Mile 314.2

+ High: 20 miles seem not too much for me anymore

- Low: couldn’t stop as planned, always walked too much

• Best gear: Icebreaker Merino Bodyfit 200 (it is so warm)

Day 25

First day ready to get back on trail from Big Bear Lake... I  finally got my package at the Post Office. My priority envelop got delayed for 4 days for no reason. Now I have cold medicine from home and charger for my watch. Thanks to Yuchen~~ 

I sat in the McDonald’s and ordered a cup of coffee. Try to charge everything before I get on the road. Everything wrapped up around 12pm. I called an Uber to go to the Cougar Crest Trailhead by the Big Bear Lake Discovery Center. Right at the moment I was telling the driver that my walking companion got delayed in Idyllwild and wouldn’t be able to meet me, I got a call from Lisa. Magic moment! She said she got to Big Bear Lake the day before and just wanted to call and check if I wanted to meet up. I found this as a signal from above telling me “stay one more day!” So I camped at the State Park with Lisa right next to the Cougar Crest Trail. How awesome was that! 

Day 26

I really needed this one extra day to rest. When I woke up in the morning, I felt much better. I said goodbye to Lisa and lovely Sonsie around 8:15. Whew... on the road again.

The good part was that the elevation change was not that much like hiking out of Idyllwild. It was mild climb. I still felt tired with 5 days of food and water. It was only 2 miles to get back to PCT. When I saw the sign and the trail, I felt relieved. PCT has its own look. You can tell by the look that you were on the PCT. It felt that I got back to where I was familiar with. This didn’t make any sense since I haven’t hiked the following section. 

This was the day that I felt I should take it easy and just take some breaks when I needed to. I spent the time sitting down and cooked my lunch. I took a long break in the afternoon under shades that I almost fell asleep with that nice breeze.

It was just another day on trail. Everything went smoothly. I still ended up walking 17.5 miles. The tent site where I camped was nice and huge by the water. I met Blueberry from Washington, and Cherry Pie and Tour Guy from San Diego. Tour  Guy did his thru-hike in 2015. Cherry Pie gave up around Sierra in that trip. She just got bored. This year they are trying to make it again together.

Day 27

I almost couldn’t wake up in the morning. Not sure if the cold medicine made me sleepy or the body was just not fully recovered yet.I finish packing around 8:30... out on the road.  

Today’s mark points were Splinters Cabin and Deep Creek Hot Springs. Splinters Cabin was a 1920s cabin site. Now it is a popular parking place to day hikers. It also has trash cans and toilet. By now you should have known the importance of toilet and trash cans to the thru-hikers. As for Deep Creek Hot Springs... It is natural outdoor hot springs. Locals come as well. It was maintained by “Partyboy.” I’m not a big fan of hot springs but would like to soak my feet in for a while. 

Splinters Cabin was nice. I was able to dry my shoes and socks under the sun while cooking my breakfast. I got into a little accident when crossing the river in the morning. My backpack was stopped by a tree branch and I lost my balance while climbing over a rock. So I stepped into the river. Cherry Pie and Tour Guy arrived a little after me. We sat and chatted a little bit before moving on.

The afternoon was boring. It was hot and the trail was in the valley. I do not like walking in the valley. It usually doesn’t have reception and it usually means that I have to cross river several times if there is one. This afternoon even had annoying flies reminding me how stinky I was. I kept yelling at them like they would listen. 

The whole afternoon I felt anxious. I took a week off at Big Bear lake. Now I want to make it up. I just walked, faster and faster. Other than a longing for speed, I felt insecure about where to camp tonight. There was no obvious tent site indicated anywhere on the map. I don’t know where to stop. I don’t know how far I should go. Today is the first day after my starting day that The mini “New Yorker” inside me came out again. Impatient. 

Finally I got to the hot sprigs. I couldn’t believe how may people were there and quarter of them were naked. I found the log book and signed my name. I didn’t stay. This whole valley looked like another world. I didn’t feel that I belonged there. I wanted to stay on trail where was noise free, and bikini free. I found a quiet spot for a break and heard hikers passing me on the trail. I got anxious again. I looked up and saw a familiar face. It’s Papa Bear! I met Papa Bear and Sweet Pea (Papa Bear’s daughter) back at my 3rd day on the trail. Sweet Pea quitted not long after that. She couldn’t handle the uncertainty of the trail life. Papa Bear was sad but he still wanted to go by himself. It’s good to see him still marching on. 

The end of the day was not as good either. I couldn’t find a place to camp...  I walked passed 16 miles where I planned to stop. It was 4:30. I need to find a place to camp soon. Not too long after, I’ve already reached the Mojave River Fork Dam. It was almost 20 miles already. But I still couldn’t find a place to camp.

So I walked further down, passing another river. Thank god I found a small spot right before Hwy 173. That made today a 21 miles day. I felt exhausted. My body hurts everywhere. But I couldn’t sleep. A very long day...