Week 7: Big Bear to Lake Arrowhead

 Day 43 ( May 13 )

Zero day in Big Bear. Spent the day trying to see if anyone has my camera. I checked everywhere I had gone when I  arrived. Nobody has it, the Motel, the Restaurant,  the Laundromat,  the Transit system,  even the Police. Nobody has it. I posted on the PCT groups on Facebook. Nobody has it. In other  camera news, the camera I ordered isn't expected to arrive until Tuesday.

Day 44

I got dropped off at the Trailhead by Michelle who is a Physical Therapist. She is of the opinion that my aching knee is not from arthritis ( she said it would ache all the time if it was, and it isn't ) but muscle strain from the steep hills with the pack. Started hiking at Noon ( Yeah, I know, mad dogs and all that...) 

and was able to hike 13.1 miles in 6.75 hours. Having a pack that was 10 to 11 pounds lighter made a huge difference. I even managed to hike 2.3 miles with a 680 foot climb in one hour without getting tired or severely winded. After 3 hours "Lunch" a German and Ruo ( from Taiwan ) caught up to me.

Day 45

I hiked with Ruo and "Lunch" . We left camp at 7:45 and hiked 19.3 miles before stopping at the Bridge over Deep Creek ( mile 298.5 ) at about 6:30.

We made good time, but I was a little tired at the end. The bridge is the first man made structure I have seen directly on the trail. 

I told Lunch and Ruo that I plan on camping at the bridge until my camera arrives. 

Day 46

I had planned on camping under the bridge, but at 9 AM I got a notice that my camera was arriving today !! So I  hurried and packed up and hiked towards town. The hike was 3.5 miles, all up hill. I was about halfway to town when Katie walked out of her house and asked if I needed a ride.  The first rule of through hiking: If a Trail Angel asks if they can help you, always say Yes Please ! unless you have a very good reason not to. Any way as she was driving into town, she asked if I  needed to buy food for the trail.  When I  said yes, she drove me to a small grocery store and waited for me while I shopped. Then she drove me to the Malt Shop where my new camera was going to be delivered.  Thanks Katie !! When I  posted on the Facebook group, nominating her as an Honorary Trail Angel, a fellow hiker corrected me, saying that anyone who helps a hiker in any way is a Trail Angel. I quickly admitted he was right and changed my post nominating Katie for full Trail Angel status. So Far that post has received 94 likes and responses. I guess I am not the only one she has Trail Angeled.

Trail Angel Katie

A little after I got to the Malt Shop ( it has a well deserved reputation for excellent burgers and malts ), I was joined by two fellow hikers, Avo and Fred. Avo is on a short term visa from the UK ( he has to go home in 10 days ) and Fred, who is from British Columbia.  They both ordered burgers. 

Fred and Avo

 Fred's was at least one foot tall. He had to eat ( what he could ) layer by layer and was unable to eat the whole thing. Fred was feeling a bit battered ( he and Avo had hiked 298 miles and had only taken two zeros ) and was considering going home via a Cruise up to Alaska. After they ate they left and got rooms at an Inn. I waited for my package. At 3:00 a FedEx truck arrived. I was bummed and a little alarmed when the package wasn't for me.  Finally at 3:30 another FedEx truck arrived with my camera. After opening the box and paying for my food ( one burger with fries, one Malt and a Coke ) one of the guys from the Malt Shop gave me a ride to the Arrowhead Lake Inn. It turns out Avo and Fred are here too !

Day 47

Zero day at Arrowhead Lake Inn. Fred and Avo left this morning.  Fred says he feels better so he's going to keep hiking. I hope he takes a few more zeros along the trail to rest his body every once in a while. Lynn , the manager of the Inn took a photo of the three of us, and I  took one of Fred and Avo with my new camera. I am taking a Zero because my knee is acting up. I did explore a bit of Lake Arrowhead. 

Day 48

Another Zero. My knee is still bugging me a bit, and I  decided I should do a blog for those who are interested,  who don't do Facebook. 

Day 49

Took another zero to rest my knee and get my blog up to date. It is now up to date. Next is to get an Instagram page going so my friends who don't do Facebook can see some of my photos. I took a boat tour of Lake Arrowhead this afternoon. It  is a completely privately owned man-made lake. The cost of real estate is WOW !!! There is just one small ( I estimate it to be less than 100 feet wide ) lakefront lot left and it's priced at almost 1 million dollars ( for a bare lot ). Evidently several movies have been filmed in, on, or near the lake. There was one house used as a set for "The Great Outdoors", and several houses have been or are owned by Entertainers such as Doris Day, Sammy Hager, Shirley Temple,  Lucille Ball and Arnold Schwarzenegger.