The one where I get a tramily

A tramily is a trail family. While many people start their thru-hikes hiking solo, like I did, many people find others they like hiking with on a daily basis. Things to consider: pace, how many miles a person wants to do daily, personalities, etc. Tramilies are formed in this way, and it’s not a static thing where this is it for the rest of the hike, but rather something much more fluid. I’ve been hiking on and off with Blase, and I definitely have been considering her to be a tramily member, and after our day in a tent, I also consider Pigeon to be a tramily member. Other than these few days here and there, I haven’t really had a group of people that I’ve consistently been hiking/camping with. That changed this week!

Day 15: 0 miles hiked. I woke up today with everything I own (except my sleeping bag) covered in mud and/or soaking wet… what a perfect day for an unexpected and unplanned for zero! Pigeon, Blase and I packed up our impromptu campsite as best we could, and got a ride into town from a trail angel who was nice enough to wait for us after dropping off some other hikers at the trailhead. Our first thoughts were of food, so we went and shared a delicious (and hot!) breakfast. I’m pretty shocked at the amount food I can put away now, before trail I could hardly ever finish a meal at a restaurant, now it’s demolished in minutes. From there we turned to chores. I’ll never cease to be amazed by the amount of things that need to be done while I’m allegedly taking a break. All I want to do when I get into town is chill out and relax. Instead I’m focused on getting a food resupply, charging ALL of my electronics (battery pack, phone, gps transponder, Fitbit), gear care and repair, bills, emails, texts, laundry, showers, foot/injury maintenance, etc. So much for a relaxing day of doing nothing! We walked to the grocery store, where we ran into our friends Gravy and Beast, who were on their way out of town to start the long hike back up the mountain. It occurred to me that Idyllwild was a town that many hikers visit, at various points along their hike, because there are many different access points, so I texted everyone I knew who was behind me on the trail. Sure enough I was able to meet up for lunch with both Tyrra and Morley, who I hadn’t seen for many days! It was amazing being able to catch up! After lunch, Pigeon’s friend, Alexandra, came and picked us up and drove us to the cabin she shared with her fiancé Nahum. We apologized profusely and said we’d love to chat, but first we need to do about 2 hours worth of chores before we can do anything else! I know that I will never forget the beauty of the trail and the friends I make along the way, but I hope that I will also never forget the kindness bestowed upon me throughout this journey by non-PCTers too. Seriously, it’s at times overwhelming to think about. If you ever need reassuring that the world is filled with good people, do a thru-hike! Alexandra and Nahum, both of whom I had met 5 minutes prior, allowed us to take over their cabin by doing laundry, spreading our gear everywhere so it could dry, showering, washing gear out, etc. They were such gracious hosts, and after all that, they made us an amazing dinner and we chatted through the night. It was the perfect recharge needed after a tough day on the mountain the day before! Thank you, Alexandra and Nahum!! ❤️

Day 16: 8 miles hiked (12 if you include non-Pct miles). We woke up early, and began packing up to leave. Of course our amazing hosts woke up in order to make us an awesome breakfast of eggs with veggies, pancakes and bacon! They drove us up to the trailhead and we all wished each other the best.

I’m going to get a little side tracked here and explain how Blase got named today. Now, on the first day I hiked with Blase, it was very hot, and the wind that was keeping us cool all of a sudden stopped. I complained about the lack of wind, at which point Blase yelled out: come back wind! And it immediately gusted and nearly knocked us over. Whoa!! I tried to name her wind whisperer after this, but it didn’t stick. Fast forward to today. Alexandra’s trunk door got stuck and wouldn’t open. After 5 minutes of her unsuccessfully trying, we resolved to get our packs out by putting the back seat down. Blase said wait, let’s try my magic hands, walked over and easily and immediately opened the trunk. She’s a wizard we exclaimed! It took a bit of brainstorming for famous wizards from there (Harry Potter, Hermione, Gandalf, etc.), but we eventually landed on Merlin, so from now on, I will be referring to her as that!

