two and a half miles ago, I had a funny turn, I think I must have “bonked”. I believe the technical term is to suffer from hypoglycemia - though that may mean long-sightedness. Anyway, I think the problem was that I hadn’t eaten enough to sustain me for what we were doing and my body was throwing a “hissy fit”. I felt weak and got dizzy and had to lie down for a spell. I tried to force some dates into myself but they just formed a vile paste in my mouth that I struggled to get down without gagging. Billy came to the rescue with an apple and a bag of cereal snacks. I got those down and after a rest, made the two and a half miles to the patch of flatish ground just off of the trail. We got here in the dark and I was worried we would find nowhere to stay as we’ve been skirting around the side of mountains for a while and there has been nothing flat at all.

Excited about heading into Julian tomorrow. We’ve got to hike six miles to the road then hitch thirteen more miles. We’re just going in for food and resupply but I have been dreaming of cooked food and icy cold drinks all day. Even though I can’t stomach any cold food beyond fruit and salad, I could eat a mass of hot food for some reason. I wish I knew why.

Scenery remains spectacular and hiking moderate - this would be fun if my body would just play ball. Right now 2650 miles seems an impossible distance. So much goes into a twenty-five mile day at the moment that in the evening, when I lay shattered, the thought of repeating this one hundred times is a little daunting. Still, we wouldn’t want to do it if it was easy.

I’m struggling and not meeting my “normal” hiking ability.   I stay behind Ben most of the day with my tender feet. We are using the umbrellas from 9 until 5- it’s hot! Today was the first day to not see a rattlesnake (a disappointment). The trail is still panoramic and I’m still trying to find ways to lose weight. We’re having to go twenty plus mile stretches between water sources and I’m trying to carry as little as rational. We’re just a few feet off the trail tonight - after walking for an hour in the dark. We go into Julian for a library, post office and resupply.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

May 18, 2006

Day 4 - Granite Mountain to Julian (Miles: 6.2)

See photos of the day

Six miles were almost too many. We were up early after a bad night’s sleep. It was hot all night and too hot for comfortable hiking even at 6:20 AM when I set out. Billy set out a few minutes behind as he was trying to sort out his foot - it’s not good and he is limping along more slowly than I’ve seen him before. I managed the first three miles okay, but felt pretty weak after that. I had managed about 1/6th of a bagel for breakfast and it was probably less then I needed. For the last mile I was just stumbling along - it was almost 9:00 AM and it was crazy hot. I was sweating buckets and the road to Julian was a very welcome sight.

It only took ten minutes to get a ride, but it seemed like an eternity to me. Billy and I were spaced twenty yards apart to maximize our chances at the road junction. I was wilting and squatted out of exhaustion “to save energy”. When I stood to try and thumb a car, I got dizzy and pretty much blacked out. I had to wrap my arms around the telegraph pole to stop from falling. Billy laughed (I’d expect nothing less). I was starting to panic when a pick-up truck pulled over for us. Thankfully we got to ride in the cab rather than bake in the sun. Billy left me to do the conversation as usual, but this time it wasn’t such a good idea. I was a little spacey and when I talked I got a buzzing in my left ear, which was off-putting and made my talk even more confused.

We got to sit down in Julian and I was very glad to get a cold drink. I was also happy that Billy wanted to stay and rest his foot. We’ve got a nice, but expensive room in the lodge. Julian had everything we want except laundry. After a lot of cold drinks and hot food, I feel human again. Back to our routine of television/library/food - it feels good. It was good to rinse out my shirt. The salt stains were amazing. I could have seasoned my lunch with the thing.

Awake and out by 6:30 AM. I struggled the six miles into Julian and I’m slowing down more everyday. Julian, although an expensive tourist trap and lacking a Laundromat, is a great hiker stop. Only thirteen miles off the trail, Julian offers walking amenities. We arrived in Julian around 10:00 AM had showers, ate and went to the library to upload our pictures and email. It’s funny how many friends Ben has and I have none. So while Ben spent time emailing friends I spent time uploading the photos. Julian offers a great break but one day may not be enough.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

May 19, 2006

Day 5 - Julian (Miles: 0)

See photos of the day

Sitting in our room again - watching the Chelsea Hindler show and digesting pizza. We failed to leave today. Billy says his foot is no better. So, we checked in for another night (a snip at $140). The day has been spent watching television and eating. I’ve caught up on my calorie short fall (and over taken it) and caught up on a three year magazines deficit. Watched a good heist movie with Robert Redford and was upset to miss the end of a good Jimmy Stewart western - where Jimmy plays a deputy sheriff who lays down the law in a crooked town using brains instead of guns. We had to get pizza and sacrifice the end of the movie to our hunger. The restaurants shut before nine o’clock - even on a weekend. Weird!

