Caleb and I sleep in. It’s already 9am when we’re making breakfast in the room because the hotel does not offer it as pictured and advertised. We grab Gert and drive back to Hiker Haven to pick up Trailer Park and Rachel who will nap on the way to Onyx Summit Trail. They will hike from here to Doble PCT Camp, 14.3 miles, and Gert will go with them, even though he was supposed to take a zero-day.
Rachel, Trailer Park, Gert
We drive to the Stanfield Marsh Wildlife and Waterfowl Preserve because I have an affection for a good boardwalk. We walk across two that connect a paved bike path and, on our return, get to see a mother coot with her cooties (grade school made this seem like a negative thing). We watch for a while as we’re in no rush. We spend the rest of the afternoon driving around.
Welcome to Big Bear
We go to Serrano Campground but they are booked for the night. We go across the street to the day-use area to get water and the woman seems confused, “You didn’t go to the store?” We let her know we already have bottles, we just want to refill them. She points us back across the street and they let us use the waste station for RVs to get potable water.
We drive to one of two spots where the PCT crosses the road near here but leave after encountering crazy, hoping he’s not here when our trail friends arrive. We drive back to the campgrounds to ask about reserving the next night as we want to use tents at an RV site and the woman says she’ll be working again tomorrow, so we can stop by.
view near Doble Camp
We drive out to where the group will be camping because Caleb sees two spots on the map and wants to be sure where we’re going. We find it, a picnic table and ADA-compliant bathroom minus its door, and return to the pickup site as Gert messages me. He and Trailer Park are waiting, so we take their bags and they’ll do the other two miles while we stay back for Rachel and drive her closer.
on the way to camp
There is already someone sitting at the table when we arrive. Caleb and Rachel set up their tents, and when the guys arrived, we went back to the car for their bags and the King’s Hawaiian bread and salty watermelon whiskey we picked up earlier. Usually, we get two loaves, one for me to eat on the way home and one for later. Tonight, I will cut it into eight pieces to share.
As we start dinner we learn more about this young man who turns out to be another kid who’s just 18 from Arkansas named Lyric. His dad hiked the first week with him and his friend was in town with an injury. He’s got spirit and already knows to tote plenty of water through the desert, so he’s also known as Hydro, but Lyric is so unique. He plans on going a few miles further than us tomorrow, just not starting as early.
The thing about hydration is that it runs on its own schedule. Many a hiker attempts to drink enough during their activity and some chug water whenever they come across a source but we also drink lots before bed. This leaves me stumbling in the dark, under the moonlight, but still asleep to find a tree. Rachel and I set up our tents on a slope so we slept like we were falling on our sides.
Trying to right myself from this falling position, I trip over one of her tent lines and luckily don’t land in the dirt. We talked about start times, and I still don’t want to hike in the dark, but I will break down camp before then. Trailer Park is up singing a Christmas tune for our 430 alarm. My body wants to sleep for another four hours, at least, but this mountain won’t descend itself.
Gert admiring the view
I’m the last to pack up my tent. Ravi didn’t bother to set his up. I’m a slow eater, and yet as soon as the last swallow hits my stomach, my brain says it’s time to go so I can keep my legs warm, and Gert is ready, always seemingly so. We are the first to leave camp ten minutes behind schedule. There are a lot of large rocks and beautiful trees along the path.
We are seemingly making good time among the manzanitas and pines that provide shade while looking out at the desert below, which is our destination for the day. We passed a tree that was hollowed out and two rocks – one looked like a dinosaur back, and the other like the smiling shark from Finding Nemo, Bruce. We come across a pine cone as big as Ravi’s head and let his youth carry him in front of us again.
There is a note for Ottie, left in the gravel under a rock, for the “one tiny disgusting puddle” that is 0.1 miles down a dry stream bed. Leave no trace but also don’t leave others stranded, so the note stays in hopes that Ottie isn’t relying on such a measly source. Some hikers get lost, and others skip the summit, and the time of day can influence the state of the water – frozen, flowing, fled.
The fence lizards and one California sister butterfly are enjoying the sunny rocks as our legs take a beating from fighting the urge to take a shortcut – jump off the edge and let gravity have us – as the sun starts to cook us. Rachel finds a rock to climb under and Ravi succumbs to the power of the sun and lets it soak in. Gert and I find some much-needed shade by noon but it’s not enough to nap under, so we must march on.