After our goodbyes, it was straight up the side of the mountain in order to summit San Jacinto. Now, I’ve been reading about Mt. San Jacinto for months, because it’s still covered in snow, so it’s considered by many to be treacherous. It was with nervous anticipation that we began to climb, with warnings read on the internet bouncing around in my head. The three of us had thankfully brought our microspikes, as we needed them for much of the trip up in the snow. Thankfully many had gone before us, so we simply had to follow in their footsteps instead of treading our own path. As we climbed, I could feel the amount of oxygen in the air drop, and we needed frequent breaks along the way. In about 7 miles we climbed 4000 feet towards the summit. The views of the valley below were absolutely breathtaking (literally and figuratively). Close to the top, there’s an emergency shelter hut, and outside of it, we found Beast and Gravy hanging out after their own summit. We ate lunch, did some yoga, then parted ways as we continued up the remaining 200 feet to the summit. John Muir once wrote: “The view from San Jacinto is the most sublime spectacle to be found anywhere on this earth!” This was not an exaggeration! Words cannot express the beauty and none of my pictures do it any sort of justice. The 3 of us had the summit to ourselves for a good 45 minutes, where we sat in silent contemplation, taking in the stunning scenery below and beyond us. At this point, it was getting late in the day, and it was with heavy hearts that we moved along onto the next phase of our journey. As we trudged down the mountain, in the wet and heavy spring snow, we pressed onward towards Fuller ridge. This is a ridge that’s on the north side of the mountain, meaning it doesn’t get much sun, so the snow is still everywhere. Additionally, it’s rather steep, and this combination has been breaking legs and ankles all season long. We wanted to get as close to it as possible, so that we could have crunchy snow in the morning after it refroze overnight. We were all exhausted, but pushed on nonetheless so that we could safely descend the following day. After getting soaked in some river crossings, we again came upon Beast and Gravy who had set up camp near some rocks that were going to offer a stunning sunset. We asked if we could join them, and they heartily agreed! We made a small fire to dry out our wet shoes, watched the sun go down, and then Merlin and I cowgirl camped under some nearby boulders.

Getting closer to the top!

Pigeon and Merlin looking out over the vast expanse

Day 17: 18 miles hiked. We woke up semi early in order to go down Fuller Ridge while the snow was still nice and crunchy. The five of us (Pigeon, Merlin, Beast, Gravy, and myself) slowly made our way down the mountain, trying to pick the routes that were closest to the actual trail. We did 3 miles in 3 hours, which has to be some kind of slowest record ever for me going down hill, but every footstep had to be made with such concentration, that it took us a long while! That being said, I never felt unsafe as we were heading down, and was confused by all the comments that had made it seem like I was going to die or be seriously injured if I attempted it. We eventually made our way out of the snow and back into the desert. It’s weird how much things change due to altitude. One mile you’re cold, the next mile you’re sweating in the sun. We crossed the 200 mile mark today! It’s crazy how quickly this came up, considering it felt like yesterday when we were celebrating 100. In terms of wildlife, today I heard a snake rattle at me, but I never saw it, as I jumped and ran away. I also saw a tarantula for the first time ever!!! We made our way to the desert valley floor and arrived right around sunset. Quite the change in environment from the start of the day!

