Bob is very happy that his cousin Craig is going to help him out in a way that will allow him to do the last 30 miles of the Mojave Desert, which he was very worried about.  It is hot and has less water than any other section.  Craig is going to drive with Bob to do some water drops so that he will know that there will be water without having to carry gallons of water.  They will hide it just off the trail.  Also, Craig is going to take him to pick up his food box in Mojave so he won't have to leave the trail to get it.  Bob was going to have to find a ride to the post office in Mojave, which is only open several hours a day and only weekdays.  Craigs help will make this section much easier.  Thanks Craig!!

Bob made it to the trail hostel (Hikertown).  He called his cousin Craig, who lives close by, and he was planning to come get Bob and take him to his house over night.  He will then take him back to the trail.  Good food, a shower and a visit with Craig will be nice.

Bob called this morning and was almost to Hikertown, another trail hostel which is at mile 518: http://mysite.verizon.net/resplj4y/welcometohikertownhostel/

He will stay there the rest of the day and then head across the rest of the Mojave on Saturday and Sunday.   He will travel north for a hot and dry hike across the San Andreas Fault Zone and western arm of the Mojave Desert before climbing into the Tehachapi Mountains, where the trail enters the Sierra Nevada. Yeah!!  Out of the heat.
 


http://www.pcta.org/pdf/2011-PCT-Map-Brochure.pdf

Sawmill Campgrounds

Bob just called and he is at Sawmill Campgrounds which is located at mile 490 on the Pacific Crest Trail.  He also sent some pictures of some interesting caves he saw on the trail today.

Paint your Wagon

Bob called around noon today. He is at mile 480 near Elizabeth Lake. He has been hiking with a guy in his fifties who goes by the trail name Paint Your Wagon. Not much water in this section which means Bob has been carrying two gallons. Result- repairs to his pack, which he was able to do and still have good mileage. 

Bob called at noon today and is at Elizbeth Lake - mile 480. He has been hiking with a guy in his fifties who goes by the trail name Paint Your Wagon. There isn't much water in this section so bob is carrying two gallons. Result- three repairs to his pack from the weight. Inspite of this he is still making good mileage. Paint Your Wagon has left for town and bob is continuing his hike.

Bob made it all the way to mile 454 tonight.  His motivation was another hiker hostel - Hiker Heaven at Agua Dulce: http://www.hikerheaven.com/

After an couple of hours of trail talk with a few other hikers and some good soup they had already prepared, he was going to bed in a comfortable bed tonight. 

Because the hostel is so well stocked with food, he thinks he will be able to start hiking earlier Wednesday morning since he won't have to wait for the local grocery store to open. 

He said it has been hot, but there has been a good wind, which has made it tolerable.

http://www.pcta.org/pdf/2011-PCT-Map-Brochure.pdf

Mary

Correction: He was at Soledad Canyon Road, near Agua Dulce, CA - not Soledad, CA which is much farther north in California.

The sunrise Bob saw this morning when he started hiking at 4:45 AM.  He said he was at mile 426. 
He just called (12:30) and is at Soledad, which is mile 437.  He was going to sit in the shade for a while to wait out the heat of midday. 

Bob just called and is doing great!  He is at Mill Creek Summit Ranger Station, mile 412.3  Since we hiked that section in 2007 I know exactly where he is and what the trail looks like there.  When we did it in April 2007 we started in very hot weather and camped the first night at Messanger Flats Campgrounds.  We woke up to several inches of snow!  We then hiked through slush to Palmdale to a warm bed and then back to the trail the next day after the snow had melted.  Hopefully, he won't have to deal with snow this time of the year.

He was sitting on a ridge when he called and could see the Antelop Valley Freeway below about 20 miles away.  That is one of the unusual aspects of the PCT in Southern California.  It is closer to urban areas, than it is in the Sierras and Cascades.  This is a good thing since water scarce in this section.

Here is a picture he took last night of a beautiful sunset.

 Trail at Mill Creek Ranger Station

 


http://www.pcta.org/pdf/2011-PCT-Map-Brochure.pdf

Bob left me a voicemail message tonight saying he is at mile 370.7.  That means he has hiked thirty miles since yesterday afternoon!!  He is at Vincent Gap at Highway 2, elevation 6579.  On the map he is near Mt. Baden in the Sheep Mt. Wilderness in the Angeles National Forest. He sounded great!


http://www.pcta.org/pdf/2011-PCT-Map-Brochure.pdf

Bob left the Best Western at Cajon Pass today and is on the trail again.  He said it was only 77 degrees today so he was able to hike through the afternoon instead of sitting out the heat in the shade. 

Bob made it to mile post 340 and the Best Western Motel at Cajon Pass. He called me from McDonalds where he bought himself a giant, refillable drink. He picked up his food box and then went to relax in his room. He is starting a section tomorrow that we did a few years ago. It crosses the good old Southern Pacific Railroad tracks. He sent pictures tonight from the section he just completed.  I also included two pictures of the railroad tracks from when we did the section.  He will cross them right after he starts in the morning and then go through a tunnel where the trail goes under the freeway.

Bob called tonight from where he is camping along the trail at mile 320.  He has had to carry a lot of water since some of the water sources in this section are low.  A ranger gave him a whole gallon today. The ranger had 18 gallons for his trail crew and said they wouldn't need it all.

Tomorrow Bob will hike the 20 miles to Cajon Pass and a comfortable bed at the Best Western Hotel!  He picks up his next food box there.

Mary

The first picture Bob took near Big Bear Lake.  The guy with the red Jeep operates a trail hostel in Big Bear. He picked Bob up at the trail, took him to the grocery store to shop, let him do some cooking in their kitchen and gave him a bed for the night - then a ride back to the trail in the morning!