Ravi with pinecone
An hour later, we are putting our foot next to the 200-mile stone marker (only to count three others). Another hour and a bush has grown over the trail so people have just gone out onto the rocks around them. This trail is definitely not for the faint of heart as a quick escape is just one wrong slip away. Rachel prefers to let her legs do the storytelling, so she will leave a message on them when she passes here.
Another hour of desert views, and I’m changing my socks as my feet seem to be getting squishy, and the blister size would be the balls of my feet. They are glad for the fresh wool which quickly absorbs the collected moisture, but when they find out our day is only 3/4 done, they begin to scream out in defiance. This isn’t the first time my feet have hurt, but at least I’m not in flats, so I keep going.
Jess and Gert in the shade
Out here, I don’t have much choice. Soon, my feet are on fire, and I push another mile. The pain shoots into my shins which feel like they are splintering. By the last mile, even my hips seem to be inflamed. I gave Gert a bag of trail mix for sticking with me, and again carrying my tent, as I told him he could leave me under this shade for the elements.
Out of the group, I had the most water, so they rushed to the next source – a rock with shade for four. I collapse in the dirt on two sets of trekking poles in the sun and am quickly offered an umbrella and a bag of water (thanks, Rachel), but Gert helps me up into the shade on the other side. We arrived after 4pm and Ravi and Kaito were already or still there. I have signal and let Caleb know I will be awhile.
With his woman in distress, Caleb and Trailer Park come to the rescue with cold Gatorade. I’m not going to sit around and make them road-walk a mile, so I get back on my feet to meet them. Caleb takes my bag and the guys go on ahead. When Rachel and Ravi catch up, they slow their pace to stay with my hobbling. Gert was worried that the heat got me, but only the constant pounding on my delicate legs wore me out.
Jess, Ravi, Kaito
I get to the car at 5pm. It has been a long day and I sit with my bag in my lap in the backseat because Gert’s height has earned him front-seat passenger status. Trailer Park wants burgers and navigates us to Five Guys, but the only way to get there is by parking in the mall lot and walking across the fancy shopping plaza (over $5,000 bags and shoes) to the food court where only Gert gets a salad.
Caleb, Gert, Trailer Park
The woman who took some of our orders asks Caleb why three of us got enough food for five people and he lets her know we hiked 20 miles today, so we are starving. We drop Trailer Park and Rachel off at Hiker Haven (PCT hikers only) where they get fresh fruit, entertainment, and a spot on the garage floor for $20/night (more for a room) with Ravi and Kaito.
Gert, Trailer Park, Rachel, Jess
Gert wants a room so he can soak his tired feet (we didn’t know how “tired” they were at this point, but there’s a reason he was fine with me slowing him down). We get a hotel in Banning and Gert will use our address as the clerk doesn’t know how to process his passport or other IDs. Caleb runs me a bath, scrubs me, and then tries to talk to me once my head hits the pillows. I was out.
Caleb will take two trips to deliver us hikers to Marion Mountain Trailhead, about 15 minutes up the road, which is very winding through these hills, and connects with the PCT. This leaves about 30 trail miles unhiked between Paradise Valley Cafe and Idyllwild but today’s focus is over 10,000 feet above sea level. Rachel wants to summit Mount San Jacinto so that she knows she can handle 13,000 ft when we summit Forester Pass, in about five weeks.
snow plant
The first group starts before 7am to the valley covered in clouds. A family with small kids gets turned around when the trail goes down and around. Luckily, Gert is excellent at spotting these false paths and pointing us in the right direction. Trailer Park passes, leaving Ravi at an early stream to get more water, and finds us an amazing water supply and decent camp – complete with pine cones and sunshine.
morning shadows
The idea was to set up one tent and dump all extra gear in there, but we realized we would be tired at the end of the day, so those who don’t need trekking poles to hold up their rooms for the night set them up. We also had the option to go down and spend the night with Caleb, but the elevation to get here was taxing enough over three hours and we all agreed we didn’t want to do it again tomorrow morning.
switchback bushes
We continue on Deer Springs Trail at 1030am and I’m glad to be wearing pants when we walk through a narrow portion of the path surrounded by spiky bushes on both sides. The only part of me not covered is my fingertips and the triangle on my wrist where I got a small sunburn and blister. I always enjoy walking among the trees and am happy when we see the little stone cabin. It has a few untold stories of its own and I peek inside.
nature’s art
It was built years ago as an emergency shelter by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The windows are covered in stickers, the bunk beds and walls are signed, and there are ladders and a rescue stretcher in the ceiling. This also means we are close to the top, where there is no clear path over the boulders, by 1230pm. Our group is complete again a half-hour later and I enjoy some Whoppers from two thru-hikers in blue shirts after putting my jacket on and taking some obligatory summit photos.
stone cabin
We stay for an hour, snacking, and relishing in our accomplishment. Other hikers come and go. I forgot to mention or touch the snow on the way up, so I make a point to do so on the return. There are two vault toilets at Little Round Valley Campground and I’m told they’re full of trash, but the nice thing about being out here is that I have a permit to poop in the woods, so I will do just that. I’m not sure of others’ trail lingo, but I let whoever I’m hiking with know that I need to “find a tree.”