Day 18: 4 miles hiked. Merlin and I had packages coming to us in the town of Cabazon, a mere 4 miles away! We got up early, as we wanted to be there close to when it opened. We walked along the valley in a washed out river bed in some crazy desert like conditions. This is what I had imagined walking in for all 700 miles of the desert section, and was glad that my imaginings had not been true, as this was very difficult sand to walk across. We got to the underpass for highway 10, popped up to the side trail and caught an Uber to town. Our driver had never heard of the PCT before, and she was pretty delighted and bewildered to find out what we were doing. I’d been having issues with California’s health insurance marketplace, and it required me to go into the nearby city of Palm Springs in order to deal with it. Merlin was feeling great after our zero in Idyllwild, so she got back on trail shortly after picking up her package. I didn’t feel the need to nero so soon after my zero, but didn’t have a choice. That being said, I had so much fun once I got my insurance stuff squared away. I ate a giant burrito, then went back to my hotel that I had gotten in order to organize everything I got in the mail. By this point, Gravy, Beast, and Pigeon had decided they couldn’t pass up a hot tub, shower, and laundry and decided to nero with me and stay in my hotel room. We did our chores and then hung out by the pool for several hours. My friend, Jen, was randomly in town that weekend, so she drove over and helped me run a few errands. We eventually made our way to a delicious Thai place where we met up with my friends, Jasmin and Rob. It was so fun catching up with everyone and having a semi-normal night out. After we said our goodbyes, we went back to the hot tub!

Day 19: 11 miles hiked. We checked out of our hotel and said goodbye to Pigeon today, as she was going on a different route than Beast, Gravy and myself. The three of us headed to Walmart to get a resupply on food. While there it dawned on me how much the trail has impacted me in less than 3 weeks. The artificial light, people being everywhere, the noise… it was all very overwhelming, and I was really excited to get back on trail. We took a lyft back to the trail, and started up the giant hill in front of us. We were hiking along a wind farm, meaning it was super windy which was nice because it was also 90+ degrees a out! As we hiked up, I basically stopped under every bit of shade I could find for at least a few minutes because even with the wind, the sun was absolutely relentless. At the top of the hill, we entered the San Gorgonio wilderness. Gravy caught a rosy boa that we all took turns holding before releasing. It was really exciting to get back into the mountains and all the beauty that that entailed. We descended down into a valley and walked along the Whitewater river until coming upon my most favorite campsite ever. We set up camp next to the river, with a spectacular view of the mountains. I fell asleep to the sound of the river on a bed of sand, and honestly, I never wanted to leave!

Day 20: 18 miles hiked. Today looked daunting from the outset because much of the trail had been washed away in a crazy storm in February. That meant that we’d be hiking uphill, doing many river crossings, all while doing some trail finding/making. We started the day off with our first river crossing, then it was on up the hill. There were several new plants and flowers today, and it was super exciting. One of them smelled soooo delicious, it took me forever to climb the hill because I kept stopping to inhale deeply. As we climbed, I saw Mt San Jacinto off in the distance, as well as San Gorgonio mountain looming in my not so distant future. It’s one of my favorite things about the PCT… you can look off in the distance and see where you going to and where you just came from. It makes me excited to see what’s next and accomplished to see what I’ve finished. We stopped at our first sighting of Mission Creek to dip our feet in the river and eat lunch. One of the great things about river walking is that there’s no need to carry water since you can just stop when you’re thirsty! I had read a bunch of comments saying how bad this section was going to be due to the wash out with many of them saying that you’re boulder hopping for 10 miles. I had hiked the Lost Coast trail in September with my dad, which is basically 24 miles of boulder hopping, so I knew that it was going to be difficult, but that it could be done. As we made our way through the section, I was again surprised by how not that bad it was. Yes, there were some rock hopping sections (a few hundred yards at most), there were sections I had to route find on my own (pretty easy since you’re just following a river), there were at least 10 river crossings (but it was hot out and I didn’t care if I got my shoes wet, and also there were logs and rocks everywhere that I could easily pick my way across without getting my feet wet), and there were also sections of going thru bushes (but only for a few very small pieces). I’m learning to read fearful comments with a large grain of salt, because it’s happened several times now where people amp things up to being horrible and impassable. Then when I get there to do them, I realize that I’ve done much harder things, like my dads route finding adventures in snow across the Keweenaw peninsula with semi frozen rivers that you have to really worry about falling thru and getting wet, or coast hiking in California. Anyways, today was much more like an adventure, and it was a nice change from just following a path. Ten miles after lunch, we were back on solid ground for the remainder of the day. Gravy found a waterfall just of trail, and Beast and I decided to dunk our heads under it, since we had been climbing in the heat all day. After our refreshing dip, we continued onward and upward, with the intention of hiking only a few more miles that day. We got into our campsite for the night to find that it was full, and while we could try to squeeze if we wanted to, it wasn’t appealing to any of us to camp so close to others. We decided to sit and eat some dinner, then continue on up trail at night, as there was another campsite a mile away. As we left the campsite, night was falling, so I got to do my first bout of night hiking! I saw several insects I had never seen during the day, and was pretty excited about it. We got into camp late, set up, and went straight to bed!

