Greeting faithful blog readers! Today I'm at a hostel in Big Bear Lake, and will leave for the trail again tomorrow morning.
All the scary stories about Fuller Ridge that I mentioned in my last post turned out to be just hype. There was a lot of snow and route finding was pretty tricky but I made it through just fine and there was really nothing dangerous at all. From Fuller Ridge it was a long, long, downhill hike to the desert floor: I was hiking in snow at 10:30 am and passing cacti by 4:30 pm. The desert was really hot, and I ended up getting sick from the heat despite being well hydrated. I was weak and nauseated and could hardly eat for fear of vomiting up all my water. During the worst two days I estimate that I hiked 35 miles and ate a total of 1500 calories. Not much fun. I tried just laying down in what little shade I could find but discovered that I felt like poo regardless of whether I was laying down or hiking, so I figured I might as well hike. When you're 50 miles from town and 15 miles from the next water you don't have a lot of options other than to keep moving. Fortunately I recovered and feel great now. For future desert travel I plan to hike until 11:30ish, lay around in the shade until 4:00 or so, and then hike into the night to get the miles in without having to hike through the heat.
Just a few days away is a hot spring! I really don't know what to expect, but it sounds like there are 5 or 6 different natural pools of hot water and a lot of people are planning on taking a rest day there. I'll definitely take pictures if it lives up to everyone's expectations!
Thanks,
Joel
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Glad to hear you are doing better bro! Take care of yourself. 1500 cal in 2 days?! Jessica wanted me to let you know that she is going to cook you something good when you get back so you're not all skin and bones!
ReplyDeleteHi Joel -- Each night we take your location for the day and compare it with your location the night before on Google. Dad pulls up the PCT maps and we trace where you have gone. We like seeing the trail and knowing where you have been. Looks like tonight you are at about mile 293. Hope you had a good rest at the hostel. Stay safe!! Hope the night hiking goes well. We will be eager to hear about it. Love, Mom
ReplyDeletehot springs are fabulous! Enjoy! I'm kind of jealous...it's cold here and hot springs would be the perfect way to warm up.
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