Week 3: Idyllwild - Big Bear Lake

scarlson51
May 24
4 min read

Updated: Jun 9

Approximately Mile 170 through Mile 270

Note: These are excerpts from Gabe's journal, with a few light edits...

Sunday May 4th – PCT Day 15

Had leftover pizza for breakfast. Got a ride to the trail w/ Steve, nice old fella. Day was ~14 miles but ~5000 feet of elevation gain. Hail and rain on & off all day. Met several people along trail, camping ~0.7 miles south of Tokitz Creek w/ Phillip & a couple from Michigan. Beef Stroganoff for dinner.

Mayor Max - The famous Mayor of Idyllwild

Rain & hail on the climb out of Idyllwild into the San Jacinto Mountains

Monday, May 5th - PCT day 16

Cold and wet morning today. Hands almost froze off putting tent away due to snow. Climb was pretty hard today but I saw lots of squirrels and birds. Snow off and on for ~10 miles which slowed progress. Passed in and out of clouds (almost always inside) for the whole day, ~17.5 miles of hike with a considerable amount of climbing (up to ~ 9,000 feet). Tried to keep feet dry w/ plastic bags. Right ripped, left became greenhouse. Kept feet warm though, needs improvement. Nice campsite finally below clouds next to small creek. Chicken fried rice for dinner. Maybe a real lunch today at I-10 crossing?? Anyways, off to bed. Goodnight.

Hiking through the snow

Tuesday, May 6th, PCT Day 17

Nice and clear this morning. Did ~4000 foot descent in 12 miles. Very beautiful on the way down, but damn the knees were feeling it. Ran into a trail crew which was nice to see. Hung out at the water spigot for a about an hour chatting with fellows. The six mile walk across the desert floor was crazy windy, almost knocked me over. Under the highway I split a "grapefruit" w/ Jessica. Felt like a monkey in a nature doc eating fruit off the floor, but damn it was good. Windy camp at the wind farm office. Go figure. Lasagna & corn chowder for dinner. Goodnight.

Out of the snow, into the heat

Wednesday, May 7th - PCT day 18

Wind died overnight which was nice. Birds woke me up around 5:20, not bad. Initial climb out of the canyon was (challenging). Walked the ridges for a while, saw cool sandstone formation, very nice wildflowers too. Got to the river and had a fantastic bath, met Airforce / Fire F. “Snakula” (Dracula). The climb out was also pretty, but hard especially the climb down to Mission Creek. There was a nice pool that I took another bath in. The walk up the creek was (challenging) - major wash out, very slow going. Went ~17 miles. Found a good spot, joined by Fruit Loop & Jessica at camp. Egg casserole for dinner. Good end to day.

Thursday, May 8th – PCT Day 19

Another few miles of (difficult) walking this morning. Lost my hat but Snakula kindly gave me a ball cap. On the ridge climb up to Mission Creek Trail Camp I found a very nice fleece. Had a nice two hour break at the trail camp w/ picnic benches. Jess, Snackula, Purple Vein and another lady joined me after about an hour. Got to camp ~5:30 after ~18 miles, 5,000 feet. I was eating dinner when a British couple came saying they had a message that the fleece belongs to a man named Simon from Belgium. Half hour later another messenger came saying there was a number to call. Egg casserole for dinner, Goodnight

Friday, May 9th - PCT Day 20

Super easy miles today through the massive Junipers & Ponderosa Pines. ~8 miles done by ~9:30. Called Mom & Grandma - which was nice. Booked a room at ITN (Hostel) on top of a mountain. Walked the last few miles w/ Snackula and had a very nice conversation about US, Canada, Ukraine & geopolitics. Did ~18 miles by 1:00, hit the #18 Hwy & walked right into a hitch. Ran into Renee #1 dropping off Intel, reunion was nice - got a big hug. Met up w/ Aaron & got Mexican food, demolished some enchiladas & a mango margarita. Went back to ITN. Later went back to the Mexican spot for more food & drink w/ Aaron, Jess, Sas, & Fruit Loop.

Saturday, May 10th - PCT day 21

Got breakfast w/ Jess, Intel, and Snackula at the Teddy Bear. Introduced the guys to Country Fried Steak. Had to rush putting my pack together to catch the Uber, packed it (poorly). I think that’s what hurt my left Achilles. Only did ~10 miles into Caribou Creek. Finally completed my side quest to return Belgian Simon’s fleece after Ben passed along my number. He gave me a Modelo & Cheesecake as a thank you! Campsite was very full w/ Ben, Evan, Aaron, Sas, Claire, Amber & Stephanie. All shared a dinner circle. I had beef stew w/ corn chowder. Goodnight