Day 21: 20.2 miles hiked. The three of us set off early in the morning when it was still really cold. Gravy, having finished up packing before Beast and me, took off in order to stay warm, and we ended up not seeing him for the rest of the day! The day started with a large climb, followed by ridge walking. It was really cold out, which was a good thing because we also had to carry water for 16 miles (one of my longest stretches yet), all the while dealing with lots of elevation gain and loss. The weather this year has been crazy. I’ve spoken with many PCT alumni in preparation for this trip. They all talked of how hot and dry their desert experiences were and how night hiking was mandatory because of the crazy long water hauls and temperatures. Some even told me not to bother bringing rain gear, because I wouldn’t need it until Oregon. I, on the other hand, have had water everywhere, rain/sleet/snow storms on a weekly basis, and have been shivering during midday on a semi-regular basis. Today was one of those days that offered crazy weather, but I’m actually pretty happy about it. When it’s cold out, I can walk for much longer stretches and carry less water too! I was able to cross the 250 mile marker today, and soon after it started to sleet on me! We pushed on, because I knew I was close to bagging my first 20+mile day which I’ve been itching to do for quite some time. We found a nice campsite next to a stream 20.2 miles from where we had camped the night before, and set up for the night! We had a little bit of service, so we found out that Gravy had decided to hitch off trail and into Big Bear City. He let us know this by sending us a picture of a giant burger he was about to eat (I’m not usually a jealous person, but damn, I was envious in that moment)! He made up for this by letting us know he was looking into an Airbnb for us the next night and that it had a hot tub!!! Not many pictures today, despite the beautiful scenery… cold hands means I keep my phone in my pocket and try to just keep walking.

Day 22: 8 miles hiked. Beast and I had a late start to the day, because despite the promises of a shower, burgers, and laundry, neither of us wanted to get out of our sleeping bag after the day we had had yesterday. We eventually got moving to finish up the 8 miles that laid between us and those things. It was at least warmer today, and I think we crossed into the Mojave desert at some point because I started seeing Joshua trees everywhere. My brother and I had made a trip last March to see the Joshua’s bloom, but the weather didn’t cooperate, and no blooms were seen. Today I saw at least 30 Joshuas, all blooming!!! It was so exciting! I only put 3 pictures below of the blooms, but trust me, my phone now has a ridiculous number of blooming Joshua tree pictures. We crossed mile marker 265, which meant that we had made it 10% of the way to Canada! We got to the road into Big Bear, had some trail magic, the hitched into town. We got picked up by a guy driving a brand new mustang convertible who was touring around SoCal and Vegas. I asked if he was sure he wanted us on his leather seats, cuz we were filthy, and he said it was fine… it’s a rental. Good thing it was a convertible, so he couldn’t smell us! We got into town and immediately went to the burger place to find Gravy and food. Merlin had gotten into town a few hours before us and came to meet us too! It was great having both of them back with us, and we agreed to head out the next day to do the next section together (Pigeon left the day before we got there, so we had the goal of trying to catch her too). After my burger, it was to the Airbnb for a night of showering, laundry, and texting with friends/family before chilling in a hot tub with wine and friends (Chickenfoot and Disco joined in too!).