Miles High Desert to Big Bear City

The next morning camp was broken. Stormy and cold: a bitter 31°. Almost everything was frozen, including ourselves. Not even our 20° duvets, base layers and bag liners could keep the cold at bay overnight. Waking up to the tent walls frozen with condensation, it was finally time to get out the winter gear and start warming up. Soon our breath hung in the air, as thick as the steam rising from the hot coffee we held in our hands.

Last night was quiet and peaceful, until the loud crash of a large tree branch breaking and hitting the ground broke the silence. It was a “gentle” reminder to always look up before setting up the tent!

Within 1 mile, the layers were peeling away and the miles flew by. By 10am we had reached another milestone: 250!

After leaving the national monument, the trail opened up to stunning views of San Gorgonio Mountain – our path was lined with sagebrush and the cheerful chirping of chickadees. The cool weather was a relief after the last few days of heat wave.

Although we were safely hidden in the woods, the distant hum of the 38 followed us parallel south for several miles. Soon, a great view of Lake Baldwin (a smaller cousin of Big Bear Lake) had us dreaming about real food, specifically bananas, crisp lettuce, and fresh avocados.

With the faint aroma of wood smoke, pine cones, and stone pines in the air, this part of the trail was exactly what we needed to conclude this five-day stretch. We even saw a deer and a number four snake! If any section of the trail so far has reminded us of home, it is undoubtedly this one. The native trees and grasses brought us back to our farm, especially since many of our favorites grow here at our feet: yarrow, mullein and wormwood.

Then the forest opened up and we traversed just below the ridge for several kilometers. By 3:00 pm, the sun had warmed the temperature to 75°C. The sky was a bright, cloudless blue, painted only by the white trails of exhaust from passing planes.

We still have six miles to go. While this impressive section really renewed our faith in Section C, we are sincerely glad to have this part of the trail behind us. It was difficult.

For this stretch from Idyllwild to Big Bear Lake, we initially planned a five-day stretch to cover 90 miles, averaging 18 miles per day. But a last-minute decision to climb San Jacinto Peak only got us 7.5 official miles of trail on the first day. Doing some simple hiker math, we were suddenly faced with a 10.5 mile deficit entering the week. Spreading those shortened miles over the remaining four days meant a lot of extra ground to make up!

Still, it’s essential to have the flexibility to explore a once-in-a-lifetime summit right off the PCT. In the end we managed to make up the kilometers and even had a little food left over. We finished today with a great 24 mile effort and our bodies are looking forward to a well-deserved recovery day.

We are now in the San Bernardino National Forest. During the last three miles, we saw our first set of horse hoof prints in the soft sand. It got me thinking about the history of the trail: Started by Clinton C. Clarke in the 1930s, the Pacific Crest Trail was originally established as a continuous, protected wilderness route from Mexico to Canada, designed to preserve scenic landscapes and provide a primitive, solitary experience for horses and hikers alike. In 1968, it officially received National Scenic Trail status, then known as ‘PCT 2000’, meaning it was the 2000th federal trail.

However, looking at the current trail, there are very few sections that I would feel comfortable traversing on horseback. It is mainly a narrow single track, often too narrow to comfortably accommodate a horse, or dangerously close to steep cliffs.

As we rounded a bend at mile 21.8, there sat Lt. Dan, a 2016 PCT hiker, offering us a beer and a place to rest. We politely declined the beer, as we still had a few miles to grind, but happily grabbed what turned out to be «the best bananas we’ve ever eaten.» It was our first experience with the magic of trails on the PCT.

Three miles later, we pitched our tent on Nelson Peak, overlooking Lake Baldwin. We were only a half mile from the trailhead and were incredibly excited to have a full day free. The next morning, bright and early, we slung our light packs over our shoulders, headed down the hill, signed the logbook, and stuck out our thumbs for a walk.

With Starbucks on our minds, we hitched a ride and were drinking a hot ‘1971 mix’ with steamed oat milk (in actual ceramic mugs like civilized humans) at 6:30 a.m. While there, we met a new friend named Chewy, a rescue dog who really enjoyed a puppy cup, and we had a great conversation with his owners. (I always remember the dog’s name, but I can never seem to remember the names of the humans who rescue them!). Afterwards, we headed to Vons Market for fresh produce, followed by laundry and a much-anticipated preliminary shower.

Apparently, we seemed completely lost in the Vons parking lot, because a friendly retired firefighter named Gary stopped and asked if we needed a ride. Hell yes, we did! As hikers, we always look for the shortest line between two points on a day in the city, even if that means traversing parking lots and dodging buildings. We happily hopped in and he dropped us right at our hotel, saving us a solid mile of walking down the road.

We checked into our hotel early, immediately did laundry, unpacked, and I took what turned out to be the coldest shower of my life. It was definitely not the hot shower we had been dreaming of along the way. To make matters worse, our room was a freezing 56°. It took three room changes for the hotel to finally realize there was a major problem with the boiler system.

At 2:00 pm, no caffeine still He had not been able to rinse himself. After management assured us the problem was fixed, he tried, only to end up taking a freezing shower and leaving with goosebumps. Needless to say, none of us were excited. To make matters worse, this huge hotel chain (which will remain anonymous, although it starts with ‘H’ and ends with ‘N’) refused to do anything else for us. Unfortunately, some «days in the city» don’t always turn out the way we imagine.

Despite the drama in the room, we managed to heal our blisters, devour a ton of food, including the biggest avocados we’ve ever seen, and get a great night’s rest.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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