May 19 We have arrived!

Once again we have arrived at a land of luxury! We arrived in Wrightwood last night at about 5:30.
Here's the synopsis of what's happened since we last blogged...(Thank you Sydney for the use of  your computer to make this endeavor soooooo much easier!)

May 12. We thank Miriam and the kids for chaperoning us and helping us get our food stuff packed up! We left Big Bear at about 3:30 and managed to hike about 4 1/2 miles for a warm up and to get us started on the next leg. It felt good to be back on trail. Really looking forward to getting to spend some time with Miriam and family at their house next week. Talk about incentive to get the miles done!

Sydney, Kendall, The Bald Guy & KOKO say good bye.

Clouds over the mountains as we leave.

Regular trail travelers, grasshoppers are all over.

Looking up a burned tree into the blue sky. 

Beautiful flower, so pretty and dainty.

May 13. PCT miles 270.54 to 286.54, 16 mile day. It was a good day. We are enjoying  Half Mile's phone app that allows us to know precisely where we are on the PCT. Extremely helpful. Also loved salami for lunch (thanks Razor for suggesting it---mmmm good!) We want to finish this section early so are challenging ourselves to do more than the planned 16 mile days. Our attitudes are good and optimistic. We expect to hit the 300 mile mark tomorrow! Only 2300 more to go! Feel like we might be getting  our trail legs--no vitamin I (ibuprofen) for about a week now! We've been gone from home a month now. Does anyone miss us? 

love the flowers

Enjoy the scenery. 

Creek crossing.

Evidence of mining. Something we don't see at home!

New life from old.

Wildlife tree. For what? BEES!!! A bazillion of them! Great big black ones about 1 1/2 inches long! We viewed from  a distance!

  

May 14. Mile 286.54 to 302.45, 15.9 miles
We wanted to go farther but finding flat spots to camp were getting pretty rare so decided to grab the one we could while we could! We side-hilled since about 3 pm so as I mentioned sites were very rare. Today we hit the 300 mile mark! Yahoo! We had a low water experience again today--no snow to rescue us here! Fortunately, we just ran low, not out. Some of the water sources were no longer available which is why. A hazard of the trail. Our feet aren't blistering, but are sore. Our shoes are definitely starting to show the miles. I'm sure we won't get 500 miles from them! We were surprised to see our friends Ingrid & Tracy pass by as we were breaking camp! I've been missing them and hoping we'd cross paths again--it made my day! We didn't see them again until after 5, but it was enough to carry me through the day! There was a lot of trail variety today. Dry desert stuff, mountains, and lots and lots of ravine. I like it better that way. It can be so boring and tedious when it's just mile after mile of the same ol, same ol.

We ended up "desperate" for a site and snagged a narrow ledge over the Deep Creek ravine. It literally was just large enough for our tent and to walk around it. But it was so wonderful--flat and just the right temperature. We slept so well!

This was an easy water source--an inch  pipe. 

300 miles! Only 2300 to go!

View from Deep Creek bridge

Deep Creek. TBG's poem about it: "Beauty in the distance is a tortuous existence!"

This is what the trail was like so you can see why we briefly considered camping here at this bridge!

May 15. 302.45 to 317.99. over 15 miles.Overall it was a good day. All sidehill which makes our feet hurt and ankles and other used and abused body parts. It was pretty scary in places where the trail was narrow, slippery and all with a very deep, fall. Our thermometer says 90 in the shade with no covering but a nice breeze made it livable. It was nice to get out of the Deep Creek area and see some new scenery. We got to the dam thingy and spent nearly 2 hours with other hikers playing in a stream cooling off. We'd like to be able to get to McDonald's by tomorrow but it's too far for us. We landed at Grass Valley instead which by the way, has no grass or much water. It kind of makes your stomach turn to think of drinking this water, but makes you grateful for trusty water filters.

A visitor at a water site while I soaked my feet.

People had to  hike miles to get here so no wonder they are jumping off the cliff! Look closely to see the jumper!

View of a dam!