We did get to watch a Christian game show though. Wholesome contestants from Christian Schools answered questions on Christian pop music and played a round of bible crosswords. Tomorrow we may be staying in town again - unless Billy feels better. Either is good with me.

Still in Julian. I’m now the only thing holding us back. There is talk of going to stay in Romona. Just the usual today...eat, sleep and library. I worked on creating a pad around the raw blister with my sleeping pad....nothing seems to be improving. I’ve pulled the skin off and soreness seems to cover from my toes to the middle of my foot. Ben’s still hanging in and not worrying about the time lost.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

May 20, 2006

Day 6 - Julian (Miles: 0)

See photos of the day

Looks like tonight will be our last stay in Julian. We bummed around all day and ate, slept, went to library and post office. The post office had a very peppy woman assisting us with mailing some stuff forward. She was quite a surprise for the post office and will bring a new standard for all future post offices to achieve. We found two more restaurants to try. We should be able to write quite a thorough book on “Eating in Julian”. Tomorrow we walk on, blister and all!

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

WEEK 2 - May 21, 2006

Day 7 - Julian to ??? (Miles: 15.8 miles)

See photos of the day

I didn’t write yesterday - another full entry about nothing more than what we ate and watched on television seemed a little too self-indulgent - at least when somebody else is going to transcribe and post it on the internet. In brief: We watched fly-on-the-wall documentaries about Alaskan crab fishermen and ate Mexican. I think Billy may be regretting letting me near Mexican food - stale bread and charcoal biscuits would have been his preferred diet for me in hindsight.

We abandoned our room at midday today; lunched at Subway (saving half a sandwich for dinner); and stood at the side of a road trying to hitch an unlikely twelve miles back to the trail. It wasn’t looking good for a long while, but finally a van pulled over - I don’t think the driver had it in mind to give us a ride - he was just saying hello and was curious as to what we were doing. Our man, Ernie, wasn’t really local and didn’t know about the trail, but he proved interested enough in our venture and kind enough to drive us to the trail, even though he wasn’t heading that way.

The day has been relatively cool and it made for very pleasant hiking. The climb we faced from the road was so heavily switch backed that it barely registered as an ascent at all.

Today’s only adversary has been barbed grass seeds that attach themselves to socks and shoes, occasionally lodging in such a way to jab into the foot like so many pins. The process of removing them is laborious and I have gone through it three times today as the problem gets irritating enough to justify it.

Tonight we are tarping - we figured there is enough chance of rain to justify it for the first time this trip. No suitable trees, so we are using supports - two dead things. I don’t want to call them sticks as they are whole plants as far as I can tell. They’re sturdy enough but hollow and very light - nature’s wiffle bats.

Billy’s foot seems okay. Today we discussed philosophy as well as our usual junk - as usual we reached a kind of impasse, but it passed the time well enough.

Back on the trail! It took some time to get a hitch out of Julian, but we made it back to the trail by 2:00 PM. A front is moving in, rain is predicted for tomorrow. The weather was pleasantly not hot, but extremely windy and cloudy. We weren’t able to use our umbrellas and the colder weather has come.

It took a while to set the tarp and it still flaps and looks ghetto. We are in the tarp tonight. Let’s hope it last.

