Magic

After a hot day and with the help of some trail angels, we decided to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. Because.... Why not?! We were a 30 minute drive away from the park and the desert already proved it sucks, so why not enjoy our day off? 

We called up a trail angel, Mary, who had left her name at the desk. We asked for a ride to the train station for 9 of us. She kindly said yes. She actually said, "Might as well have some fun before you die in the desert." Encouraging :) 

As we were preparing to leave, Mary called and said why don't my husband and I just take you all the way there. No need for trains. It was so kind. They took us there and picked us up. To top it off she stopped by subway so we could get some fresh veggies and sandwiches. We were so stunned by her constant generosity that we still talk about her most days on trail. She is a trail angel for the ages. 

Getting back to our adventures...

We made it to Magic Mountain! 

It was Heather's first time on a roller coaster and Emily's first time since childhood. So we of course decided to do the most frightening ones first. 

We spent our day running from coaster to coaster, screaming our lungs out, and waiting in very long lines. Although the park was packed with people we never had a very hard time spotting members of our group. Pct hikers stick out in a very well dressed, nice-smelling crowd...

When we arrived back at the KOA we met two new hikers: Two Wars and Beans. They did 1000 miles on the AT and decided to hop over to the PCT. Because why not? 

The next day brought some amazing sights. We traveled through Vasquez Rocks State Park, a place where countless movie scenes had been filmed. It was stunning in the morning light. Nathan especially was loving the area because he is a geologist. He was geeking out and it was awesome. 

Later that day we went from Agua Dulce, a sweet little town, back to the desert. The next couple days brought tough climbs, killer heat, and some heat-induced puking. It was unpleasant but we still managed to have a good time. 

Our next stop was Casa de Luna! It was an oasis in the desert. Terry, the owner of la casa, was extremely generous. She opened up her home to us, fed us taco salad and pancakes, and gave us epic Hawaiian shirts to wear. The place was magical. We even stayed in a magical manzanita forest. Needless to say we had the best night of sleep thus far! We loved every minute at Casa de Luna. We left our names on the wall and departed well-rested and well-fed. 

Leaving la casa was hard but we eventually got back on trail. We pushed out the miles and hit our biggest milestone yet... 500 MILES!!! Man were we stoked! Officially thru-hikers! Woot woot! That was an amazing day. The trail family was so proud! 

After our epic milestone we headed to a beautiful campsite overlooking Hikertown. We watched the sunset over the desert and readied ourselves for the LA aqueducts. 

The desert is.....hot

So in case you don't know southern California is a desert...and we are still in it. It seems never ending at times. The desert consumes 700 miles of the trail. It is very different from what I thought of as "desert". It is hot and dry but not flat. We have gone through more mountain ranges than I would have imagined. We have had two rain storms and though they were cold and wet, at times I miss them very much. We start most days wondering where the next water source will be, and end figuring out the best way to find water. It is not life or death, it is just something to be constantly aware of. It is my main worry on the trail but the pct does a great job of providing resources for finding water. It also has an amazing group of trail angels that provide water at many dry areas. 

Anyway, the desert is not always what it seems but it is always hot. But back to our adventure.

We left Big Bear for a hot spring. There was free beer, free carrots, and some naked people. All in a days experience. 

After the hot spring, we found a beautiful lake, Silverwood Lake. It was a lovely place to hop in and cool off. 

We spent the day laying on the beach and taking in the sun. Improving our already beastly tan lines. 

The next day was a race for food: McDonalds. We did 14 miles before breakfast was done being served. After eating McEverything, we spent the afternoon digesting in the shade and added a couple more miles later in the day. 

With the energy from McDonalds, we climbed 6,000 feet the next day into Wrightwood. 

It was a tiring day, but we kicked butt and got there before 3pm.

Wrightwood was a very cute town that let us stay at their local coffee shop on the porch. The locals bought us a round of beer and the town was as kind as could be. They were so kind, in fact, that we stayed for one more day. This way we could heal up and be ready for the next stretch. 

