Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Final Leg 7 Tehachapi to Walker Pass and Bakersfield

It was sad that this was to be my last section before heading back home. I didn't get my ultimate bit of trail majic of getting an email from work saying that they had found coverage for me and I could stay hiking all summer long with my new friends on this beautiful trail. There was a lot of pressure to quit work, but that didn't feel like the right thing to do.

We got a ride back to the trail and the next section was about 8-9 miles between a couple of roads so we dropped off our full packs and got to slack-pack this section. How wonderful it felt to not have our packs on!!! It was still through the wind farm in Tehachapi and we seriously lucked out that there was minimal wind!! The rest of the day was a bit slower as Free Range's foot was very sore so we took more rest and found a great lunch spot under an oasis of Joshua trees.



The next day, Free Range's foot was ++++sore and she needed to take it slow. As I wanted to finish this section with some rest afterwards, I hiked slowly with her that morning as it was to be our last time together for this hike. It made me very sad to leave her at the next water source. We had become good friends and made a great hiking team - except that she was raring to go early than me in the morning:). Craig and I hiked the rest of the section together. That night I had my first campfire on the trail. It had been very dry and windy at some places, and most of the time we were tired as we hiked until after dinner a lot of days so no time for a fire when I was tired after long hiking days.



My cold was well under way by now and we had lots of time to finish this section so we didn't go too hard. I was very sad at times during that last couple of days as I was loving hiking this beautiful trail with all these new, wonderful people that were like trail family. An Australian gal ahead of us was counting the kilometer markers as it was higher numbers and marked the 1000km point. I did do just shy of 1/4 of the whole trail.



We got to Walker Pass a couple of days later. We could finally see the Sierra Mountains. The terrain changes here from desert to more lush and higher mountains. There was 600% amount of snow there and the next section was to take quite a while to get over the high passes. Since I had to leave, it was a good place to finish. Of course, more trail majic shade and food at Walker Pass. Got to end on a high note:)







The next day we hitched and bussed to Bakersfield to have 3 relaxing days before I flew home. We had about a mile to walk from the bus station to the hotel area when a man drove by and stopped for us. Turns out he did the trail in "77 and was a speaker at the Kick Off!! I didn't hear him as it was the day I hiked the first 20 miles. He offered for us to stay with his family for the time we were here!! The trail majic never ends. He was also going to head back to Walker Pass that weekend to help out so Craig could get a ride back then. It was such a great surprise and they let us use their spare vehicle as well. Not a lot to do in Bakersfield, but it was warm and sunny and just great to relax there. There are a lot of settlers from the Basque area of Spain there and the Hacker's took us out for a traditional Basque meal which was a great experience. So many great things and positive people surrounded me that it was very, very hard to leave, but I did. I was very sad on my travel day home, but at least when I landed I was relieved to notice that I live in a beautiful spot. I'm still trying to get coverage to go back and join my friends for more hiking this summer if possible, even for a couple of weeks. Craig is still hiking the whole thing as he needs to get this out of his system. He's done the whole thing in sections, but for some reason needs to do it from start to finish. Who am I to question the craziness of it all? Guess we'll see what's in store for me next.

Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 6 Agua Dulce to Tehachapi

So leaving Agua Dulce was another warm day. There were a few 20something hikers who decided to do the beer a mile challenge as the next family to host hikers was 24 miles away. They carried their normal packs, plus a 24 of beer. We had a couple of "designated hikers" to look after them through the day, plus look after the mileage to let them know when to drink. I caught up with them about lunch time. They were full on into it by then as they started at 5am. It was entertaining for a while, but I didn't want to wait for them every mile so I hiked ahead. I'm glad they were being looked after as someone could have got really sick and/or dehydrated. Only 2 fully finished the challenge and one was a gal!! The rest of them slept on the trail, but they were OK. The things I might have done 20 years ago!! Had a beautiful rest spot with more trail majic at the Oasis Cache with comfy chairs.



