Day 20 – Caribou Creek to Deep Creek bridge, mile 299

May 10. Left camp 6.30am… I really can not hear my watch alarm at 5.15am. Arms inside the sleeping bag, ear plugs… Need to think about something else to get started earlier.

Anyway – made the 10 miles before 10am again. First break at 10.15am at Little Bear Spring Trail.

Lunch stop at 1pm at 291.5 miles. It is getting difficult again to find shade.

Arrived at deep Creek bridge mile 299 around 6pm. A nice creek to wash my face, feet and legs. Dinner and sleeping bag time at 8pm.

That was a 24 miles day – my record so far. That’s nearly 40km.

Thoughts on mileage – so far so good. I planned to start with moderate days around 15 miles. Now I am coming to a turning point… When to increase to 20+ miles? Today showed that it is possible to do 24 miles. I just need to get up a bit earlier, take shorter breaks and stop later in the evening. Additional miles are made with more hours walked, not quicker steps.

Curious how my feet and legs will feel tomorrow morning.

Day 19 – Interstate 18 to Caribou Creek, mile 275

May 9. Morning in town.

Some last shopping – and I finally got some chewable vitamin C. I hope this will help with my cold.

The weather forecast for the region was motivating me this morning. Temperatures will drop to a perfect 15-20 Celsius during the next days. Hiking will be so much easier.

Started around 2.30pm on the trail where I left off.

At the drop-off/pick-up point at the I18, we ran into Rotem! Hadn’t seen him for a while… Glad we met again!

The trail leads through respectively around some burned forest.

Afternoon break at 4.45pm at mile 272. Doing well today. Napping in the shade… Sun falling softly through the branches of a tree into my face. Wind blowing gently in the leaves.

Song of today: Ian Late – All things must end

Pitched my tent around 6.30pm.

Feeling optimistic today. Confident for tomorrow. Plan is to aim at 20 miles for tomorrow.

Day 18 – Arrastre camp to Big Bear Lake via interstate 18, mile 266

May 8. Connected to earth. That’s how I literally felt when a small earthquake woke me at 4.50am. It just lasted a few seconds. Sleeping on the ground, it felt close. Not threatening.

We all got up a bit earlier and left the tentsite at 6.30am. Aiming to be in Big Bear for late breakfast, I was pushing it with the motto of the day: 10 miles before 10am.

He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.
– Friedrich Nietzsche

Coming to the interstate 18 crossing at 10am, there was another surprise… Trail magic… Cold soft drinks and Twizzlers!

We got really lucky with hitchhiking into town. The first (!!) car stopped, a nice lady took us right into town. Some late breakfast, some resupply shopping at Vons…

Will enjoy the evening in town with more food, some beers and one night in a bed!

Day 17 – Creek Side Camp to Arrastre Trail Camp, mile 256

May 7. Started a bit earlier – on trail at 6.30am. My daily planning mainly follows the daily updated water report. For today, this meant either 15 miles or 21 for wet (nearby water) camping. We had about 2000 feet altitude gain ahead of us – and I had not been feeling too well the last two days. Good thing on the trail – don’t worry now about things that don’t matter right now. So I started hiking without knowing whether I will do a 20+ miles day or stay with a moderate 15 miles.

The day turned out beautifully! The altitude and the trees – the heat from the last two days was gone!

Song of today: Pink Floyd – Coming back to life

Lunch time was tortilla time again…

Tortilla peanut butter and sunflower seeds

Around mile 253, we came along the famous sofa on the trail. Not further trail magic though – sodas were gone.

Arrived 630pm at a campsite mile 256 – 21 miles today!

Great day. But it’s time for a town stop. I am really filthy now. My shirt and pants are stuff from sweat, salt, dust and dirt.

Day 16 – White water preserve to tentsite, mile 235

May 6. Woke around 6am, many tents were already gone. Hikers were anticipating another hot day. I left short after 7am with Johanna and Cactass already on trail.

Had done short breaks but pushed on through the heat until short after 1pm for my long siesta and lunch to wait out the main heat at mile 230.5. That was good… 12 miles done, maybe 6-8 more after the break. But I was very exhausted.

Made it to the creek side camp at mile 235 just around 7pm.

Another tough day. I was glad about the altitude gained and hoped for cooler days. Still suffering from a cold.

I only went out for a walk,
and finally concluded
to stay out till sundown,
for going out I found
was really going in.
– John Muir