Little did we know, that the next stretch included more mountains than we were ready for. We climbed Baden Powell, just a short 2,000 ft gain in 4 miles........

But we made it. 

Emily went on a couple hundred feet and finished off the mountain for us. We then had our first fire. It was glorious. 

We hit more days with more mountains, clouds and detours. It was beautiful. 

But most impressively, we passed 400. It seemed to take forever, but we finally made it. 

The views are new and beautiful with every mile but the temperature seems to be increasing with every mile as well. Some days we sleep through the heat of the day just to make it bearable. 

Through the heat, poodle dog bush, and lack of water, we finally made it to the KOA. It had a pool, showers, and cool drinks. We rested there for the evening with pizza, beer, and our ever growing trail family.

Until next time, 

Shelly

Hiking Is...

Hello everyone, 

This is my first on-trail blog post! Woohoo! 

 

We decided to take a zero day in Julian while we waited for our resupply box to arrive. We were forced to wait because the post office was closed. Memorial Day threw a wrench in our plans. Julian ended up being a great little town and we treated ourselves to ice cream and beer. 

We left Warner Springs after getting our package and found ourselves back in the oppressing heat of the desert. After several hours of elevation gain we reached the home of Trail Angel Mike. The Sky Ranch had a wonderful hiker area with plenty of amenities. After a night filled with fresh fruit, Madlibs, and a fire, our crew went to bed. 

The crew now no longer just includes Nathan Shelly and myself. We found some new (Okla)homies: Matt and Wright. They are awesome dudes with matching gear. We also met Kylen, who is also from Washington! West coast Best coast baby. And last but not least, Dr. FeelGood aka Adam. He's a super happy ultramarathoner and he's got his PhD! 

We all got on trail the next morning headed for the Paradise Valley Cafe. It was a long haul, 26 miles, but man was it worth it. We all met up at the restaurant with sore feet and empty bellies. I mowed through a burrito and Shelly munched a killer sandwich. We were soooo happy. The people at the cafe were very nice and gave us a warm welcome when we arrived. Thank god for small miracles. 

We zeroed in Idyllwild, a cute little mountain town, where I saw a doctor for my infected foot. Now I have antibiotics for dayyysss. 

After Idyllwild, we faced quite a climb.  It took us most of the morning but come lunchtime we were standing atop Mt. San Jacinto at 10,834 ft. No Big Deal. 

As a reward for our awesomeness and badassery, we got to lose 7000 ft of elevation the next day! Woohoo!... It was hell. It just sucked. It was hot, there was no shade, and I got kind of chased by a rattlesnake. Never again. That was not cool. Anyways, after slogging downhill all day and then struggling through 4 miles of sand and sun we got to Ziggy and the Bear. These two trail Angels welcomed us into their home, let us sleep on their carpeted backyard, and gave us icecream sandwiches and Gatorade. They were truly angels. 

The next few days found us braving soul-crushing climbs, intense heat, and long days. With the help of Hobbit Feet, a woman from South Africa and now a Canadian citizen, we made it to Big Bear through the mission creek canyon.

 

Along the way we found some EPIC trail magic: a couch in the woods and free soda. That was my favorite trail magic this far. I mean, a couch in the woods?? How awesome is that?! That's where we read our first Hike-ku. 

"Hiking is.... Sitting on a couch in the forest, taking candy and soda from strangers, and menu planning from a dumpster" 

 

Big Bear was awesome. We chilled at a hostel, had epic Thai food, and hitched to Subway. Sweet sweet subway... Matt took the burrito challenge at a local restaurant and ate an 18 inch burrito. Props to Matty Matt! 

Coming out of Big Bear got us to mile 300! And according to Kylen, we have  climbed up and down the equivalent of Mt.2 Everest....twice. Again with the awesomeness right?!

Anyways, we are loving life out here in SoCal. Happy trails everyone! 

-Smokey (aka Emily)