Made it to the Anderson's - Casa de Luna - for taco salad!! They love putting up hikers and have a great big wooded yard that makes for great camping. Frisbee golf to boot!! They are very relaxed and love to have a good party here and apparantly the following night was the only one to witness the Hershey's chocolate syrup wrestling. After wondering about Hikeaholic(Craig) all day, I decided that if he chased one of us down for 2 weeks, we could rest another day and also witness the wrestling so that's what we did. He was very surprised that we were still there and he had just about given up on catching us fully!! That night was quite the party. Mrs. Anderson got dressed in a red leotard with a tutu, angel wings and a red cape. She got another young gal to team up with her. Two very drunk young guys took them on. It was crazy. Mrs. A's idea of wrestling was grabbing at the guys privates and trying to get their clothes off. We were laughing so hard my cheeks hurt. Between that and someone throwing around a cock bunny, the level of entertainments was getting lower. For the record, I did not wrestle and only watched. They were wonderfully generous people and a good place to hang for a day. Did I mention they had other Hawaiian clothes to wear?? Was great to wear anything different than my hiking gear.







The next day the three of us hiked together. We didn't rest much as the wind was cold and strong. Craig didn't like our not resting much and maybe was questioning his motivation to hike with us:). We camped with some car campers who happened to bring a ton of water with them for us hikers!! Amazing as the water source was fine but full of debris and we didn't want to clog our filters. I slept in the next day as we were hiking a half day and I felt like a cold was coming on so hiked alone until Hikertown.







Hikertown is another unique place. It's like an old movie set of a town. A lot of the stores are places to sleep with beds. I stayed in the tattoo parlour. Like a hostel, it had a common area, shower, laundry etc. We were definitely getting spoiled on this leg of the journey!! As soon as I got there, there were people giving us rides to the store/cafe. Not only a ride, but in a 70s Rolls Royce!! My first time in a Rolls and I was in stinky hiker clothes and dirty, not in the evening gown I had envisioned myself in while in a Rolls. It was such a treat!! Plus more good food!! I finally found out that it was me Craig was chasing. It was about time to find out!! This was definitely more encouraging that the fellow back home who was pushing me away as Craig was pushing to catch me. Little did he know how hard that was going to be:). A++ for effort!!



The next day was a hike along the desert floor. We had a late start as we had breakfast with fresh eggs from the chickens at Hikertown. Breakfast was great, but not a good idea to start late when travelling along the desert floor aqueduct with little water and shade for miles. We lucked out as it could have been much hotter and much, much windier!! We eventually found shade under another bridge for a couple of hours until the worst heat was gone. It's kind of fun being hiker trash under bridges!! I was lying on my food bag and the blue dye got all over my face when I slept. It was that hot!!



The next day was a nice hike until the end through one of the biggest wind farms in the US to get to the road to Tehachapi. We weren't going to take a full day off there initially, but did anyways. Free Range's foot was really sore. Plus I knew by then that I would have had to push really hard to get to the next town before heading back to work. I chose to do the slower option so I'd have a few rest days before heading back home. That night was the first game of the Stanley Cup Final series between Vancouver and Boston. It happened that Craig grew up in Massechusetts so we were duking it out during the game. We won the first game while we were watching at the local pub. I was the only person cheering loudly. Didn't notice at first and, then, didn't care when I did so cheered again! Had a great relaxing day in Tehachapi.

Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 5 Wrightwood to Agua Dulce

Felt good even after just a nero here in Wrightwood. Good to rest as we were starting our biggest and highest climb of the desert section from here. Mount Baden Powell was another area that we were warned about the safety here. An experienced mountaineer/hiker died on it last year so we werent' sure what to expect and I still only had my hiking poles and Yak Trax. It was a steady climb up to over 9000ft. There was quite a bit of snow which made it a little hard to stay on trail. Free Range had a great GPS that she had programmed the topographical maps along with the PCT on it sowe knew exactly where we were all the time!! Good person to hike with! There were lots of day hikers on the mountain and so there was a well formed trail through the snow. There was also a guy just ahead of us with full crampons on making good steps for us. I could have put on my yak trax, but with my poles, I was fine. The part at the top that comes out to the ridge to is very steep, but with little snow still left on that exposed part we were fine. Again, a couple of weeks earlier I would have wanted my safety gear. We had lunch at the top of Mt. Baden Powell at a 1500 year old tree!! Very cool. At the end of the day we camped down at a picnic area back at that closed highway #2.