Not having the heat was nice, but the grass here has thorns that grab on to everything. Situated properly, the thorns probe at you like a needle and are a pain to get out of all your clothing...it’s a never ending project.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

A storm blew in last night and we weren’t really pitched for it. The wind was pretty strong and I was surprised the tarp stayed up as long as it did. It finally collapsed around 4:00 AM and we battled off-and-on for an hour and a half to get it up and to keep it up. We were vulnerable because of the restricted area we had to pitch in - with the big tarp we were limited to how we could rig it up. We got a little damp in the battle and neither of us got much sleep. What little I got was plagued by unpleasant nightmares. We were out and hiking around 8:30 AM,

In contrast to the first few days, we were chilly most of the day and hiked in hats and rain gear. The going remained very easy and it was only spoiled by the overgrown bushes on either side of the trail that scratched us as we passed. After ten miles of this, my legs felt raw. The damp and sand also conspired to give the backs of my shoes a sandpaper - like finish. My right ankle is rubbed and sore now.

We hiked into Warner Springs for lunch and re-supply. We ate at the 19th Hole of a golf course (it was good) and bought groceries at the gas station mini-mart. Got back on the trail for six more miles. We’re staying at the last water for eighteen miles.

Hoping to make Idyllwild for Wednesday - we’ll finally be able to pick up fuel for the stove. Tonight I cooked for the first time all trip - using a can of Sterno we got in Julian.

I forgot! Today we visited Eagle Rocks which are, as the same implies, rocks shaped like an eagle. We enjoyed them.

One rough night last night and little sleep was had with the rainy cold front pounding and eventually ripping and knocking down the tarp several times. We got into Warner Springs and were able to eat at the Golf Grill for lunch. The mini-mart in town has few supplies to get us the forty miles to Idyllwild. It’s the coldest it has been and 6:00 PM proved to be the warmest temperature of the day. Frogg Toggs, beanies and umbrellas were donned through most of the early morning and afternoon.

Ben’s rear end keeps talking. We are up to about 200 a day. He claims it is Mexican food from Julian but the toots and farts are none stop and ruining nature. I can’t wait to get to Idyllwild and replace my sandals with running shoes, hopefully to stay in front of “Breaking Ben” and the smell he leaves behind.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

A good night’s sleep followed by a good day’s hiking. It was business as usual with the weather - hot, but not distressingly so. A change in diet and the addition of Kool Aid to make my water more palatable has helped me avoid the problems I faced on the way to Julian.

Today was pretty uneventful and just plain pretty. Dramatic vistas, lots of wild flowers and a sunset that turned the sky red – all made for an attractive going. Right now we’re lying out under the stars and it’s amazing. It’s perfectly clear and there is not a town for miles. Only (mild) damper on the day was my shoes continuing to rub my ankles. I’ve gone through the skin in a couple of places and it’s sore. No big deal when we’re heading to town tomorrow...

Again I forgot things! Today I had another altercation with a cactus. While taking a break in the shade, I reached back and managed to get a handful of cactus. There are many varieties of cactus out here with spikes that vary from inch long needles down through to these tiny hair fine ones. I got dozens of the things lodged in my thumb and fingers. I spent a long while with tweezers trying to get them out, but I’ve still got some in me and they periodically give pangs of pain.

A few days ago I walked into an intermediate sized one and took away a knee full of half inch barbs. As I hiked on, pulling the things out as I went, I managed to stumble straight into another plant and get another knee full of spikes. I love cacti.

We didn’t see another human being today. We’ve only seen one other person actually on the trail since the first day. It’s wonderful!

Probably the nicest weather on the trail although we had to use the umbrellas all day. Cool and sunny with breezes kept us comfortable. Also the most scenic of the days with many panoramic views of mountains to come.

In town tomorrow for a needed re-supply. Sorry today was so uneventful except for Ben’s cactus. The pictures should show the beauty of the millions of purple flowers, burned landscape, rock city and a beautiful panoramic sunset.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

Another decent night’s sleep. Made it to the road before 10:00 AM and hiked another mile on to the Paradise Café for burgers. We’d read about the Jose Burger in Yogi’s guide and had to try it. It was good (I had the one pound fat boy option). When I asked Billy how he liked his, he gave his stock response: a vague shrug and a non-plussed look.

Laden with grease we went to stand in the sun to try and secure a ride to town. It was seventeen miles to town and we were luck less for over twenty minutes on the shoulder of the highway. Finally a Native American in a double-cab pick-up truck offered to take us half way. He was a nice guy and had picked up PCT hikers before. He worked at the nearby casino. We were dropped at an unpromising spot five miles from Idyllwild, but it was just a few minutes before someone stopped. This time we rode in the back of a truck. Our driver was somewhat enthusiastic and he flung the truck around the bends of a twisty mountain road, Billy couldn’t stop laughing the whole way.

