Day 17, 21.64 miles!!!

Hey guys! This is the last of four days that I just posted, after not posting for four days. If this is the first blog post you’re reading since I was in Idyllwild, go back to day 14 and start reading from there! Ok, back to the action! 

——————————————————————

I didn’t sleep very good last night. It was very cold and since I was cowboy camping the wind kept hitting me right in the face. For some reason my body was a fine temp, and if I tried to put my whole head inside my sleeping bag, I would overheat. #backpackerproblems

I find that I sleep way warmer if I can be on my side, curled up, like I do back home. When I’m flat on my back I’m pretty chilly, especially my arms, but if I tuck them under my body they go numb! I’ll figure it out after a couple thousand miles :p 

Anyways, the trail itself was great today! We had climbed back into the trees. There was a 16 mile water carry starting this morning to the next water source, but it didn’t seem that bad. After climbing just a steep tad up, the trail was very gradual in its rises and falls, but overall falling a few thousand feet.

Every once in a while I’d get amazing expansive views like the one above. I saw very few hikers today. I think we’re at the head of the bubble that was finally able to leave Idyllwild after the storm. 

I started a few minutes before Julian. Into the first few miles, I saw a large group-camping area above the trail and what I thought was a bathroom. In my 10 minute detour off-trail, I think he passed me without knowing. After not seeing him for a few more miles, I figured this was the case because he is definitely faster than me. It turns out (I later discovered), that he had done a 25+ mile day all the way to the Highway that leads into Big Bear! Wowza!

More expansive views...

At some point today, I passed some exotic animal cages in a large, gated facility. Apparently, these are ex-movie star animals, specially trained for roles in Hollywood movies. The place was big, the cages were not.. I saw a huge grizzly bear walking around in a circle in a space that was probably three times his length and two times his width.. I took no pictures as this made me very sad... I understand that they can’t be let out back into the wild, but if they’re retired movie-stars, at least give them more space!! 

Here’s something cool. In the picture below, in the very back middle, there is a peak with a tiny 4X4 road wrapping around it. The next picture is me zoomed up on the peak and road. I believe this was a steep road that Claire and I descended to get to the Big Bear area, after a looooooong climb through Yucca Valley and Pioneer town, back in 2016.

White line in the very middle.

I eventually dropped out of the trees and things got nice and shrubby and windy again! By this point I was sooooooooo tired and it was after 4:30pm. I knew I had already gone over 20 miles and the road to Big Bear was less than 6 miles away. 

The very next time I dipped into a few trees and saw a decently flat spot, I nabbed it! It’s actually turning out to be a real pretty place to watch the sun get lower in the sky.

View from my tent around 6:00pm

Well, what can I say? It’s been a long day!! I realized today I need to start bringing a little more food as my hiker hunger has kicked back in earlier than I expected. I had a very small dinner tonight, and am planning to eat the last little bits of food tomorow to push me 4.5 easy miles to the highway and then have a huge breakfast in Big Bear! As I stated earlier, since I’m at the head of the bubble, there should be some vacancy at the hostel tomorrow. I’m not 100% sure I’ll stay yet, but I could really use the shower, laundry, and rest!

I can’t wait for you guys to be able to read these last 4 days! 

Thanks for reading!!