Thursday night five hiking buddies and I arrived at Mattox Canyon, our destination for the day. The small stream bed was dry; we had worried about this a bit so we were carrying enough to make it through dinner and the night. We were still 15 miles from Agua Dulce, the next town stop. 

The last stretch of trail has been rugged. Out of Wrightwood we climbed 9399' Mt Baden-Powell with spectacular views all around. In 2009 a massive fire devastated much of our path through the San Gabriels and allowed an invasive plant known as Poodle Dog Brush to germinate and dominate the slopes. Though this plant has beautiful purple flowers it also causes a terrible skin reaction similar to poison oak and we found ourselves diving and weaving through it to stay on the trail. Segments of the trail are so over grown or need to recover from the Station Fire so there were many detours on forest service roads, the longest being 13 miles. On this detour we passed a beautiful overlook with a monument commemorating two firefighters whom lost their lives defending the beautiful mountains and their fellow firefighters.

After laying down to sleep in the peaceful Mattox Canyon the sound of trickling water came to our ears. Through the night the started to flow stronger and stronger. We were awoken around 4am to some clouds sprinkling on our sleeping bags and we found the stream flowing strong. Feeling rested, most of us decided to get hiking. I filled up my water bottles and hiked out as the dawn began to break. The clouds in the sky were painted red and pink and orange as the Sun rose and a spectacular rainbow appeared with some very light sprinkles or rain. 

The desert is an interesting place, full of surprises. I think that the ground releases water as it cools at night because this stream is known for varying flow with time. Talking to other hikers the stream had stopped flowing by 10am. But it was a magical morning on the trail for me.

I've now been on the trail for a month (30 days). I've now hiked over 450 miles and I can feel the high Sierra pulling me forward. Next we cross the Antelope valley in the Mojave desert. This next 250 miles of trail is often the most sweltering, but we are having a cool couple days thankfully. 

Here in Agua Dulce there are amazing people that love to help hikers. Last night I slept on a farm where I had fresh goat milk and picked berries. Today I am resting at Hiker Heaven, an amazing place hosted by the Saufley's. My spirits are good and I am excited to get back on the trail but I've learned that resting is hiking too.

We climbed out of the San Andreas fault again and out of Cajon Pass into the San Gabriels. Tomorrow we are going up Mt Baden Powell. I think from here we hit the real tough part of the desert. But we are over halfway to the Sierra. Sadly people are starting to have injuries and the original group I was hiking with is split up; but there are lots of amazing people to hike with. I've been hiking with Nips and Wildflower. I put a link to their blog (see below--they update  frequently). The solar eclipse yesterday was amazing from 7300ft.

370 miles down.

Back to the trail this morning after resting yesterday in Big Bear Lake. The hikers took over the Hostel and a group of us cooked the most amazingly tasty, huge lasagna. We fed ~12 hungry hikers and had left overs.

I made it to the farmer's market and bought tons of fruit: strawberries, blueberries, cherries and peaches. I think it might be the only farmer's market I catch all summer. I bought tons of food for the next five plus days and my pack is full to the brim. Luckily there is no major climbing over the next couple days.

The last few days of hiking were varied. We climbed out of the valley back up t 8000 ft. The climb was hot. Three days ago it was over 100 degrees and 15 of us huddled under the rare shade of a tree by Mission creek for over four hours waiting out the heat. The following day was a more pleasant hiking temperature as we reached higher elevations and the forest. There were awesome Juniper trees, probably my favorite, as well as Jeffery pines, firs and some other trees I can't identify. Now we have been cruising around 6500 ft and the flora is a mix of pines, cacti, Joshua trees and chaparral.

Today I hit 200 miles! Yesterday we reached the summit of San Jacinto Peak (10,830 ft) the second highest peak in SoCal, just a slight detour from the PCT. The views were amazing and we looked 9000 ft down to the valley below where we would soon be heading. After losing the trail in the snow a bit and traversing Fuller Ridge we camped the night. 

Today we descended over 6000 ft in 15 miles to the valley below. The temperatures rose as the elevation dropped and it was in the 90's most of the day. I ran out of water in the last couple miles, it was a rough descent. Then the wind howled and generated power in the numerous wind turbines in the valley. A flat windy hike of 6 miles brought me and Bryce (Beef Nugget) to the Highway 10 underpass where we were thankful to find ice cold sodas, trail magic. 

Now I am hanging out at Ziggy and The Bears'. They are Trail Angels whom have opened their back yard to us thru-hikers. I had a foot soak and washed my hair. There is going to be salad and ice cream tonight so after 20 miles I will probably stay the night before hiking up into the San Bernardinos tomorrow. My legs were feeling strong after resting in Idyllwild but after 5000ft up and 9000 ft down my quads are burning. 

The trail is just amazing. 
(Note from home: check out the newest album, photos of the trail from Warner Springs to Idyllwild)

Karl (trail name "Histo" can you guess why?) arrived Tuesday 5/8 in Idyllwild in the San Jacinto mountains, out of the high desert. Tired and a little stressed from "a lot of hiking" on Tuesday, he sounded refreshed and ready to go after a lazy day of rest and fresh food (lots of it) in the forest campground Wednesday. This was a shopping stop--no box resupply for a couple of weeks. Thursday 5/8 hike will include a side trip to climb Mt San Jacinto.
Expect to arrive at Big Bear about next Monday. Photos are in the mail so the next post will have photos for the hike from Warner Springs (mile 109) to Idyllwild (mile 178). Should be hitting mile 200 on Friday.

I'm now at mile 109 in Warner Springs. So far I have traversed amazing desert terrain. We commonly think of the desert as a typical southwest barren landscape but the California desert is everywhere that receives less than 10 inches of rain annually. The desert flowers are spectacular! There are amazing colors everywhere and my favorite are the cactus flowers. But the flora changes with the aspect of the
hillside the trail traverses and there are surprises around every switchback.

I'm having tons of fun. There are loads of us hikers on the trail, and lots of people to camp with. I have a bit of a trail family that includes Bryce, Kathleen aka Extra Credit, Kristy aka Peels, Kayla and Me, but there are many more great people that I'm meeting.

The weather has been unexpectedly cool and pleasant. The Sun is intense but there has been wind that makes the hiking amazing, though it causes some stumbling at times. I haven't set up my tent yet since the Kick Off party, just sleeping out under the bright moon.

Now I'm taking an easy day, or "nero". I hiked 3 miles to get into town and will likely camp close by after resupplying, showering, doing laundry (my pants are filthy) and eating some more yummy food at the community center all set up to service us hungry hikers. The students of the high school unloaded a horse trailer of supplies and I helped in a fireman's line to stack some firewood.

It should be 3-4 days to get to Idyllwild where I will take a full "zero" (no hiking, rest day). I don't have any blisters yet, but started taping my heels yesterday to prevent them. I'm going to see what I can send home today to lighten my pack.

Karl

Additions after a phone update: The Warner Springs resort closed this year, so the High School students set up cooking inexpensive meals at the community center. There are about 40 hikers there with Karl. The hikers plan to camp tonight (Friday May 4) and hit the trail tomorrow. "The scenery is wonderful--not what I expected at all. It's nice to be really doing this after all the planning." Karl and some trail friends booked a hotel in Idyllwild for Tuesday the 8th; they plan to arrive for the evening stay and hang out all day Wednesday. Sounds like a great vacation so far; nice reward for all the months of planning, packing, cooking, and wondering! A memory card is in the mail home and should arrive early next week, so the next post will have photos of the first part of the trip!