Town is good. The hotel is a good value ($55.00) and hiker friendly. Internet access is limited. We even wasted money on coffee at the internet café only to discover their connection was broken.

We ate at the Chinese restaurant - it was good and there was a picture of the owner with Dolly Parton on the wall – it made me smile. Billy’s verdict: a shrug anda roll of the eyes.

We bought our supplies for the four days to Big Bear City - it’s a lot of food. We also re-equipped at the outfitters. Billy is now back in running shoes after mixed results with the sandals. I bought a new/smaller tarp and we got fuel for the stove (good bye sterno, hello Mac & Cheese!).

Hope to get out of town at a sensible time tomorrow. We have a lot of miles to cover and a lot of climbing to do. We’re going to be getting over ten thousand feet for the first time - soon. I’m glad I ditched most of my cold weather gear already....

The hole in my ankle has rubbed itself a little bigger and I may have to take some kind of action.

We made it into the famous hiker’s Paradise Corner Café around 10:00 AM. The hiker’s famous “Jose Burger” came in a one pound for Ben and a half pound for Billy with avocado, bacon, mushroom, jalapeño peppers and cheese made for a sweet intro to town along with the two female servers (a blonde and a brunette).

Getting into town was a two part hitch with “Big Indian” and “Crazy Larry”. “Big Indian” let us out five miles short of Idyllwild. “Crazy Larry” stuck us in the back of an old Toyota truck slinging us from side-to-side fearing for our lives whilst burning rubber.

We did the usual town thing. Hit up the outfitter for my shoes (Montrails), canister fuel (finally Mac & cheese) and Ben even put in money for a lighter /smaller tarp in our pursuit to master carrying nothing.

The library was a shame. I have to thank them for the use of the internet, but we got a countdown clock for our numbered thirty minutes that alarmed us when time was running out and blocked me from accessing email.

After some needed Chinese cuisine we attempted to get on the internet to upload the PCT pictures at a local Java Joint, but the internet was down and we were stuck with expensive coffee and hot chocolate to sip away at the disappointment.

We re-supplied at the Fairway grocery for the next one hundred and fourteen miles of hiking (4 days of packaged food). We’ll leave mid-afternoon in search for a hitch to the trail.

Tonight was filled with more television and cramming our stomachs with snickers ice cream bars.

We are shipping more weight home for gear that is not entirely essential, but my pack is still too heavy and too big.

One of the new items I found for eating on the trail is the Dove Bar candy bar with expressions like fortune cookies. Today’s bit of wisdom: “Listen to your heartbeat and dance”.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

This morning we finished off our business in town (after watching three episodes of Saved By the Bell). We mailed a box of discarded gear back to Georgia, ate lunch at the deli (and picked up a sandwich for dinner), and went to the ranger station to find out more info about the detour up San Jacinto peak we’re taking tomorrow. Idyllwild is a very nice town but we have to be getting on.

We got a hitch back to the trail, after a short wait, courtesy of Heidi - a biologist with the forestry department. She made room for Billy in the back of her truck amongst her three dogs and I rode up front with her. She was very talkative and told me all about the rattlesnakes and how hikers are not at great risk from them. She was interested in hearing about our trip and hiked a little herself. She dropped us right back at the trail and let the dogs run around the lot for a while.

We were hiking by 1:30 PM and had plenty of miles to do to get to the only water source for miles. Today’s climbing was by far the most difficult of the trip - it was like being on the A. T. again. The views were incredible and the temperature pleasant (it is nice being up high, away from the desert floor). The climbing didn’t cause any problems, though my right ankle is playing up some. It’s giving some pain and I rolled over on it twice today in a painful fashion.

We finished the hike to the spring trail in the dark. This is a notoriously tough run to get water - we dropped a long way in the half mile to the spring and it was a tough climb out laden with ten pounds extra water. We hiked on a ways, but there was no good camping. We’re lying down just off the trail in an indifferent spot. Sleepy (it’s after 11:00 PM),

I forgot: A guy in the store this morning (he was a hiker) recognized us -“ Have you got a website? Aren’t you Billy and Ben?”. Fame at last!!

