Thursday, May 5, 2011

I took a Zero day today. After a wonderful breakfast by some trail angels (China Doll, Riffleman, Princes and Bat Boy) that were camped in their RV's near Barrel Springs, I hitched a ride to Warner Springs Ranch Resort. It was an easy hitch, and it was great to get to the Ranch early in the morning rather than in the afternoon like all the other hikers I was hiking with.




First thing, I went and did my laundry ... no line and no waiting, except I had to walk across the street to the little store to get laundry soap and change for the washing machine.

Next, I was able to get on a computer and up-load some photos. Again, no line and no waiting.

By the time most of the other hikers showed up, I was soaking in the hot pool! What a great place to take a zero day!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

101 miles total, 16 miles today.



I made it to Barrel Springs today. It was a hot, hot, hot day! In the middle of the day, I stopped and rested for a while, mostly to get out of the mid-day heat.

As night approached, I started to hike with a hiker by the trail name of 8 Miles. I turned on my headlamp to light up the trail.

As we approached the Springs, you could see two RV's that had set up camp near the road. A lot of hikers were there, and they were all talking and laughing. It was like a beacon in the night, inviting anyone and everyone to come join them.

Right at the springs, sereral hikers had set up their tents, but I decided to go straight to where the RV's were parked. They had lots of food: chili, hot dogs, cold beer and soda, fruit, and at least 30 folding chairs for hikers to sit and eat. They had a nice fire going, and the trail angels were wonderful people. I ended up setting up my tent right near the RV's, as a few other hikers had done the same thing.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

85 miles total, 17 miles today.







The town of Julian is well known for it's apple pie. The Mom's Bakery and Deli was giving free 1/2 sanwich and a cup of soup to PCT hikers! Can't beat free food! It was wonderful pie, too!



A lot of hikers are headed to the Warner Springs Ranch Resort, and it's a very nice place! Great rooms, two swimming pools, wonderful food and beverages. It will be very relaxing to take a zero day there.

Monday, May 2, 2011

68 miles, 16 miles today



It was a good day today. Windy at times ... maybe as high as 40 m.p.h. The wind kept the tempatures cooler than they would have otherwise. There were about 20 hikers camped where I stopped for the night. I had to use my light for the last hour of hiking as it was getting dark. It was a very nice place to camp.

Mt. Laguna Store

Sunday, May 1, 2011

52 miles total, 14 miles today



I had a great time hiking with other hikers today. There are so many new trail names to keep straight that I'm having a hard time with it. I'm having some issues with fuel, because if you try to mail fuel anyway other than ground, the post office wants a $25 haz-mat fee. Hopefully I can get this all figured out soon.



If you look at this picture closely, you can see some small white spotches at the top of the mountain. The white stuff is snow, high on the mountains. I left a note on the trail for other PCT hikers to notice the snow. At the pace that I'm going, I should be to that snow in about 2 weeks or so.



This is a Mt. Laguna Store. They also have rooms that you can rent here. It's very hiker friendly, and they have a wide variety of hiker food that you can buy. When I arrived, several hikers were hanging out in the front of the store, taking a nice break.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

38 miles total, about 6 miles today.

There have been a lot of snakes along the trail here in the desert. You can often hear them shake their rattles when you approach. Some of the hikers have ear plugs in ... I'm not sure how well they can hear the snakes!



I think I might have a touch of heat stroke yesterday, so I was really taking it easy today. I got out of the mid-day heat, and will continue to do the same thing as days progress while I'm still in this desert area.

Friday, April 29, 2011



The wild flowers in the desert add a lot of color to the hike.



I hiked about 10 miles with two day hikers, Don and Keith, that were staying at Lake Morena Camp Ground. It was nice to have the company to hike with.