Got up at five am which apparently was late because I was the last one to leave camp. Today was cooler, which was nice and made it possible to move faster. It is sometimes easy to lose track of the altitude because of the constant gains and losses, so at some time I checked it and quite unexpectedly saw I was at 8500 feet = 2600m. That would also make foe part of the explanation…
Day 16 Turned out that I had pitched my tent way too near WC late last night and the door to the WC slammed shut every time someone exited. I got up late due to the exertions of the previous day. I was still very tired, but luckily that gradually went away before mid day. For once it had been a warm night, but the downside to that was my chocolate not resolidified. Squeezed a…
Day 15 Got up at 4:30 again and when the sun finally popped up it turned out to be a tremendously beautiful morning, so I took a lot of pictures. Passed a hiker by saying “Good morning. I ‘m sorry if I scared you” with him not hearing my approach. Later as I stopped to take pictures again, he passed me and stated “Ha ha! Leapfrog!” Well, most hikers are friendly and a few drops…
Day 14 Got up early, headed to the loo, and at the exact moment I flushed, the whole house started shaking. First I thought, what the heck is going on, but then realized that there was a small earthquake. Hiked out of Idyllwild and headed for San Jacinto Peak (10834 feet=3300m) which is an alternative to the stock PCT which circumnavigates it. I think that is the highest mountain I’ve ever summited. The views were…
Day 13 In hiker terminology, a zero is a day where you don’t do any trail miles. Instead you relax, buy food for the next stretch e.g. “resupplying”. I had bought slightly too little food for the last stretch, as previously stated, possibly because I am eating more food now. In hiking terms you get what is called “Hiker hunger” loosely defined as almost insatiable food cravings due to large energy expenditure associated with long…
Day 12 Due to a fire a couple of years ago part of the Pacific Crest Trail was closed, but an alternative for that section was provided. Ihad camped at the exact spot where the PCT closed. At 4:30 at the ridge where I slept I was surprised to see all the night lights of the distant surrounding cities. There was a weird distortion of the lights due to atmospheric fluctuations or something like that.…
Day 11 Forgot to set my alarm, so I slept in a bit. Luckily it was a short day with only 10 miles. Turned out to be a very warm day right out of the bat. Walked part of the day along a ridge line with quite a bit of elevation gain and loss. Waited out the midday heat at a ridge line under my umbrella with my feet under a white garbage bag while…
Day 10 I slept completely alone in my spot in the middle of the desert under the skies, and when I woke it was completely and utterly silent. Not a single animal sound. That was s very special experience. Started hiking at dawn, but it quickly turned out to be a hot day. In anticipation of getting to Paradise Valley Café and also because of bringing slightly too little food, I postponed lunch. When I…
Day 9 Had pancakes for breakfast at “Mike’s” and set out hiking around seven. While there were frost crystals on the RV home in the early morning, the weather had turned around and there were no sky to be seen. I had my lunch in a shaded area near a creek, which was nice. I should like to add that for some reason lunch breaks have always been one of my favorite things to have…
Day 8 It was misty and cold this morning, and from the start the nature wasn’t vey interesting. At some point it changed to something more interesting with large round boulders in a misty landscape. Stayed at a place called “Mike’s”, which was weird an utterly different from the Warner Springs Resource Center. It was a lone off-grid parcel on a hilltop surrounded by state park. Two men constituting a rather odd couple managed the…