Gert, Trailer Park, Rachel, Ravi
We get back to camp over two hours later and the feast begins. Rachel pulls out the freeze-dried brownies I gave her and Ravi pokes a hole in the bag in an attempt to help her open them. I let him know it’s not perforated so he then cuts through the oxygen absorber. Trailer Park takes the package to remove as much of the “Don’t Eat!” as possible, and all of us but Ravi will eat around the tainted ones.
back to camp break
Gert carried Caleb’s and my tent to the camp to save me weight and let me use his pad pump to conserve my energy. I cut my nails, something I have to do more frequently out here, then filtered water so I can have 3.5L to carry tomorrow and have a half liter with breakfast. I climb in the tent at 530 and am asleep when I rollover to the sound of my door zipper.
the hills have views
“Can I help you?!” as Caleb pokes his head in. He took two hours to hike up to kiss me goodnight (a sweet, very Caleb thing to do) and also spook some of my campmates. Rachel kept an eye on him and Gert poked his head out to check on the commotion. Ravi thought he was being told to wake up already, but Trailer Park was out or has better earplugs than the others. I have no trouble going back to sleep before the sun sets.
PS: the snow plant is mostly found in the conifer forests of California after a snow melt. Its scientific name means bloody flesh-like thing and it’s a parasite of fungi in the soil, no sun required.
I wake from a dream that Ravi is sleeping on the floor too. Later, Gert will suggest that perhaps it is a premonition. Caleb will cover me with the blanket and turn the air off, so I can sleep longer and wake more comfortably. There is supposed to be a continental breakfast delivery but it will never come (and no one asked why).
We have some coffee and conversation with Trailer Park, the only one who wakes as early as Caleb, before setting off for Urgent Care in San Jacinto. Caleb’s foot is swollen and has been hurting, and he wants to rule out broken bones before deciding what to do next. It’s a good thing we left later than planned, as we waited 13 minutes for them to open while I ate a donut from yesterday.
The doctor recommends ice and elevation and tells us that we have to get an X-ray at their clinic or an imaging center across the parking lot. An hour later, we’re leaving there with messed up paperwork, which will confuse the pharmacy later. While in line for an X-ray, a Karen loses her shit that she’s been there for 45 minutes (without checking in). I only have to wait 15 before we’re told that we need pre-authorization.
We drive to the pharmacy, and that’s a two-hour wait, so while Caleb is on the phone explaining the situation, again, I drive to the ER, and Caleb is seen 100 minutes later. I will go outside and finish my lunch from yesterday. Caleb is told it’s one to four hours to wait for results and I’m told it’s two days if we leave and have to go to their records department. I go back to the pharmacy.
In line there, a woman wants her meds transferred to another pharmacy and there’s confusion as to whether her anti-seizure meds are a controlled substance or not (if so, her doctor would have to call). Perhaps the bullet-proof glass could have a microphone on either side to make these transactions easier between staff and customers. They want a $30+ copay for Ibuprofen, which we already have, along with some cream that I’m not paying for.
I pick up Caleb and it turns out his foot has had a stress reaction to all the fun he is having. This means his bones are weakened in a few spots but not yet fractured and we want to keep it that way, so Caleb will take a break but can assist his fellow hikers while he rests. It can take 2-6 weeks to heal, depending on the severity and the location. Back in town, we check out the gear store, Nomad Ventures, and get more electrolytes.
treats from Jessi (thanks for the resupply)
Caleb and my dad think I don’t drink enough water. They would probably still agree on the trail, but I can see the salt lines in the sweat of others and I drink a minimum of two liters a day along with water added to meals and other drink mixes to prevent my natural state of dehydration from getting out of control. We see Gert on our way to the room and let him know we’ll be back soon.