Picked up supplies in Idyllwild: socks, snacks and $30.00 for sandwiches. Ben and I each got two sandwiches, a drink, brownie and I had chips from Gary’s Deli and I got a $30.00 bill.

Worried that a portion of the trail may be closed; a hiker in town had warned us of ice and tree removal closing the trail, we stopped in at the Ranger Station in town. All seems fine, though we may need to wait during times when the fire prevention helicopter is reporting trees out of the woods.

Heidi was our hitch back to the trail. A nice young female in a small pickup. I got the truck bed with her three dogs. We seemed to get along great as the four of us said little while Ben and Heidi’s conversation was not audible. It was great to have a female take us back.

Still didn’t see anyone on the trail, but tonight at the Apache Spring we strolled in at 9:00 PM and found headlights on the sides of the trail. We almost had a blunder down the wrong trail for Apache, as neither guide book notes the trail junction before the spring. The half mile walk to the spring brought back memories of hard climbing on the A.T. Today we saw the biggest ascents and probably the most dramatic views.

The dove bar candies melted in the heat making the expressions difficult to read and once cooled in the evening, don’t really bring any enthusiasm and repetition of yesterday’s thought. We also ran into an in-ground beehive with hundreds to thousands of bees. Ben suggested to go around; previously I had almost walked on top of them before heading back south, in Ben’s direction. I sprinted through and yelled to Ben “I’ve not been stung”. The incident brought back A. T. memories.

It’s 11:30 PM. We have camped on the side of the trail as we have given up searching for flat noticable campsites since Apache.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

Twenty “trail miles” but our detour up to San Jacinto peak added a couple more and about 2,000 feet of extra climbing. The tough day was worth it (though we weren’t so sure earlier) and we saw amazing scenes from the peak. It was steep and sometimes rocky going, but the temperature is nice up here and the air is scented by the pine forest. We reached 10,000 feet at the peak, which may be the highest I’ve been hiking, certainly the highest I’ve gotten to under my own steam. We summited at 1:30 PM and seemed to fritter the rest of the afternoon away: eating, napping, back tracking to get water (only to find there was plenty ahead) and toileting. Too much town has messed our stomach’s and we are now running critically low on paper. I pray that we can make it to Big Bear City without resorting to any desperate measures.

After climbing solidly since yesterday lunch time, we now begin our descent. From the peak it is a drop of 9,600 feet in twenty-two miles. Briefly, the prospect of walking downhill for twenty-two miles seemed appealing, but it is actually murder on the feet. We both have sore feet and Billy is still getting over his blisters. My ankle is continuing to cause me pain - not enough for me to resort to the horse strength pain killers I have - but bad enough for me to give a girlish squeal, followed by a string of profanities every time I step badly.

Morale dipped a little low for a while, but it seems to have picked up again. I put this down to the restorative powers of Mac N’ Cheese - back on the menu at last. We made the day tough for ourselves by taking our detour, but would have regretted missing the view. From the peak you can see down to the desert floor on one side, where a tiny (looking) wind farm chunters away. On the other side are more mountains - floating in a sea of cloud. Tomorrow we are back down at the desert floor (1200 feet) and I fear we may get roasted...

Up at 5:30 AM, but not out until 7:00 AM. We were above the clouds the entire day. The clouds appear to let the mountains float on them. The scenery is fantastic with knife edged ridges, mountains rising and topped off with a sunset above the clouds. We are told by passer-bys the scenery on the PCT only gets grander.

By 9:00 AM Ben and I had eaten our allotted breakfast of two Pop Tarts each. Ben is carrying Pop Tarts and Go Tarts (he claims it is like toasted marshmallows). So, lunch seemed forever away and it looks depressing as I may have failed to bing enough food for the four days and one meal. On the way to San Jacinto I started stuffing my face with seven ounces of Gummy Worms to ward off the hunger until; until my system shut down and I had to go....and I kept on going...... After San Jacinto, Ben found a privy and I spent an hour in the fly-infested thing; and to top it off, I ran out of toilet paper and tonight my stomach is still in knots, maybe from too much chocolate.

