Hiker House Hopping

After leaving Hiker Heaven in good spirits, we were fortunate enough to enjoy overcast skies without the threat of rain. Despite being in the desert, this kept the temperatures down and made the hiking much more bearable. Two days and 24 miles from Hiker Heaven we found ourselves at yet another fire closure. With an opportunity to stay at a another trail house -this one called Casa de Luna, we decided to take a day to stratigize and create a plan of action. After catching the first car that went by, before we could get in a white mini van flew up and asked if we were headed into Casa de Luna. It was none other than Terry Anderson herself, the owner and operator -along with her husband "Papa Joe." We made our introductions then made our way to her house. With a much more passive form of management, this hiker house was considerably more relaxed than thd last. As one hiker put it, "The maximum stay at Hiker Heaven is two nights, at Casa de Luna, this is the minimum stay." With complementary coffee and pancakes every morning, "Taco Salad," for dinner each night, it was hard to leave. As it took us, and most other hikers, one lunar cycle to get here, this is where the house derives its name. We camped in the backyard, where dozens of isolated little campsites could be found amongst the jungle of mature manzanita.

After meeting our two-night minimum, we hit the pavement and made our 13 mile road walk around the fire closure. Along the way we passed by a wolf santuary where we were well recieved with a symphony of howls. As we walked by we met a couple of the care takers walking with their wolves. We stopped and talked with them for a good while, introducing us to the wolves as well. Freedom was a rescue from Palmer, Alaska while his counterpart Takota, the alpha male, was from the Mckenzie valley. Shortly after we left the wolf sanctuary, we came across an ostrich farm where we once again stopped and admired these strange creatures. After we finally departed the road, we only made a couple more miles to the upper shakes campground where we called it early and made fresh nettle tea.

The next day we found ourselves in beautiful oak savannas, decorated with hues of yellow, orange, red and green, as the mats of miner's lettuce faded from wilted to thriving. Soon after we hit the 500 mile mark, leaving the bad taste of 90's pop hits in our heads for the remainder of the day.

After another early rise in the dewy desert morning, we made our way to Hiker Town, our last resupply before Kennedy Meadows in 180 miles. The property appears to be the set of an old western movie, complete with a post office, school house, doctor's office, flower shop and so on; prop guns and dust can be found everywhere. While we will make an early gettaway in the morning, we will soon transition into night hiking to cross this desert they call the Mojave.

Cheers from the trail!
Stump & Mandalynn

 

Gains & Losses

After we departed Guffy campground in the morning, we began making our way towards the largest thing in site -Mt. Baden-Powell. With a misunderstanding around our re-supply in Wrightwood, we had limited time and food to reach our next way point in Agua Dulce 90 miles away. We made 10 miles before reaching the trail head to summit, crowded with Sunday hikers from the city. The next four miles reminded us a lot of Washington, as we switch backed up to the exposed summit at 9400ft. From here we stood on the dividing line of weather patterns; to the South lies Los Angeles beneath a thick blanket of clouds, to the North, the Mojave. We also met the Wally Waldron tree here, the oldest Limber pine in the area, at 1500 years of age. After enjoying a picnic on the summit, we made the last 6 miles of a 20 mile day to little Jimmy spring, flowing fast with fresh water.

As we continued to make our way west through the mountains, we weaved around highway 2, crossing it over half a dozen times. As we continued to push 20 mile days, we quickly found ourselves in the charred landscape of the the Station fire, one of the largest is Southern California's recorded history. Following the fire came a resurgence of the endemic Poodle-dog bush, known for causing severe skin irritations that can last weeks. For this reason we road walked 14 miles, taking advantage of the extra clearance. We spent the night near a memorial for two fire-fighters killed in blaze. From here one could begin to see the magnitude of that which was burned 7 years ago. Nearby we found the abandoned Little Gleason Forestry Plantation. Only concrete and metal remained, everything else disintegrated in the fire. After a quick morning exploration of the grounds, we made another 20 miles for the fourth consecutive day, a little sore and exhausted by the time we reached the low desert and the Santa Clara "River."

After being scalped at the Acton KOA for a few refreshments, we made 10 more miles to something we've long dreamed of -Hiker Heaven in Agua Dulce. Along the way we passed through Vasquez rocks, where Captain Kirk fights the infamous Gorn. Upon our arrival in heaven, we were met with an introduction of the grounds, including the complementary laundry service complete with "Loaner" clothes, the certified post office being run out of the garage, the organized shuttles to the local REI, showers, Epson salt foot baths, computer lab and camping. We couldn't have dreamed up anything better. Everything is highly organized, despite the chaos that thru-hikers bring day in and day out. We pitched our tarp between the chickens and horses, enjoying the company of animals. We will enjoy a zero here, as the company and resources are a true treat.