We say hi to Trailer Park in the room and knock on Ravi’s door, who arrives while we are gone, but there is no answer. We emptied a few boxes of our resupply food into cheap trash bags because the few shops we stopped at, with durable ones in use, weren’t handing them out. This helps us go through what we have and donate some freeze-dried Skittles to our tramily (trail family) and a hiker box.
an owl sticker (thanks Rachel)
It’s too late in the afternoon for a non-hiking day coffee, but Gert has a beautiful blue-colored drink from Pure Bean Coffee Roasters that we want to try too. It’s a smoothie called Berry Blast and I finish mine first as we plan our route to Big Bear. We’ll move from the cool shade to a sunny corner, and once we’re warmed up again, we can return to the room.
Soon there are six: Caleb, Gert, Rachel, Trailer Park, Ravi, and myself. Caleb takes them to the store for microwave food options (junk not available otherwise) for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Upon their return, we celebrate the trail bringing us together and talk about the summit of Mount San Jacinto, 10,834 ft, over beers and ice cream until hiker midnight (9pm).
My bladder wakes me in the night and unfamiliar voices make me stir hours later but don’t bother me enough to even open the tent door as they seem to fade into the distance. When I finally get off my super loud but small and lightweight sleeping pad, Caleb has already repacked the car. I’ll take Gert and Rachel to Amelia’s Cafe so we can get gear and people where they need to be.
When I returned to PVC, I saw Ravi, who was hiking with Kaito yesterday, and they were now getting breakfast. I’ll sip on Caleb’s coffee while he loads the rest of our stuff back into the car. We take Trailer Park back on the precarious dirt road, but now, knowing the conditions, drop him off sooner for his planned hike into Idyllwild. Caleb and I will join the other two for a second breakfast.
I drive up to Idyllwild Bunkhouse, recommended by the woman at the cafe as hiker-friendly. The other choices were Silver Pines Lodge or the campground between the two – at least that’s where hikers were staying, that we had met. The receptionist showed me into various rooms because even though the loft beds looked cool online, they left headroom to be desired, and are at the top of a ladder.
Jess, Rachel, Max III, Gert, Caleb
I chose the room with one queen and two twin beds and I’m able to check in early (because hikers also leave earlier than other guests). The three of them make it to the lodge as I’m parking in our numbered spot. Rachel and I shower first, so I volunteer us to do laundry. There’s a place half a mile from here that has bins of clothes hikers can wear while they wash, but we don’t use them (for funny pictures) but chat on the bench instead.
Caleb asks when we’re coming back as Gert is getting hungry. We parked downtown and walked to Idyllwild Pizza Co. where I used the name Susan for my order since a Jessica was in front of us. I’ll take the guys back to the room for a nap while Rachel stays in town to socialize at the library (a great place for thru-hikers) with Heidi and Jonny, and I sit outside, next to an outlet, and write. The mayor of Idyllwild will be at Wooley’s at 4pm.
This is probably his daily schedule but Rachel was able to call earlier and confirm. As excited as she was, she wasn’t in the crowd when we arrived. People gather in groups to get their picture taken with Max III in the back of his van, as of 2022, following his predecessors, the first being elected in 2011. As a good boy, he’s happy for the attention and treats, something thru-hikers have in common with dogs.
Gert and I each get a lavender honey cone at Icecream & Jerky while the others get fruit flavors and chunks in theirs. There are three ice cream shops from one viewpoint, so this town really knows its audience. Especially with Nomad Ventures where a hiker would be able to get everything they need to start a long-distance trail. We only had a chance to glance at the stickers, though, before they told us they were closing.
I get a message from Trailer Park about his bloody chainsaw (difficulty getting a hitch into town) and asking for a ride. I’ll see him outside Lake Hemet Market and though I know his knee is bothering him, I didn’t think to ask where he detoured off the trail about halfway through to Idyllwild, but he hiked about six miles to the highway to avoid the upcoming 15 he still had ahead. I’ll take him to the room after a pit stop for drinks to freshen up for dinner at Lumber Mill.
The five of us are joined by Graham, a lone hiker about a day or two ahead of us. Zero days (no trail miles for recovery) and long water carries have a way of pacing people in the desert. I get corn nuggets for the table to try. It’s neat traveling with people in different age ranges from various states and countries as we introduce each other to things familiar to ourselves.
Rachel and I debate going out in the rain with our socks and sandals on (gotta keep the toes warm while still letting our feet breathe) and I figure there is more than this gentle spattering of water ahead on the trail and get going to the car. Back in the room, there is the choice of beer, chai tea from Gert, or coffee options (a favorite). Once the last sip is taken, Trailer Park sets up on the floor, and the lights are off.
TheJessicaness 