Highway #2 was to be a bit of a pain in my side for a couple of days. We kept going back and forth over it. Most normal people would have just hiked or driven down the road, but not the PCT hikers. I was happy to be done with crossing that highway many times. Apparantly, we also did some extra miles, by not avoiding a closed area to protect a yellow-legged frog. Bad for the frog and more tired on our legs:(. We were getting to be done for the day, but the ridge was very windy and cold so along another detour we hiked down a logging road for 5 miles to get lower and to the next water source. It was at a construction site for the new ranger station. We, legally or illegally, slept in the half-finished ranger station that night. We all got up earlier than normal in case workers were coming in early. We left just before 6 and one guy was heading in. He was friendly and we just got out of there.

It was a bit of a longer hiking day and the last 2-3 miles were very frustrating with the switchbacks again. We could see our KOA campground for that whole time, but took a bit to get there. Seems worse when you are really tired at the end of a long, hot day. I kept covered up most of the time with my fair skin and put on lots of sunscreen!! We got there after the KOA store was closed:(. Some who had got there earlier had leftover meals they had delivered there for I got Sunshine's spaghetti and meatballs:). There was a shower, but no soap, but it was good to rinse off. The bad thing is that once you are clean, it's really, really hard to put on your stiff, stinky, dirty clothes after that. We had an easy short day to get to Agua Dulce for a nero and then a full zero. Free Range wanted to push on, but I wouldn't. I wanted the rest.

Agua Ducle was amazing. We hiked by Vasquez Rocks which was beautiful coming into town. The people were all friendly to us. We first stopped at a cafe to get some lunch. A fellow offered to take our packs to where we were staying as he was volunteering there. There were bikes where we were to be staying so other hikers who had them took our groceries back for us as we had to hike another mile - then some guy offered us a ride anyways. Things were going well here and only got better.

The Saufley's are a couple that have hosted hikers for years and call it Hikerheaven. There is nowhere to stay in this town, let alone do laundry,etc. They have everything extremely organized. They had big tents with cots in them with a couple of RV's for couple's for some privacy. They have laundry bags and spare clothing so I spent the half day in a 70s purple tent dress, but it was cool, comfortable and something different to wear. They had an info board with so much stuff to read, supplied the new water report, had 3 computers for internet and had the post office stuff right at their place!!! As mentioned, they had many bikes to get to town as we did not walk to walk any more than we had to. There was a couple of horses and Sunshine got her first real hose ride so that was fun to watch. Their bathroom had scrub, clippers, body butter, etc and anything to fix up or bod in there. I was in there for a while. There was probably 40 of us there that night and not quite as many the next night. Lots of socializing!!

The next full zero day brought myself quite a surprise. It had been a month into my hike. I had met and talked with lots of people. As some of you know I had started seeing a fellow just prior to my trip which had mostly been going well, but had a little blip before I left. I had been happy to wait and see how things went after I got back. I saw that he had not only still been his online dating site, but changed his profile and pictures along with an email saying things that basically were pushing me away, not trying to get closer to me. I told him I'd just call him when I got back and give him the room to date others. I was quite sad and in my quiet time hiking, I realized that he was not in the headspace to make anything work between us so I had let him go in my mind while on the trail. After seeing that he hadn't responded to an email of mine, literally seconds after that, a fellow I hadn't seen in 2 weeks showed up and all I hear is "Hard Ass"!! I've been trying to catch you guys for 2 weeks, wanna do lunch?? Did we ever. Unfortunately, we weren't sure who he -Hikeaholic- liked, but both thought he was cute so spent the rest of the day hanging out amongst getting our stuff ready for starting to hike the next day. Free Range had previously dinner plans with a friend from LA so I had him to myself:)(see the guy to my right). We had yet another once-only catered dinner trail majic that night!! The next morning he asked up to breakfast as we were leaving. I took him up on it. I still wasn't sure if he just had fun hanging out with us or what so I still hiked that day while he had the day off.

Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 4 Big Bear to Wrightwood

I really needed a full zero in Big Bear!! It was heavenly. There was still stuff to do like going to the post office, groceries, laundry, etc but much less than before. Our first night there, the hostel was almost full, so the owner treated everyone to yet another free BBQ and beer for just that night only!! We are scoring on the free food!! Free Range and I are hiking off and on with Balls and Sunshine, and now we are starting to almost catch the 20something crowd. No wonder I was so tired!! The post office in Big Bear also took photos of the hikers and posted them up on their wall with your trail name. Lots of support and fun for us hikers!!

There was a fellow, Sherman, who helped out at the hostel and also gave a few of us a ride to where the shops and post office were. When we hitched back, we happened to be picked up by Sherman's girlfriend of all people. We noticed that she had a massage table in the back of her truck and we booked for a massage later that afternoon. It was amazing!!!

I did treat a couple of people that night as I had done so previously on the hike. Lots of ankle sprains and a couple of knees too. Most hikers wear lower cut, lighter hikers for the weight, but also because it was really hot in the desert. I didn't want to see anyone's dream come to an end over a simple injury so did my good deeds and put my skills to use when needed. One guy named "Sourdough" that I treated got his name because he has a 30 year old sourdough starter!

I had tried my new Esbit stove which was great for it being very light and small, but it took forever to boil water and was very stinky. There was another guy who was finished hiking at this point and he gave me his popcan alcohol stove. Still small, but you needed to carry alcohol so slightly heavier. Turned out to be a good, happy medium between the Esbit and my gas stove so I sent my gas stove home. At least I got that figured out finally.

Got a ride from Sherman back to the trailhead. The weather wasn't supposed to be that good, but it turned out OK. The day before a few people came back to the hostel as the weather was miserable. The elevation was so easy compared to what we just had done, we did our biggest mileage up to that point, 27 miles, but it didn't seem that hard. At one point, there was a turnoff point at the Cougar Crest Trail. Free Range and I were calling ourselves the Cougar team as we were the only gals of cougar age that were on our own. We had to get a pic by the trail sign. In being so close to this sign we saw engraved in it that we were to go back up the hill to the PCT where there is an easy-to-miss hairpin turn. A lot of people did extra miles here, but we didn't because of our "cougarness":).



The next day, we were supposed to do a detour around an area where there had been rock slides. We had spoken with a couple of people at the Kick Off who had started really early and had already been through that section and said it was fine. The biggest reason for wanting to go through the normal trail was that it had amazing hot springs at Deep Creek. Most of us went for it. They were probably the best natural hot springs I have found so far in my travels. Many different pools that were right beside a cool river with a rock to jump into the cold water and rope to climb back up. the campsite was right there nestled amongst the mountains. We "nero-ed" that day to spend time here.





I was being told by Sunshine everytime I said the Canadian "eh". She found it quite funny and I didn't realize how often I said it. Now that I'm home, I'm noticing when others say it. Weird that I've not noticed it before. There were definitely a few other Canadian words that I used that kept others entertained a little. Not as well as the Aussie gal, but a little. Even "toque" - no one knew what that was!

The next day was a steady day with one big river crossing, but it was shallow, just very wide. It was a hot day and for lunch the only shade we could find was under a bridge so we officially became hiker trash:).



Hiked to Silverwood Lake where we camped. Toilets and running water here!! Balls knew a trail angel who was happy to come a take a couple of guys to REI and back. We also ordered pizza and this fellow also brought us back pizza!! What a surprise!! We even had picnic tables to eat it from. How cultured!!

The next day was a mixed day. Late in the morning we came to an interstate where there wasn't much there except a McDonald's which was even on the PCT sign. Very sad that we were all excited about the McD's. There was about 20 of us stinky hikers there. A couple of the young guys did the dollar menu challenge and one couldn't keep it all down. The level of entertainment is certainly deteriorating as the hike is going on. Called my brother and niece/nephews from there and they weren't really getting their aunt's excitement over McD's. My brother asked where I was and I told him somewhere NE of LA. He said so was he which was a classic line:). We hung out there for a couple of hours before we had a long, steady climb ahead of us for the rest of the day.