May 16. 317.99 to 335.53. 17+ miles
Happy Birthday Bald Guy!!! Another long day. I started off in a good mood but it soured as the day went on. Then we had some bummer news from home. Poor TBG. Some birthday. It .99was one of those days that I  REALLY wanted to throw in the towel and go home. Due to the higher mileage day today we only have 6 1/2 miles to go tomorrow to get to McDonalds. Imagine, excited to go to Mac D's!! It was hot again today, but a breeze kept it bearable. TBG is experiencing what we suspect is shin splints. Ugh. If it's not one thing it's another. As I write the journal each night TBG dreams up blog titles. Here are some: "Racing with Lizards" "Hiking with Butterflies" and "There's a Hummingbird Following Us" to note just a few. He really has too much time to think. Today we met Dragon Fly and Beaker, two more "Vintage" hikers. Sure hope we meet up with them again but suspect not as they are faster and higher mileage than we are. It's hard to sleep tonight as we are both dreaming of what we'll order at McDonald's tomorrow!

Views from the trail can be breathtaking. And confusing a we rarely know what/where we are looking at.

A "dam" site!

This rock is about the size of a small boat and the weather effects were interesting as well.

Looking across the valley to the trail ahead.

cowboy camping. (obviously not us!)

The Silverwood reservoir (the water behind the dam)

The reservoir again.

May 17. 335.53 to 351.22. almost 16 miles!
Good day! We did almost 16 miles AND McDonald's! We did 5 1/2 miles in only a couple hours in order to get to McD's. Funny what can motivate you. We got there in time to get the breakfast menu so we had breakfast AND lunch then waddled out two hours later! After gorging we hit the trail again to climb about 1800 feet. Tomorrow is an even bigger climb-- about 3200 feet over 13 miles.Today was cool so the climb was comfortable (except for overeating). We saw some incredibly long trains (one had 5 engines). Very interesting hub of activity. Met some new friends, Toaster and Smudge and Bark Eater and Eileen.. They, like everyone else are faster than us, but we hope to meet again. We managed to hike about 10 miles more in spite of full stomachs and were beginning to wonder about where to camp when TBG found an old road we suspect is the Poodle Dog bush detour road. Ingrid and Tracy caught up with us again and we hiked together for a few minutes before they left us in their dust! It was great to see our friends. It's cooler and very foggy tonight. It feels so good to be in our "home". We love our sleeping bag and pads so much.

Before reaching Hwy 18 (MacDonald's)

I always wondered what lived in all those holes on the trail. Here's evidence of at least one critter!

Going under the power lines is always intimidating and the buzzing is unnerving.

No, it's not a smudged lens, it's the fog rolling in. And, boy did it! It eventually got so thick we could hardly see.

View from the trail. Step carefully.

McDonald's even warrants a sign!

Getting closer! The goal is in sight!

New friends Toaster and Sludge

Just in case we were wondering which way to go...

I think I got some of the photos out of order, but at least I got them in this time! This may be the last time I get to use a computer to do the blog.

May 18. 351.22 to 369.5 over 18 miles!
Another long day. Isn't everyday on the trail? Mostly up today. Up and up and up and up and then...up. I am motivated by thoughts of Miriam getting us at 6pm. It was a weird day as we were passed and passed no other hiker until nearly 3 pm. We did see 5 trail runners--what a horrible trail to run! We did our 18 miles in 10 hours. My feet are sooooo sore but no blisters. It's mostly the balls of my feet and heals. TBG guy is having some aches and pains. I guess it's part of trail life. Will it end? I doubt it, but do hope it gets better.Most of the morning was spent hiking above the clouds. It was so neat to watch them. It was sunny and warm but not excessive. We've been so fortunate weather wise. It has been a hard day physically and emotionally. I'm so glad to be at Miriam's for a few days of rest and catching up. Thoughts of quitting flit across my mind often. It's hard, this hike. It's so challenging. It's stressful, always wondering  about food, water, where to camp, weather, critters...but when we fall into bed at night, it's blissful. The fresh air, the smells of the earth, the sounds of the forest....there is nothing more beautiful.

At last. Home to Miriam's and showered and yup, you guessed it...PIZZA! Food has taken on a new importance! We'll zero a few days to visit with these dear friends, shop at REI and then be back on trail soon. The next few weeks promise to be challenging. We'll be ready.

As usual, thank you for your love and support.

We love you and...we LOVE hiking!

KOKO & The Bald Guy