Over the last 112 miles we have climbed and declined over 27,000ft, making for a net change of 500. Welcome to the desert.

Stump & Mandalynn

Flowing Water

Leaving Big Bear, we were gifted with cool temperatures, clear skies, and the shade of pines and juniper. Though it dropped below freezing at night, it made for efficient hiking during the day despite slow mornings. As we made the slow and familiar descent back to the desert, we came across a great surprise -flowing water! As we weaved around the banks of Holocomb Creek, it slowly grew in size as numerous tributaries made their contribution. By lunch we hiked 13 miles and were basking in the shade adjacent to the stream, enjoying the forgotten sound of moving water. We soaked our tired feet and washed our dirty faces before grudgingly leaving the best lunch spot to date. We followed the creek a few more miles before the trail diverged to the south, but we were not upset as we were destined for something greater -Deep Creek. As the light began to fade, we set up camp along the sandy banks of this "Large" and bountiful river, just shy of a 20 mile day.

The next day held even greater surprises, with rumors of hot springs not too far ahead. We hiked an ambitious 9 miles through the desert heat before arriving at an unmarked crossroads. Uncertain if the springs lay at the bottom of this steep canyon trail, we took our chances and shuffled down. With no one in sight, we thought we'd taken a wrong turn, but the trail was true. When we got to the bottom we found our personal hot spring waiting for us. A real treat, even in the heat, we bounced between the hot and cold waters steeped with lithium all afternoon. After the heat of the day passed, we hiked out and down the trail, only to find the "True" Deep Creek hot springs just a mile further. Packed with city folks, hikers, pets and trash, we viewed the party from afar and continued hiking. Shortly after, we ran into our first rattlesnake sunning himself in the trail. After patiently waiting for a few minutes, he granted us safe passage and moved to the side of the trail, never issuing his unmistakable warning.

From here we made our way to the Silverwood lake, where we spent another afternoon swimming in cold water. I developed a migrane here and we were forced to make camp early despite only hiking 12 miles. Eager to make up for lost time, we left very early the next morning headed towards I-15 through Cajon pass. Determined to beat the heat, we broke personal records hiking 17 miles before 12:30. As temperatures rose into the 90's, we staggered into the McDonalds at Cajon pass not knowing what to expect. As we walked in, we found hikers crammed into every corner, backpacks wrapping around every table. A few families taking a lunch break from the interstate were scattered about, serving as entertainment as they tried to make sense of the highly pungent scene before them. We used up the gift card Mandalynn had recieved at Ziggy and the Bears' then vowed to never eat fast food again. We waited out the heat of the day with other hikers in the shade of a gas station -hit with a wave of culture as humans driving to Las Vegas stopped for gas. Here a 5ft long gopher snake paid us a visit, though shortly after introductions were made, a local helped to relocate him to the creek nearby, away from the road.


As the sun fell we continued hiking into the dark, finishing with a 24 mile day. Unknowingly we spent the night right over the San Andres fault, dreaming of earthquakes. We were hiking again by 4:30 the next morning, making the slow 5000ft ascent up into the mountains around Old Baldy. Here we ran into our second rattlesnake, and as Mandalynn almost stepped on him before taking notice, it was hissing and rattling by the time we'd backed up to give it space. Eventually it allowed us to pass on its own accord, and we appologized for disturbing its rest. That afternoon we arrived at Guffy campground, the end of another 20 mile dry stretch. We were well recieved as a group of long distance trail runners allowed us to share their site. We enjoyed our second fire in over 3 weeks despite the relentless wind at 8000ft. As we needed to resupply in Wrightwood located in the valley down below, our new friend David let us drive his Jeep down the mountain to the post office and grocery store. As we pulled into town, hikers we knew from the trail gave us puzzled looks as we showed off our new ride. Driving around seemed quite strange, but zipping up and down the rough mountain roads was good fun. After we returned, Olga treated us to homemade soup and salsa. Presented with such hospitality, we could not refuse though the soup was filled with catfish, octopus and shrimp, things we do not normally consume. Nonetheless, it was very delicious, especially as it was the first bit of true home cooking that we've had since our departure. Refreshed from our zero day at Guffy camp, tomorrow we will summit Mt. Baden-Powell...

