Week 6: Banning to Big Bear

 Day 36 ( May 6 )

I took an extra zero to celebrate my birthday. Took the bus to the Casino in Cabazon.  I finally got to scratch " Blow $20 at a Casino " off my bucket list. I also managed to lose a credit card, but managed to find out before someone racked up a lot of charges.

Day 37

Steven dropped me off where the trail goes under I - 10 at 9:20. Evidently he was picking up a young woman who needed to go back into town to deal with a foot problem. I started hiking at 9:30 . I made it to the Mesa Wind Farm at 11:45. I did 3.9 miles in a bit over 2 hours with a 1,037 foot climb. Not bad ! I had lunch and rested in a covered area provided by the  Wind Farm. 

Normally they would have their building open, but today is Saturday,  so it is closed. I rested for a while before hiking on to Whitewater Preserve. On the way to Whitewater Preserve,  I  met the couple that I camped with in Idyllwild.  I think their names are Baxton and Sasha and they are from Oregon. When we got to the Preserve we met a young man named Justice. Justice, Baxton and Sasha decided to hike on another 7 miles, but I  decided to stay.  Whitewater Preserve was originally a Trout Farm that is being restored to natural vegitation.The main draw for hikers ( it is 0.5 miles off the PCT ) are the restrooms with running water and the wading pool.

 I did a little birding ( there are bird feeders up ) and spotted some Lesser Goldfinches. I thought I saw a Black-chinned Hummingbird and a Cassins Hummingbird but the light was bad so I couldn't say for certain. When I went to the wading pool to cool off ( and clean up a bit without using soap ) , the father of a fellow hiker ( a young lady whose trailname is Big Red because of her backpack ) was giving out pizza and sports drinks. I also met several other hikers including a woman from Taiwan.

Day 38

I didn't sleep well last night because it was really windy all night. I spent some time birding with a group of local birders and they pointed out a Black-chinned and a Cassins  Hummingbird  for me. They also pointed out a well hidden Coopers Hawk nest. I took a photo of the group before starting my hike. 

I made it a short day. I hiked a total of 8.2 miles before reaching a tentsite next to a stream. I discovered one possible advantage of hiking alone: I can crank my music up and listen without headphones without offending anyone.  When I got to the campsite. Adam ( I met him at Whitewater Preserve ) was already there.  The weather forecast called for windgusts as high as 31 MPH coming from the East, so we pitched our tents in a low depression on the west side of the trail. I ended up sharing my area with a woman named "Rocket" who is from Berkley.  I built a small rock wall to block any wind.

Day 39

Today was the hardest day yet. I started hiking at 7 AM and finished at 6:45 PM. It took me almost 12 hours to hike 13.8 miles. It started fairly easy, but it started getting tricky as the "trail" criss-crossed a stream several times and I had to carefully look for the trail in the sandy, rocky floodplain.  

The last several hours were a almost 5,000 foot climb to Mission Springs Camp at mile 240. It was cold when I got there and I  and the other hikers there watched as rainclouds rolled in to the north of us. It didn't rain on us though. I barely had enough energy to set up my tent and make dinner.

Day 40

This was one of my best days on trail. I left camp without breakfast because I  was in a hurry to get to a Forest Service cabin that had a toilet. I saw a Mule Deer ( the first one this hike ) as I  left camp. The trail was fairly level so I  made good time to the cabin. I certainly wouldn't spend $115 to stay at the cabin. The doors and windows are missing and there are holes in the floor. I took a long lunch break talking to a Dutch couple that is hiking the PCT.

 As we were chatting two guys pulled up on a pick-up.  They were there to train some dogs.  After they trained their dogs they gave us some trail magic ( drinks, fruit cups and chips ). The first mile after lunch was a hard uphill slog but I kept going. I think that the big lunch I had slowed me down. There used to be a place at mile 250 that had animals that were used in ads, movies and TV shows, but the new owner only has dogs.  When I got to camp at mile 256 there were at least 12 people there. 

I hiked a total of 16.3 miles in 8.75 hours. Not bad. It was cold so I  put hand warner packs in my sleep socks to keep my feet warm.

Day 41

I left camp at 7:45 and made good time initially ( I  was going downhill ). For a while I was hiking with young woman whose trailname in Duracell ( because she just keeps  going ). I caught up with her going downhill, but once we started going uphill, she left me in her dust. At about 11 AM, I stopped for a break. A young woman pointed out a bird that was my first Nuttall's Woodpecker. As we were chatting a young man hiked by, claiming he was doing 5 MPH ( he admitted he was running on the downhills). I made it to Highway 18, where a number of other hikers were trying to get a ride into town. We didn't have to wait long before a cab pulled up. Four of us split the $30 cost for the ride to town. We had a good lunch in Big Bear Lake. I then walked through part of town, found a laundromat and washed my clothes. I then took the bus to Motel 6. The busses in Big Bear City and Big  Bear Lake are free. Evidently several businesses in the area feel that it's good for business, So they cover the cost of running the busses. I've come to the conclusion that my camera gear is to heavy and slowing me down.  So I  will get a small light camera and send most of my mirrorless kit home. Good news ! I have hiked more than 10% of the PCT.

Day 42

Zero day in Big Bear. I ordered my new camera, a Sony RX100 VI. I am having it shipped to the Cedar Grove Malt Shop. Bad News ! My camera is missing.  I was gathering up everything I was going to ship home, when I  noticed the camera and 70 - 300mm lens were missing.  I shipped all my remaining camera gear except a small tripod home.