It has been quite some time since I last updated my blog, so I wrote this one very long to make up for it. Feel free to skim through if you want.
Summer has come to the Southwest. Anza-Borrego State Park, the area where I’ve been using as my home base, has seen triple digit temperatures for the last few days, and the weatherman sees no end in sight. I feel for the PCT hikers just coming into the hottest and driest part of the desert. Always on their mind are questions: How far to the next water source? How much water do I need to carry? Will there be water when I get there? It’s something I never had to worry much about on the AT.
Last Wednesday I moved to a campground 8 miles north of Lake Morena, the site of this year’s kickoff party for PCT thruhikers. It would be a short commute along a nice highway, close enough that I could ride my motorcycle to the festival and still maintain a base to camp for a few days. I was somewhat skeptical that anything at the gathering would interest me, but I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. Anyway, I knew it would be the best place to find a guidebook I could use for sectioning parts of the trail, and also purchase a pair of gaiters I had heard about.
The campground was right on the trail but I didn’t really expect to meet anyone hiking through this close to the big sendoff. Boy was I wrong! Hikers drifted in and out all day, stopping to fill up on water, using the privy, and resting at a picnic table in the shade of a giant willow tree. I spoke to several of them and wished them luck as they lifted their heavy packs and walked on up the trail.
Early in the afternoon, two girls walked in and sat down in the grass in front of my camper. They removed their shoes and began to examine their feet with much concern. Twenty-six miles in the last two days had done a number on their feet and they were both nursing blisters and hot-spots. I could tell they were ready to stop for the day and save their feet so I invited them to camp at my site. There was plenty of room for their tents at my campsite and no sense paying for another one. And besides, I kind of like doing trail magic for hikers.
Their names were Melissa and Amanda, hiking solo but meeting up and seeing each other several times during the day. They both planned to catch rides back to the AZDPCTKO from Mt. Laguna, two easy days further up the trail. I learned a bit about their lives and why they wanted to hike the trail and they listened as I told them what it was like to hike 2000 miles through the Appalachian Mountains. There is a kind of bond all long-distance hikers share and it makes conversation come easy.
The next day their feet were much better. They thanked me for letting them stay, gave me a hug, and set out for the climb to Mt. Laguna. I watched them go and wished I was on the trail again. Long distance-hiking is really a journey of the people you meet as much as it is about the places you see.
Later that day another young hiker stopped to chat. He told me that he was thinking of stopping for the day and was looking for someplace to camp. I offered him the same deal I had given the girls and he was grateful to accept. We introduced ourselves and exchanged some quick hiking history. I learned that he had hiked the AT the year before me, and now he was hiking part of the PCT. Time was going to take him off trail before he could finish the whole thing, but he would go as far as he could before he had to leave. I was surprised that he introduced himself as Zack and didn’t have a trail-name from the AT. He told me that he was called Whitney Houston on the AT but thought that it would be in poor taste to use it now. I couldn’t believe it! The book I am reading, “Between a Rock and a White Blaze”, by Julie Urbanski, tells of the authors story of hiking the AT with her husband and meeting a guy named Whitney Houston. They all hiked together for many miles. From her descriptions in her excellent book, I felt like I knew him like a trail friend and it was almost like reminiscing about our hike.
Whitney is one super hiker. He is just easing into the trail at this point but when he gets his trail legs back – watch out! On the AT he was doing 30 and 35-mile days. It took me six months to finish the trail. He was done in 90 days. In the morning we said goodbye and he was gone in three steps.
I spent the afternoon exploring on my motorcycle. I rode to Pine Valley for groceries and then up part of the winding road to Mt. Laguna. Later on I buzzed down to the border where the trail begins to read some of the hiker’s logbook entries. The activities at the PCT party were starting at dusk so I put on my winter coat to ward off the night air and drove over the hill to see what was going on. The answer was hundreds – if not thousands – of mostly young people, wandering around a campground, sitting on the grass in front of little tents, eating, playing games, talking, and of course, drinking beer. I bought the gaiters I wanted from a vender at a small booth and then went to listen to a presentation on “Keeping food safe from bears”. When it was over I heard behind me, “Hi Castaway”, turned around, and there was Melissa, one of the girls I met the day before.
It was quite a coincidence to see a familiar face in all those people. We were both headed to the film festival where past hikers submit short films of their hike in a contest of sorts, so we sat together on the grass and watched the show. Most of the films were amateurish and longer than they should have been but it was a nice evening anyway. I said goodbye to Melissa and froze my butt on a frigid, night ride back to camp.
The next morning a steady stream of hikers passed by my camp. They were mostly youthful, filled with optimism, happy to be on the trail and living their dream, determined to go all the way to Canada. I was packed and ready to pull out, but there were so many hikers stopping for water it was impossible to get to the faucet to fill my tank, so I drove around to the back side of the campground to fill up. My next stop was Temecula, CA., for supplies and laundry, and then up into the mountains for some cooler temperatures.
As I write this I am at a campground 10 miles northeast of Anza, CA., on Route 74. It is part of the San Bernardino National Forest, and because of the San Jacinto Mountains, gives me absolutely no cell signal. I will be here for a couple of days and then move up a little further north. My next two places to see will be Idyllwild and then Big Bear Lake. I don’t want to get too far up and find myself in cold weather, but things are definitely looking up.
While I was in Temecula I bought a gold pan. I thought it would be a fun new hobby to try my luck panning for gold in the rivers up north in California. On the box that contained the gold pan it says, “FIND AN OUNCE OF GOLD A DAY! “ Gold is currently worth about $1500 an ounce, so I’m figuring that shortly I will be on easy street!
I can hear the longing in your voice to be on the trail again. Sounds like the kickoff was a fun time for all. Ah, to be young again.
Good luck on the gold panning. That should be a fun hobby.
Good to hear from you. It sounds like fun, and hard work, too, besides meeting lots of people. Daryl told me that the Troverts plan to join you–somewhere. Great!
That was a nice post. It makes me wish I was already out there with you, but July will come soon enough.
A great story from you as usual. I always enjoy reading your blog.
One of my friends used to live in Idyllwild for about 6 months. I would drive there every other weekend or so. I got to know it pretty well. As you probably know it’s become mainly an artist community.
What fun to chat with fellow hikers. When and where do you think you’ll do your first PCT section hike?