Cheers from the trail!
Stump & Mandalynn

The Joy's of Spring

Leaving Warner Springs, we were excited to climb in elevation up into the mountains, enjoying some cooler temperatures as we hiked. After a good day of 15 miles, we found ourselves high in a boulder canyon, reminiscent of the Dragoon mountains of southern Arizona. We did not bother setting up the tarp, and as we fell asleep, we watched as clouds crashing into the mountain top were forced higher into the air, taking on new forms and merging with larger masses. Surely this was one of nature's finer lullabies. Unfortunately, we did not consider the consequences of sleeping at 5000ft without a tarp. By the very early morning, we found ourselves in the heart of the clouds, and everything, including our sleeping bag, was quite wet. Quickly we wiped down our sleeping bag, and laid the tarp over it to reduce it's exposure to moisture. This at least allowed us to stay warm until first light, at which point we quickly broke camp and made a couple of miles to our next water source, a storage tank at the residence of a local trail angel named Mike. Here we took relief from the freezing cloud, drank real coffee, and listened to the Eagles. After regaining our motivation, we hiked out of the cloud down into the Anza Borrego desert. Beautiful but very dry, this area has been taken over by pot farmers, primarily funded by cartels. While they were not friendly to thru-hikers, a local named Mary and her counterpart Carl, helped to establish an oasis at mile 145. Supplied with cold soda, shade, picnic tables, BBQ and a free library exchange, it seemed too good to be true.

Later that afternoon, we arrived at Paradise Valley Cafe on hwy 74. We enjoyed our first meal off the trail, especially once the hail began to fly and the thunder roared overhead. By late afternoon the temperature was dropping fast, though the storm was begginning to dissipate. The cafe kindly allowed us to camp their back patio for the night, and even left their bathroom unlocked for us. Despite the hospitality, sleeping on a cold concrete slab wasn't terribly comfortable, and were woken up many times by a man rebuilding his engine with a sledge hammer in the parking lot during the wee hours of the morning.

While most hikers hitch-hicked from the cafe to Idyllwild around the first fire closure, we decided to hike another 16 miles through the San Bernadino forest before hitting the hwy again, and hitching the remainder of the alternate back to Idyllwild. The town was extremely kind to us, giving thru-hikers a discount at many of the loal shops. We enjoyed some fresh avocados and coconut water before making our home for the night at the local campground.

With more snow and wind in the forcast, we opted to take the low road up the San Jacinto mountains, known as the Black Mtn. Rd alternate; this route topped off at 7500ft in place of the 9000ft that the PCT climbed to. Starting at 5300ft, we climbed 7 miles before rejoining the PCT at mile 191, at which point we began our 6200ft descent down to the desert floor and the I-10 corridor. We spent the night just below the ridgeline on the north face, hidden in a wind shadow behind some large boulders, positioned to make our descent at  first light. With tbe storm at our backs, we raced down the mountain and across the wind tunnel that is El Cabazon. There is a reason they have installed a wind farm here. After 17 miles we arrived at Ziggy and the Bears', a local couple of trail angels. We were recieved with cold Gatoraide, and a ceremonial mugshot. As Mandalynn was the 800th visitor this year, she was awarded a $10 gift card to the McDonalds at el Cajon pass. We slept on the back porch, sardined with 30 other hikers taking relief from the wind.

As next 55 miles of trail are closed due to a wildfire back in 2014, from here we caught a ride with Stump's cousin Barry, who generously drove us all the way to Big Bear. As it turns out, it was his daughter's birthday, who resides there, so upon our arrival, we enjoyed a celebratory dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Clean, fed, and resupplied with food, we will hike back to the trail this afternoon, positioning ourselves for a good day of hiking tommorrow.

Cheers from the trail!
Stump & Mandalynn

Building Momentum

After many days of slowly climbing, we split off from our friend Brian in Mt. Laguna and continued on back into the desert. Here we found some of our first great payoffs from the days of climbing. As we came down out of the Laguna mountains, we overlooked Coyote canyon, a massive desert basin define by many colors of rock. As we continued through the heat we were encountered by a mother and her daughter passing out fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies to hikers. Never has a cookie tasted so good.

The following morning we witnessed one of the best sunrises to date, slowly illuminating the magnitude of the basin below. Energized by by the sunrise, we made a good 15mi to Rodriguez Spur. By the time we arrived the wind was blowing very hard and it was difficult to set up camp. We quickly made dinner and went to bed, but with sustained winds of 30mph no one was comfortable. As our tarp does not provide a closed shelter, we were subject to blowing sand the whole night through. Never have I unintentionally eaten so much dirt. Our tarp sounded like it was being beaten by a baseball bat all night long, so by the time morning rolled around, no one was anxious to get up.  The wind was still blowing, but we broke camp and made 8mi to scissors crossing. Nearby we took shelter at the Stage coach RV park. For a small fee we secured a shelter out of the wind with 6 other people. The "Gard Shak" was little more than a glorified shed with four cotts inside, but it was safe from the wind. We all slept like babies and hit the trail late the next morning once the wind died down.

Going into another dry stretch, we carried ample water despite rumors of a water cache 14mi in. As we wrapped around the hills of San Felipe, we found those rumors to be true after a long day of hiking. We camped near the cache and prepared for another long day.