The next day we had a half a day hike to nero in Wrightwood. We came to the highway, which was closed in one direction, but the direction to get to town so no cars were driving that way very much. There was a ranger who gave us a bag of fresh cherries. He was off for a hike so couldn't give us a ride. Luckily, there was a gal there that I had camped with her and her husband at the Kick Off. She couldn't continue because of a sore foot so was supporting her husband. She had a motor home so gave us a lift to town. Fellow hiker turned trail angel. You never know what can happen. It was a good afternoon. Not a lot for me to do beyond the usual as, finally, all my gear was organized. Actually watched some TV which seemed weird after none for weeks.

Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 3 Idyllwild to Big Bear

I am breaking these legs up into the sections in between my day's off as this is how I planned my trip and seems to be a good way to share my adventure. As mentioned, Free Range and I were a few miles into this part already. The next day we were a little worried about as we were told that Fuller Ridge could be dangerous and we might need crampons and ice axes. I only had Yak Trax with me and my hiking poles. Best time to do this in the morning but not too early to soften the snow just a little. Turns out it was nothing but patches of snow in the trees. It would have been a lot more dangerous probably only 2-3 weeks prior, but nothing for us thank goodness. Fuller Ridge the following day where I am pointing to.



The next part was probably the most mentally challenging of all days. Remember the gentle grade and many switchbacks the trail can make - well we saw the same view for 15 miles (almost 6 hours) down to the highway 10 near Palm Springs. It was great of the trail crew to make sure we saw every little canyon and speck of that hillside. It was so very frustrating!!! It was tempting just to hike straight down the hill except that it is rattlesnake country so we needed none of that. BTW I did see 2 big rattlers my whole hike!! We finally make it down to the bottom of the hill for our next water source. My most grumpy moment the whole trip!!

The next day was full of trail majic!! A box of oranges in the morning. More food and drink under the bridge going under the highway. The Mesa Wind Farm office was open so we had air conditioning, frozen meals for sale along with drinks, flush toilets, etc. That was lucky!! Had a great day of hiking - anything was better than those switchbacks. We took a small half mile detour off the PCT to the Whitewater Preserve. There was a cold water hole that they let us soak in as it was a pretty hot day. There was another guy, Buck 30, with BBQ and the works including salad!!! Hung around there for a couple of hours before heading on to one of my most favourite campsites by a river.





I was tired the next day and we had a big climb up to do. Probably all the "quality" food we ate the day before didn't help. There was an old cabin with open windows and doors that we slept in, but at elevation it was still cold at Coon Creek.



The next day wasn't quite a full day to take us to the road to get to Big Bear for a much needed full zero!! When we got to the road, it was a strong, cold wind. There was a cop on break there talking to some hot blond which prevented anyone stopping as we were trying to hitch a ride. Another cop came and he said that the one stopped there was leaving soon. This new, very cute cop was going the other way so couldn't give us a ride and also if he did, he would have to search us. We just laughed as we were 4 days in the bush and very dirty and stinky. We finally got a ride to the Big Bear Hostel.

Pacific Creat Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 2 Warner Springs to Idyllwild

I felt a million times better after having a day off and it was almost NOT painful to put my hiking boots on. Plus, I had mailed some heavy gear ahead to the next stop as they had an outfitter there so I could reorganize my gear for the rest of the month. It was also nice not to have to worry about having so long in-between water sources as well. Still had some trail majic at the end of this first day as a fellow had a BBQ for us. You could camp there along had a bunkhouse where a bunch of us slept in. Did I mention the pot-o-potties? Yes, small things are nice out there in the backcountry. It was a cloudy, windy night so nice to have the shelter. It wasn't so nice the next morning and people were waiting for it to clear, but we just started anyways and it cleared up pretty quickly and had a great hiking day.

