STORM!!

Hi all!  I had a pretty amazing week!  I resumed the trail where I'd left off- not far from the little town of Julian and a storm was blowing in.  Ron, the bridal hiker I mentioned last week was with me for most of the day as we hiked up a very windy mountain side.  

I caught up with my section hiker friends from last week, Gottago, Just Kidding, and Happy Pants, so while Ron pushed on ahead I decided to make camp with the ladies.  It rained off and on that afternoon and evening and we ended up pitching our tents on a very windy ridge.  We stayed relatively dry and warm but by morning the girls had decided to quit their hike early since the weather reports were talking about another storm front blowing in by the weekend.  They left the trail at Warner Springs but very generously shared a lot of their left-over food before they left. I didn't fully realize at the time how grateful I'd be for that food in the upcoming days as I walked into the mountains and the storm.

Happy Pants and Just Kidding

On the way to this tiny town called Warner Springs that had no services but a tiny post office and a shut-down gas-station was a beautiful green meadow full of bright yellow flowers.  I don't think my camera gave it justice.

I spent the night about 5 miles North of Warner Springs, sharing a spot with an interesting married couple named Bird and Freebird.  They thru-hiked the AT a few years ago and are now taking a shot at the PCT.  They'd started on the first but were taking their time due to blisters.  They regaled me with interesting and amusing tails from the AT and I have to say folks- the AT sounds like a trail for wimps (no offense Bird/Freebird).  

Apparently on the AT you don't have to worry about planning out a resupply strategy because you walk into a town every 10 or 20 miles.  You don't have to carry a tent because there are shelters every few miles and water is every where so that isn't a big concern either.  Basically you can just start in Maine with a burlap sack and absolutely no plan and as long as you have money in your pocket you can probably eventually fumble your way down into Georgia.

Also, since the AT was completed much earlier then the PCT it isn't as well designed.  Rather then switch backs, they told me, the trail often just muscles straight up and down the mountain sides. Apparently the trail designers didn't consider that people might want a pay-off for all brutal climbing so they didn't bother situating the trail at scenic vistas at the top.  My friends told me they often had the feeling that they were climbing a large hill for no particular reason.

However, speaking of fumbling along- after leaving those two I made my way back up into the mountains and although the day started fairly pleasant and sunny by the time I'd reached 5000 feet the next storm was blowing in with strong winds and ice cold rain.  Just as it was starting to get really bad I made it to Chihuahua Road where I'd been told that a Trail Angel named Mike had made shelter available. 

Freezing, soaked, and half-blinded by the driving sleet I made my way to Mike's and found an unoccupied house, a rough-looking shack and an RV.  I found the shack was empty but there were 7 people all crammed into the RV!  There were people on every available surface including the floor so that left me with a spot in the Shack.  

I was very grateful for the shack because even though it was un-insulated, drafty, rodent infested, and leaked badly it was still a hell of a lot better then miserably huddling under my tarp in the elements with the only things keeping me from freezing to death being my wet sleeping bag and a sputtering, sad little fire.  

Not long after I'd settled in Bird and Freebird came along!  I spent some time getting to know the RV people a little and then the three of us shivered in the shack trying to dry our wet socks against our stomachs with our body heat and watching the sleet turn into snow.  

Among the seven "RV People" were Nico and his wife Go Fish from Boston, Heart- a very sweet lady who spent 40 years working as an ICU nurse, Jet Boil AKA Tailgate and his wife Twist- a young married couple in their early 20's, "Ice Ass" although I wouldn't blame him if he didn't take that name- an ultra marathoner who'd earlier spent 4 days holed-up in Julian with the worst blisters I've ever seen (he had pictures), and Orange Ranger- at 42 the second oldest besides Heart who works for the Forest Service when he's not tramping around on the trail.

We all spent a zero day hunkered down waiting for the storm to pass and enough snow to melt off to make the trail more visible.  Among the hikers who were already there when I arrived it was their second or third day waiting out the storm!!  Most of them started in Campo earlier then I did so the storm ended up creating a log-jam and gave me a chance to meet some of my peers.

On the morning of the 15th the sky was clear and we all left just before sunrise in a mad dash to get out of the high country and down where it was warm.  On a thru-hike you always seem to be in "GO-Mode," always thinking about the miles that still need to be walked, so sitting around without a purpose is tough.  We all hiked out 24 miles and ended up at a fun burger joint called the Paradise cafe that's a mile from the trail off Hwy 74 and about 14 miles from Idyllwild. 

I finally got through to my Dad on the cell- I'm sure he was getting worried with the reports of the storm- and he came to pick me up from the cafe.  I'm taking another zero day, just too much stuff to do to prepare for the next stretch and not enough daylight left yesterday to take care of it all.  I'll be forced to skip around a 20 mile or so stretch of the trail that climbs up to at least 9000 feet and was reported to be deadly-dangerous with snow BEFORE this last storm.  

Me, Heart, Freebird, and Bird.

No laundry facilities at the RV park this time so I used the bathtub in the trailer.  This should give you guys an idea of just how dirty my clothes can get after only 5 days.