By morning the wind was picking up again, but we made 5mi before stopping for coffee and breakfast. After another 4mi, we hit the 100 mile marker, something everyone was excited about. A mile down the road and we took our lunch siesta in the shade of live oaks at Barrel springs. After our siesta, we pushed on to Eagle rock 5mi further. Without a doubt this formation of stone resembles a bird of prey. After an 18 mile day we made camp just outside of Warner Springs, where our first resupply awaits. Here we will enjoy our first zero day of the trip so far, 109 miles under our belts.

The First 40 - Rediscovering the Art of the Siesta

Our family dropped us off early in the morning at the Mexican border. After a good breakfast, we began hiking around 8:00am. We started with a strong pace despite our heavy packs, upwards of 3mph. Our friend Brian decided to join us for the first four days as well. Bringing along a ukulele, he would serenade us as we took breaks in whatever shade we could find. At the time the heat of the day set in, we found ourselves in an area that had been burned in 2010 leaving no relief from the sun. After a 5mi stretch, we jumped on the first piece of shade that we found and did not move for several hours. As we rehydrated and ate our lunch, many hikers passed us by and joined us in the shade, lured by the sound of the ukulele. After the heat began to pass, we were able to hike a few more miles, where we found good shade underneath large oak trees. Upon reaching the shade, we threw down our packs, rolled out our pads, and fell asleep. An 11mi day under our belts, we did not wake until 5:00pm. At this time we began walking around, and found a good place to camp for the evening.

As there were no reliable water sources for the first 20 miles, despite challenging terrain with considerable elevational gain, we had to conserve water. We ate dried granola for breakfast the next morning, and began hiking around 7. Soon the heat began to set back in, and the 12L of water we had packed were running low. As the heat intensified our pace slackened, but we kept moving forward towards the thought of more water. Breaks became more frequent, and by the 8th mile I was showing signs of heat exhaustion. The last mile came ever so slowly, despite being downhill. As we wandered out of the high desert into the town of Morena lake, at the first site of a faucet we dropped our packs and began drinking. As we slowly recooperated over the next 4 hours, we watched as dozens of hikers slowly emerged from the desert, equally beaten by the sun. A 75 year old crusty character named Hiker Bill secured a few campsites and began taking in all the delerious hikers. As the afternoon progressed, we met humans from all over the world, Germany, Canada, Brazil, Norway & Switzerland. Despite the celebration of life, everyone was tucked in by 8:00.

Learning lessons froms day's past, we woke up the next morning at 4:30 and began hiking by 6 with extra water. By 9, we reached Boulder Oaks campground at 6mi. Still being early in the day, we decided to push on to the next campground that we heard was 4 miles further. By noon we had hiked over that, with no shade or campground in sight. Finally we stopped, set up the tarp and made shade. Three other humans joined us, taking up every inch of available shelter. By 3:30 we we're hiking again and made the last couple miles down to Cibbits campground.

Day 4 we woke up equally early and began hiking in the dark. Watching the sunrise as we began climbing mount Laguna was an excellent way to start the day. By 11 we hit the town, the first re-supply for many hikers. A town of 60 people, Mount Laguna also supports an outfitter where many dissaatified hikers buy more gear. As the next nine miles are off limits for camping, we will sleep here tonight and push off for a longer day tomorrow.

 Cheers from the trail!
Andy & Amanda

Cross Country Beginnings

The time has arrived. Hundreds of pounds of food, months of constantly dehydrating, planning, and organizing have led up to this. Tomorrow we set out on the 2,600 mile walk that will take us from Mexico to Canada. We've re-packed everything a dozen times, argued over what was needed and what wasn't. Soon we'll figure out the hard way. With a fully loaded pack, stocked with food for 10+ days, water and fuel, my pack comes in at around 70lb, Amanda's at 55lb. Together we carry around 40lb of food, 12 litres of water. We could carry less, if we planned to re-supply more frequently, but we've opted for 10 day / 200 mile intervals. While 20 miles a day may seem ambitious, hiking will soon become our primary form of entertainment, a way to pass the long days. With this in mind, we hope to achieve 20 mile days by the end of our second week.

We will be updating our blog on a regular basis, but we also greatly anticipate the solitude of the Sierra's. With this in mind, updates may be sparse at times, but it should only indicate that we are in the great company of pinacles and canyons, rivers and deserts. We will also be carrying a satellite beacon which will upload our current position to a live and public map. The link can be found on the right hand side of our blog. Feel free to leave comments along the way, they are always welcome as this will be one of our only means of communication with life off of the trail. I hope you enjoy everything to come as much as we do.

Cheers!
Andy & Amanda