One month reflections

Mile 410 : The Meltdown

Today is May 16th that makes 33 days that I have been on trail. My one month anniversity was on the 12th and I think it’s time to fill you in on what’s been happening.I’m going to start off by saying that today was a low mileage day. I only hiked about eight miles and set up camp by 3 o’clock, although today was not physically exhausting I think the loneliness got to me.

It’s been 33 days and I miss home. I miss my mom and my little sister and hanging out with my friends. I know I’m doing a lot of cool things out here and I’m seeing  beautiful places, and I’m meeting wonderful  people everyday but something is missing.  So instead of pouting (crying in my tent, which I have been doing for the past few minutes) I’m going to focus on the happy moments and hopefully provide some entertainment, and share some of my trail life. Last time I posted I believe I was in Idyllwild headed to Big Bear so we’ll start there.

Idyllwild mile 179.4 to Big Bear mile 266

According to my notes I left Idyllwild on a Wednesday evening and hiked up 3 miles to the closest tent  site near the San Jacinto Trail.  The plan was to Summit the mountain the next morning.

The plan worked! Going up the mountain wasn’t that hard.  Yes there was snow everywhere, I slipped a few times, there was a lot of climbing involved, but overall I enjoyed my way up.  The View was lovely and I submitted the peak  witch was 10833 ft elevation.  I have climbed  fourteeners, so honestly I just wanted to climb   this to say it I climbed it. Once I reach the top I had a bowl of soup I took some pictures and started my started making my way down.

Going down sucked it’s probably one of the scariest things I have done on trail. First off we could not find the trail to get down. I was post holing like crazy! I now understand that post-holing is actually very dangerous. At one point I fell into the snow and it reached my mid thigh. On a separate  occasion my foot got stuck and I lost a shoe and I had to dig it out of the snow.

At this point my group and I are still wandering down the mountain. I’m sliding all over the place, I’m wet, and they decide to follow the river down to the Pct trail. Honestly, I was not a fan of this plan.  For the sake of not being left alone I followed, Thankfully we made it down safely, they kept hiking and I decided to change into some dry clothes.  Trekking  down completely drained  me so I decided to camp at the nearest campsite which was mile 187.8.

The next morning was a lot more relaxing,  if I ignore the fact that I started my period and I was running low on toilet paper, but besides that it was a great 15 mile day. Camped at mile 202. Then got a early start so I could hike to the underpass.

At the underpass there was some trail magic.  Trail magic is an unexpected treat that trailer Angels leave for hikers. For example there was three coolers full of beverages and a bin where I found a banana. So I had a beer and a banana for breakfast.  Then  I hitched a ride right into  Cabazon   bought my lady items and ate at In and Out, then kept on walking.That night I camped  at the Whitewater preserve it sits at mile 215. This place is a Tropical Oasis in the middle of the desert.

Big bear city mile 266 to Cajon Pass

Big Bear was such a cute Town tons of restaurants very hiker friendly. I hitched into town or early morning only had to walk half a mile to the highway and this man named Sunny picked me up he dropped me off at Big Bear Hostel where I met Sarge. He’s the guy that runs the Hostile and is full of great information. I was only planning to stay at the house one night, but I had to wait on a package.

My little sister had sent me new shoes a hiking dress and some tamales that I was super stoked for. The package was supposed to be there on Tuesday, I got there Wednesday morning. Unfortunately it did not arrive till Thursday afternoon by then the tamales were not tasty. I had to trash the tamales, but I had all my stuff and was able to hike out that afternoon.

During this section is also when I started to have back spasms. I had a sharp pain shoot down my right leg and had to take a lot of breaks and stretch out every few minutes the pain got so bad that my friend Yentz had to carry my pack to the next rest spot and I had a hang out there for a while regardless of this I still hiked 12 miles in crappy weather.

I set up camp  but the next morning I woke up to snow and frozen  tent.  This was a kind ruff but I had 18 miles to go until I hit Deep Creek Hot Springs  and was eager to get there, and it was completely worth it!  The springs  was probably one of the most fun and relaxing nights and also a great way to celebrate 300 miles!

Cajon pass mile 341 to Wrightwood mile 369

Cajon Pass it’s infamous  for its McDonald’s.  Most hikers stop here and pig out off of the dollar menu. I enjoyed a milkshake and some fries. At McDonald’s I met up with my friends Alex and Jack and we decided to get a hotel together much needed rest and Recovery.

I headed out the next evening but the boys stayed one more night.

Wrightwood mile 369 to Acton mile mile 444

Wrightwood was a quickie stop I picked up some food I charged my phone and then I headed up to climb Mr Baden-Powell.

The next few days were cold and rainy, there was a lot of fog, this is when I had my little melt down. Sometimes you just need to cry it out and revaluate your goals to feel better.  After that session I hiked my longest day 20.4 miles.

Acton mile444 to Agua dulce mile 454

I stoped at a the KOA in acton, it cost me 15$ to camp but they had a pool showers and WIFI. They also had pizza you can heat up in the oven.  So when I checked in they did not specify on what oven to use. I naturally started preheating the one in the kitchen. Thats logical right? Well, no. That oven was full of plastic,I had not checked what was inside. So when the room started smoking up they had to evacuate every one. I felt really bad! But no one was hurt and I didn’t burn the building down so I think it turned out ok!

After leaving the KOA I only had to hike 10 miles to Agua Dulce. I had a late morning and got to wake up under the shade of a big oak tree. Once i managed to crawl out of my tent I hustled to over to hiker haven. It is such a wonderful place. they offer a place to camp, laundry, computers, a sowing tent, basically it’s a  second home.

 

May 20th

My friend Jessica came to pick me up at hiker haven so I could spend a few days with here and her husband Alan. I love these humans! So im currently  lounging on her couch and enjoying my zero days and my mood has lifted.

I will be back on trail tomorrow afternoon, and headed to Casa de luna.

catch up with me later 🙂