SNOW snow go away

Jill and I are about to leave Big Bear hostel and it's snowing... about 2 inches. Hope we can see the trail. Ugh

Snowy Days

Wow, so much to catch up on, but the theme of this post is Fuller Ridge (elevation 8725). Fuller Ridge? That 5.3 mile stretch just after the city of Idyllwild? Yes, it should be a measly 12 miles on the PCT, maybe a little steep to get to it, but nothing too harsh. That is, unless it has snow on it and you do not have snow gear. Also, the trail is hidden under the snow so you have to do what you can with a map, compass, and good street smarts.

Therefore, Jill and I originally chose to take the road, 16 miles, to avoid sliding to an icy death. Then we met Picker, who hands out minty toothpicks on the trail. He lives in the Tahoe area and ski's ALL the time. He promised to show us safely to the other side of the ridge, teach us some navigating tricks, and have a great time doing it.

Basically, I slipped a bajillion times and slid all over the place. Thankfully there was no dramatic end to any of the falls because the snow was beginning to melt. It was just extremely frustrating, and I must confess, at times it was truly embarrassing. One time, I was walking across a rotten log and just rolled off on my back into the bushes. Jill loved that fall. I also told Jill to stop pointing and laughing at me another time. She was not pointing. We laugh about that, now.

We faced the snow with no crampons or ice axe. Crampons would have been greatly appreciated.

Can you borrow Navigation Skills?

Anyone who knows Lander, knows that she gets lost in her own neighborhood. This morning the girls knew they could make it to Idyl Wild by 11am. At 6 miles away, the trail and all the ground surrounding was covered with snow. Lander and Jill had to bust out their maps and compasses to find their way. They followed a stream, that ended up being the wrong stream, but eventually made it to their planned stop by 2pm. They ordered an 18inch pizza and ate the entire thing.
Lander felt like this week they did not pack enough food. They are learning from their mistakes and making great decisions. For example, Lander's feet are feeling much better and they brought cards this week and have been playing Nerks (is that what it's called?).
Her birthday is May 19th!!! Send her a shout out to Big Bear!
fyi, a couple got lost for two days trying to find Idyl Wild in the snow!
Prayer for Lander: Pray for her feet and her body as they hike 15 miles a day. Pray for them both because this next section to Big Bear is also covered with snow. Instead of taking the trail they are going to hike on the roads to Big Bear so they don't risk getting lost.
Pray that she feels celebrated and loved on her birthday!

A little bird told me

Lander had a tiny visitor yesteday. She was resting on the ground, when all of the sudden a little hummingbird came to drop in on her. She said he got real close and just hovered by her. It was probably thoreau coming to cheer her on and encouraging her to pull out a pen and write lame poems. Jk. But it did seem to be a significant moment for Lander seeing that when I asked her if she wanted me to put anything on the blog and she told me about the bird.
This week they are maintaining 15 miles a day. They will gradually build up to 20 miles a day. Who knows, maybe more. Tomorrow they will reach Idylwild and then they start for Big Bear.

New Gear

Recap, Jay gave us his two-person tent and Jill and I are sending out tents back home. Why? Well, because we realized that we won't be hiking without the other and it's more efficient to share weight. Also, we are weenies when it comes to cold weather and two people in a tent is warmer than one person in a tent.

As for the foot factor, I got three pairs of smartwool socks and three liners (thin nylon socks). I'll probably have to replace the shoes more often, but I'll have a lot less blisters in these Nike running shoes.

During the storm, about ten days ago, the wind blew my hat away. It's not as helpful on a cactus as it is on my head, but nature thought otherwise. I would really like a UNC hat, but we'll see if I can wait it out long enough for mailing.

Hitch Hiking

This morning, Jill and I woke up at 6:30, packed, walked three miles to the highway 15 and held out our thumbs wishing for the best. Border Patrol got on his speaker and told us hitch hiking was illegal in the state of California and then proceeded to ask us what the "*!&%" we were thinking, as did several cars. I would say the further you are from the PCT, the more dangerous it is to hitch hike. We were 60 miles from the trail and no one is really aware of hikers. We looked like a pair of very stupid young ladies.

However, we got three rides from good hearted people. The first ride was a woman who said she'd give us a ride as long as we promised not to rob her, the second was from a Latino gentleman from Bakersfield, and the third was a younger man who was scared we would be picked up by pshycos and drove 35 miles out of his way.

Thank you for picking us up! I will never hitch hike as far away as we did from the PCT again. It honestly made me a bit nervous at points and the "you girls are idiots" looks start getting to you.

Week on the Boat

So, Jill's brother, Jay, drove us to Lake Elsinore where we settled down for the night in our new two person tent! It is so roomy and amazing. It's actally Jay's tent, but he let us borrow it for the next few monts, what a champ. He also let us sleep on his boat for the week, took us to dinner, and let us borrow his car. Don't worry, we only wrecked it twice and you can't see the damage...

The "dinner night" was a lot of fun. Mainly because Jill had an entire bottle of champagne poured all over her at the restaurant. The restaurant was a Korean barbeque place with AMAZING food and if you tell the server it's your friend's birthday you get sprayed with champagne. I'm glad it wasn't me!

I have a few pictures to load later when I have the right equipment. Sigh, one day soon I'll have access to a computer almost 24/7. Until then, I just hike to them.

I did lose my phone to the deep blue sea. It ate it right up and, yes, it did bounce. Twice, in fact and then it made a "bloop" sound into the water, never to be seen again.

The only down side to the boat was that the toilet has yet to be installed so we had to get off the boat and use the marina bathrooms any time we needed use the facilities. It was a bummer when you had to go in the middle of the night, but really can I complain? Vacation time!