The next day was another story, rainy and a little windy. Free Range wanted to go into town and have a day off and dry out. She had a very ultralight tent which didn't do so well in this weather. I wanted to spread out my days off, plus I wasn't sure my gear I had forwarded would have got there yet, so she went into town with a couple of others while I went ahead hiking by myself. I was feeling tired that day and it was nice for a couple of days to just go at my own pace and rest when I felt like it. Not that it was lot different, but it was a nice change for a couple of days. As the day went on, it was getting very windy and cold near the top of the mountains so I went off the main trail down to some shelter where there was also a spring. Good choice as a lot of people who stayed up top on the ridge had a miserable night. I woke up to snow around my tent!! Up on the ridge was something I don't think I've seen before as there was frozen condensation on the trees, but only on one side. Very unusual. Had a long day up the mountain, but it was one of the more beautiful areas so far. Free Range and a bunch of others just slackpacked backwards in 1 long day what I did in almost 2 with my full gear so I saw them heading in the opposite direction. Great that I saw them and they had a place for me to stay in their warm cabin that night.





To get to the town of Idyllwild, you have to hike 2 miles downhill to a parking lot. Luckily there were some locals there to drive me another 2 miles into town. Very cute little place that all rustic and lots of wood. For us, it was one of the best places to stop - I had a "nero" there - as there were a lot of different shops and you could easily walk everywhere. I would definitely go back there.

They had an outfitter where I bought a new smaller, lighter pack that actually fit me. Because of my decreased pack size, I had to get a smaller pot. Crumbs also found me an Esbit stove in a hiker box. An Esbit stove is a very small tin thing with a fuel cube so I thought I'd give it a try until the next stop. Also, there were "hiker boxes" at the different stops, where you could leave stuff you don't want or had extra of and others could take stuff. Good source of extra food if you needed to. I had to get this huge box to ship my other pack and gear home. Even though my pack was a little heavier than most others still, it was tons better than before. After running around all day, I needed rest, but Free Range had organized a ride back to the trailhead to get that slog of 2 miles uphill back to the actual PCT. It seemed like a better idea than getting up super early!! Of course, we went a few miles further to Strawberry Flats. Free Range and I have similar personalities in sometimes we think more is better. Not always the case, but at least we were on the same page most of the time.

Pacific Crest Trail (Desert Section) - Leg 1 Mexico Border to Warner Springs

I have had a dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail for several years now. It's a 2650 mile trail that goes from the California/Mexico border up to Manning Park in BC. You can only hike or horse the trail and because of the horse option, the grade of the trail is very forgiving and gentle. Most of the time it's great, but other times it makes a ton of switchbacks and you feel like you are going nowhere and can be extremely frustrating!! There are also great views most of the length of the trail which is amazing! I have more photos on Facebook!!

Initially, I had 4 months off to do most of the trail this year and for many reasons, I ended up with only 6 weeks off work instead. I figured this would be enough time to get the desert section completed. This was a great year to do this section from so much snowfall that there was more water sources than normal. To start the trail going northbound, the end of April is the most popular time to start due to weather/snow conditions, etc. They have a big Kick Off party down near the border so I went to that to take in the festivities and also meet some people as I was going down there solo. From the Kick Off and throughout the whole hike, I was amazed at the community of people from the hikers to generosity of others to support us hikers along with the maintenance of the trail. A lot of work by many people is put into that trail by those who love this trail. A lot of Trail Angels who pop up unexpectedly with BBQs, drinks, beer, etc (Trail Majic) to those who give rides to and from towns at our resupply stops. I feel grateful and fortunate to now be a part of such an awesome community of people.

I arrived at the airport in San Diego and met a few fellow hikers. They were all looking at the size of my pack in awe - well, fear- about how big and full it was. The general consensus was "You need to do something about that pack - really!!" As a seasoned, but old school backpacker, I was introduced the world of "thru-hiking" and ultralight gear. Little did I know. I found it really makes a difference when you are planning for weeks of hiking as opposed to a few days. My days of packing-like-a-girl were numbered and finally had caught up with me. I got a ride with a few of these hikers to Lake Morena Campground for the Kick Off party. It was a great way to meet some fellow hikers and gather more info that I would need for my adventure.