We took a side trail to San Jacinto (10,834 ft.). Probably the highest Ben and I have ever been. We saw our first sign of snow - what all PCT hikers dread as the hardest obstacle. I was amazed it still existed as I was getting sun burned from not using the umbrella. The climb up San Jacinto was long and arduous and put us in to mingle with weekenders out for Memorial Day. Finally, on top we celebrated by eating and napping for an hour. At 10, 000 feet it is quite breezy and chilly and snow remained on top, but I woke up sweating from the intense sun. We chatted with locals (saw less than ten people summit). One visitor had an unfortunate accident and slipped and fell in front of us and his girl friend, but he brushed it off. The view on San Jacinto provided a 360* outlook, from desert floor to snow capped mountains.

After lunch the hiking proved slow with my stomach and now the blister on the heel of my right foot. The ground was filled with uneven rock obstructions to slow us down further, pounding away at our feet. We’ve been walking twenty to thirty mile dry stretches since the start of the trail, but today the “dry stretch” had numerous opportunities to grab water and the snow melt off provided multiple waterfalls.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---

See photos of the day

A Long Day. Billy jinxed us by declaring that it ‘May be the easiest fifteen mile day so far’ at lunch time. The descent was hard on the feet and the trail was overgrown. It was (is) extremely windy on this side of the mountains (hence all the wind farms). The wind was gusting hard and that conspired with the thick vegetation to cause me to make a lot of bad steps and my ankle screamed at me most of the way. I don’t know what kind of plants they were, but they’re probably a lot more attractive when you’re not wading through a mass of them that have been brought to life by the wind and given the temperament of Triffids.

At a rest stop, I removed the orthopedic ‘superfeet’ insoles from my shoes - I reasoned that I never had ankle problems on the A. T. and they were the only real difference between then and now. The change in how I felt was surprisingly large. I no longer felt like my ankles were trying to roll over. They are still sore though. I hope things improve.

We stopped towards the bottom of the hill, fifteen miles in, at a crater fountain. We ate lunch and it was here that Billy made his foolish statement. From about 3:00 PM until 6:00 PM we wandered the desert, utterly lost. We walked miles the wrong way across sand before turning back and heading towards our last known ‘good’ position by walking on the shoulder of a busy highway.

We came across another hiker, also lost. He was hiking with the data book as his only source of information, which is even more fool hardy than ourselves. Eventually we figured out where to go by speaking to a driver who had stopped because he himself was lost. He had a road atlas with the PCT marked on it and a GPS. We finally met up with the trail, but I still am non-plussed by the marking (or lack of) in that section. We’d lost a lot of time and it was too big an ask to get to our normal target five miles further on.

Along the way, we did meet a family out inspecting the cooler of iced water and hiker sign-in sheet they left out. The Garcias are new to the area and heard about the trail from an elderly lady they saw hiking nearby. Now they keep a cooler stocked for the hikers and the family comes around to see the notes hikers leave for them. They seemed very nice and it struck me as a good project for the kids to be involved in.

We camped near one of the wind farms - they make an odd noise. It is windy here and we’re tired. I think we walked over thirty miles with our blunder today.

Slept in a nice open campsite behind a boulder to block the wind up at 7,600 feet. Left at 8:00 this morning and was able to see from the top of where the clouds divide the desert floor from the mountain peaks. We descended 5,400 feet within fifteen miles in a windy onslaught that gave Ben a headache and would not allow me to use my umbrella. I eventually had to ask Ben for sun block as my face and neck from yesterday’s climb was still painful. On the descent we could see across I-10 to the windmill farms that stretch for acres and cover some of the hillsides. We had quite a few run ins with snakes, squirrels and lizards as the wind was blocking our noise. I had two squirrels run at me.

We covered fifteen miles by 1:30 PM so, we sat down to eat lunch and within an hour we were off again to what I announced as being “the easiest 25 yet”. From the spot where we ate our lunch to where I write tonight, the hiking went all down-hill, figuratively speaking. The trail wasn’t marked but we forged on a mile or two and lost all signs of the trail.

An adventure took place....hopefully Ben gave you the full scoop.

We are sleeping tonight amongst the windmills and their wind - they make quite a “spooky” sound.

--- Note: Text in "Black" is Ben's ---

--- Text in "Green" is Billy's ---