If you click on this link you can follow Bob's journey along the trail.  He was at Big Bear Lake last night.

http://www.pcta.org/pdf/2011-PCT-Map-Brochure.pdf

Bob called tonight from Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forest.  He is at mile 266 and is very excited that he is making very good time without the burden of blisters! 

Here is a link for information on Big Bear Lake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bear_Lake,_California
Big Bear Lake was one of the filming locations for Daniel Boone, Disney's Old Yeller, the 1969 musical film Paint Your Wagon, the 1983 movie War Games, the opening to NBC's children's program HR Pufnstuf and the ending scene in Better Off Dead.

Bob said it was really windy this afternoon, but not too hot so the hiking was great.  He is going to send me a picture later of the wind, which I will post.
Mary

Bob is off on the trail again and hopes to get to Cajon Pass, at mile 340, on Friday.  He will be hiking in the mountains most of the time so, hopefully, it won't be as hot as it has been.  He plans to camp at the Whitewater River tonight at what sounds like a really good campsite.  He is doing great!!

He really enjoyed a very large bowl of ice cream last night at the trail house he stayed at.  The trail angels there were wonderful to him.  Ice cream, breakfast, computer access to print out maps, and epsom salts to soak his feet.

Bob is staying at a Hiker Hostel tonight: http://whitewaterhikerhouse.blogspot.com/

Here he is with Paul who lives right off the trail and welcomes hikers to his home.  It is at milepost 210.

A trail angel who lives by the PCT had oranges and cold drinks for all the hikers.  Also Bob got to soak his feet for a while in a wading pool! The first picture is taken from the trail.

Here is a picture Bob sent this morning from NE Fuller Ridge on the PCT.  He is doing one of the very hot sections of the trail.  He took the picture right before he made it to a water source - a faucet at a Desert Water Agency.

Bob called at 11AM and had just picked up his food for the trail.  He has new socks and insoles for his shoes, and is hoping for a hike that is blister free! 

Bob is back on the trail today!  Blisters healed.

Blisters better today!

Bob has been busy making bread in the microwave today!  Very creative. 

Not a bad view from the Apple Blossom Inn in Idyllwild!

The doctor said that if Bob rests for three more days and stays off his feet that he will should be ready to go on with the hike.  He told him to rent a room and air out his feet and change the bandages in a clean environment.  I found him a nice hotel called the Apple Blossom Inn in Idyllwild.  He says he has a suite with kitchen, cable tv and more - very comfortable!  The doctor also told him exactly what kind of socks are best for hiking in the heat.  He plans to get them before he hits the trail again.  Since he is in a town in the middle of no where, the luxury hotel is only costing him $50 a night.  Imagine that!!  It helps that he is a PCT hiker as they give a discount to hikers.

Bob is at the doctor this morning to get his feet checked and get the doctor's opinion on whether he should hike on them or not.  Will let you know the outcome.....

One more thing - He talked with Eric, who suggested he get a horse.  Not a bad idea - if only it weren't so complicated!

Bob is still in Idyllwild camping at the State Park.  His blisters are better today.  He may rest until Monday and then stop by the clinic again to have the doctor check his feet. If he is good enough to hike, on Monday he will go on to Whitewater (about 25-30 miles on PCT).  He has a food package at Whitewater Trail House waiting for him. 

He had a weird experience last night at the campground.  He was talking to me at 8:30PM and some guy confronted him for talking on the phone.  We think he was under the influence of something since it was unusual behavior.  He has moved to another campground so I don't worry!
Later

Bob is in Idyllwild tonight relaxing in an A-Frame he rented at a resort.  He has bad blisters and is resting them for a couple of days.  Idyllwild is at the 180 milepost on the PCT.  He talked to someone on the trail who said that the heat and sandy trail are a bad combination for making blisters.  It is usually me that gets the bad blisters, not Bob.  Hope they are better soon.

When Bob called this afternoon he was at the 155 mile post.  It has not been too hot - some wind and drizzle today made it a lot cooler for him while hiking.  There was a mix up on his food box that we mailed to the Pink Hotel in Whitewater.  He found out from someone on the trail that it recently closed.  I was able to call a trail angel in Whitewater who went to the post office and got his box for him.  He is holding it until Bob gets there in a couple of days.  Thanks to Paul Miller in Whitewater, CA!!  Paul and his wife have a place where hikers can stay over night, take a shower, do laundry, etc. 

Bob called today with good phone reception so we were able to talk for a while.  He is at the 100 mile mark on the trail and doing well.  He had an interesting experience near the border a few days ago the night he started.  He kept seeing a light up ahead on the trail that was moving up and down. About an hour later he stopped for a break and was approached by a border patrol agent.  I guess there were four of them with a dog that had been following him for over an hour.  The agent asked him to stick around for a few minutes so they could show the dog he had done a good job.  They also checked the tread on his shoes to make sure he was indeed the person they had been following.  Bet they were a bit disappointed that he was an old white guy, instead of who they thought he was!! 

He met a couple on the trail that are hiking to Northern California.  They are going about the same speed, so they decided to hike together and watch out for each other.  Three is always better than one!  That is good news to all of us, I am sure! 

Bob has been doing well. He called this morning from his first food drop at Mt. Laguna, which is 42.5 miles in from the border.  So far he has way too much food, but he may need it during the next section. The hiking is going well -  no rattlesnake sightings so far; weather is not too hot; and, his sleeping bag and pad are working out really well.  He has been having to pay close attention to maps, GPS, and guidebook as the trail is sometimes not marked well in this section, especially where the PCT intersects other trails.
Later,

Mary