As the campground was 20 miles from the border, most people "slack-packed" this section, which means they just carried gear for the day without all the full gear. I had to learn this new "thru-hiker" lingo. My first day was hiking this section with Crumbs, Free Range Amelia, Balls and Sunshine. Guess I need to mention that everyone gets given a trail name eventually. Not sure why, but it was kind of fun and kind of weird to hang with people for days and never know their real name. Balls and Sunshine are a father/daughter team and she is only 11 and wants to be the youngest to complete the whole trail including the snow sections. I ended up hiking with them quite a bit and she's one awesome gal - so is her dad. Because of her being so young, they had a ton of sponsors and were full of good info on gear, etc. You can follow them on their trail journal if interested. Free Range's is www.trailjournals.com/amelia. By the way, my trail name became Hard Ass. I went down with my Club Fat Ass shirt on, but noone seemed to be able to call me Fat Ass which I didn't care as that's not where I put my fat. Plus the fact that my pack was so big and I had my Ironman hat with me - Hard Ass seemed to stick. Amazing that I can get that name going down where no one knows me, I'm exhausted and out of shape. Guess there are some things you can't escape. Here's us at the monument at the Mexico border.



It was a beautiful hike and a great way to start getting back into shape after just finishing my osteopathic exams the week before. Met lots more hikers of all ages and from around the world, including, of course, a few fellow Canadians. Made it back for talk about bears and campfires before calling it a day. The next day they had a great talk about the Sierra Mountain section and safety. My next job was to get a new tent. My heavy duty 3 season 2 person tent was big and heavy so I got a lighter, smaller tent as it was just me.



Here's the gang of us current hikers and past hikers at Kick Off.



Organized all my food and gear for the next 3 weeks to ship ahead. Lots of other talks, they provided food and just all around a great but busy day. The next day was the first "real" day with all my gear. My pack was still very big and heavy and I went from this:



To this on my last hiking day (notice same hiking clothes which I got a little tired of):



Because I was moving a little more slowly than my first day hiking buds with my big pack, I ended up hiking with a fellow Canadian, Michael, for 3 days which was fun. We learned to get up early and not hike in the heat of the desert sun mid-afternoon. There was a big climb to do directly in the sun and he wanted to wait until next day to climb it in the morning. There was some trail majic there also of food, drink, shade and water guns! It was only 10:30am and I didn't want to sit around all day so I hiked on like only a Hard Ass would in the middle of the hot day. It was a hard day, but I'm still glad I went. Met some new people as well which is always fun. Not only that, but the next water source wasn't until the next day so I started with 6L of water just to add to it all.



The next day was another hot day and with the water source several miles away - our water report mentioned that there might be dead mice in there so to make sure we filter. And we were looking forward to any water, mice or not. Surprise of Trail Majic with BBQ, smoked salmon, beer, drinks, shade, etc. What an amazing surprise!!! I hung out there for 2-3 hours eating and resting and treating a couple of sprained ankles. Yes, I did a little work out on my holiday, but I didn't want a little injury to stop people from living their dream so I did help a few people out along the way. The biggest surprise while at this Trail Majic was seeing my friend, Free Range Amelia, show up!! She was one of the people I hiked the first day with and I thought they were all ahead of me. Turns out she missed a turn and did some extra miles. She was my hiking partner for most of the rest of my trip.

Free Range and I wanted to have a shower badly and not put our hiking shoes on the next day that we hiked the last 8 miles to Warner Springs Resort and got there in the dark at 10pm. It was well worth it. I felt also too tired to scrub my body down, but it felt great to have a shower. The next day was a "zero" or day off. You can also "nero' which is almost a day off in thru-hiker lingo. It was well needed and to soak in the hot springs there was amazing. Just got cleaned up, reorganized a bunch of gear and enjoyed hanging out with the gang. Here's what can happen to you if you carry a pack that's too heavy and too big for you that's sits right where your underwear is. Had to get a new pack and lose the underwear. It was very, very sore!!