Day 21: Mile 218.5 to 230.1

Last night, camping at Whitewater Preserve, the wind picked up suddenly, but I was happy to find that my tent did not blow away. I was so tired that the sound of the wind didn’t bother me at all. I woke up at a late 7:30am, and actually made hot coffee! Whitewater Preserve is SO incredible. I would love to work for a land trust or something similar in the future.

It was mostly desert hiking leaving the wash out of Whitewater, and the plants were smelling super fragrant. I did my first real river crossing of the Whitewater River, which is the first flowing river I have seen thus far (still chill and easy though!).

I had a slow start, and fell behind the group early on today. It was still hot, probably low 80s, and I just don’t like keeping a fast pace with others. At first, I was feeling bad about the pace I was keeping, but then at a certain point I remembered it’s my hike and I have to choose my relationship with it. I resolved to not pressure myself.

I got some good views of Jacinto and San Gorgonio on the ridge. I’m still marveling that this landscape is almost behind us.

The main focus of today was Mission Creek, which had its section of the trail obliterated by Hurricane Hillary in 2023. Basically, there would be no trail. It had been completely washed away, and all the advice I was given was to just follow the river until the PCT picked up again. I was trepidatious about it, which is part of the reason why I wished I kept up with the group. I had to keep telling myself that I’ve done plenty of off trail travel!

Thankfully, though, I ran into the group eating lunch and taking a siesta by the start of the section. I cooled off in the river and ate cold soaked ramen, which was not half bad.

The first mile of the section was a real trail, a really beautiful one overlooking the creek below. Then, after that, it was just a huge wash with rocks, boulders, sandbars, logs, and of course, the creek flowing through it. You basically just had to follow the footsteps and trekking pole tracks to see where to go. If you tried to follow the actual trail on the map, you would just cliff out on a washed out section.

Honestly, it wasn’t that bad though, just slow, and it felt the same as my NOLS trip where I was going cross-country through canyonlands. It was nice to feel prepared! It was just so slow compared to trail, and harder on the feet and ankles to be walking over stones and fording the stream. I was grateful that I wasn’t in any pain today and that my ankles have been holding up!!

It was so slow going, and we only went about four miles before setting up camp. Everyone decided to cowboy camp since we had a lot of people and the nighttime weather looked good. It was the first time I had gotten to camp before dark in a couple of days. The last few days have been such a grind, especially with the heat. I’m still feeling good about being out here, but I am looking forward to cooler temperatures, having more confidence in doing things on my own, and maybe some crusier sections of trail (a girl can dream!)

Day 22: Mile 230.1 to 246.5

Last night while cowboy camping, I was having such intense stress dreams about hiking!! I kept dreaming that I was only taking a break and still had to get in more miles for the day. I think worrying about the Mission Creek section and getting caught up in a group was weighing on me.

The morning started before dawn, and I started packing up in order to get out at sunrise. I tried to pack quietly but all the ultralight materials are so crinkly and loud!

The Mission Creek section was much less stressful in the morning. I think having the full day ahead of us and knowing that we just had to follow the river was reassuring. I felt like I could just take in the scenery of the canyon.

As slow going as this section was, it truly displayed nature’s raw power. The storm did so much damage, completely wiping out hillsides, and the fact that we had to painstakingly navigate the wreckage made the experience feel wild and remote. It made me appreciate how well-constructed the typical trail is, and also reaffirmed my desire to do more off-trail adventures.

After traveling in the wash for awhile, we finally could see a cairn that marked that the trail resumed above. We scrambled up, and there it was!

Getting back on trail, albeit climbing, was so fast. I walked with Pete for awhile and we talked about having supportive partners back home. After that though, I walked most of the day alone. It was really beautiful hiking today. I climbed from the floor of the wash and up desert hillsides. I entered the San Gorgonio Wilderness and really started climbing.

My favorite part of the trail today was turning a corner to see all of these flowers covering the side of the hill. The floral smells were incredible.

The trail had some damage at gullies where it had eroded from storms. I navigated these alone and was having a fun and adventurous time.

I thought I was meeting my group at a spot on Mission Creek, but when I got there, the entire area seemed like it was destroyed by storm damage. Clare sent me a message from ahead that the trail would get better in a mile, so I dodged boulders and blowdowns to navigate back to trail. I was very thankful for the well placed cairns.

Once the trail got better, I was surprised to see that trail crews were actually there that day working! I was so excited to see them! I remembered how good it felt to have hikers talk to me and the crew last summer and appreciate the work we were doing. And they were doing stellar work!! The trail looked beautiful. I talked to the crew lead from the PCTA a bit, and it just made me so inspired about doing more trail work in the future. Also, I think my dream job would be doing project coordination for the PCTA. Just putting it out there!!

I met up with the group soon after and enjoyed some rest and lunch. I soon got back to hiking alone. I really like being by myself, not being on anyone’s schedule, and taking my time. It’s fun to hang out in a group and I do like camping with one, but I hope that I can strike out on my own more in the future.

The views were so stunning. It was really starting to look like the rocky, forested Southern California landscape I used to call home. I got incredible views of San Gorgonio, and thought of how I still wanted to climb it (maybe with Bryan one day!). I just felt so happy and at peace to be walking alone in this forest.

I camped at the Cook Creek Group Campsite with the rest of the crew, and enjoyed dinner and sunset overlooking the valley below. Today was a big day, 17 miles and over 5,000 feet of elevation. I can’t believe how far I’m going, and how I’m adapting to doing so many miles!!

Today was simply an awesome day on trail. I’m beyond excited for Big Bear in two days, where my parents will be visiting me. I’m also excited for my increasing confidence. And I’m getting closer to LA, which means I might be seeing my friends on trail soon!

Day 23: Mile 246.5 – 259

I keep choosing slanted camp spots and end up spending the whole night sliding around!!! I had a bad night of sleep because of that. Just being horizontal for eight hours really helps all the pains and soreness though.

I wasn’t in a huge rush this morning, so I packed up and made hot coffee and hung out with the group. Jay gave us some matcha he found in a hiker box and we had fun trying it out. It was nice to not have to rush out at dawn to try to make progress.

Setting off in the morning, I was overwhelmed with how beautiful the forest was! Early morning is my favorite time to hike, just because it’s not hot, the light is beautiful, and I’m in a good mood since I’m very much a morning person. I listened to “Two Hands” by Big Thief and enjoyed climbing into the forest.

The trail passed through a private property easement at a certain point, which was not very scenic. I was bored out of my mind walking the dirt road. I saw a cell tower in the distance, though, which immediately made me turn off airplane mode and call Isabel! I crushed a couple miles while talking to her as she was driving to work. I miss her!!!

The trail got nice again, but I was so exhausted from a couple nights of bad sleep. It kind of just felt like I was pushing through the miles when I got to mile eight. I knew I wanted to take it easy today after the crazy elevation gain yesterday.

I met up with the group at Arrastre Trail Camp at mile ten of the day, where they were having lunch and siesta.

They were all talking about pushing miles to Highway 18 so they could hitch to Big Bear early in the morning. That meant doing a total of nineteen miles. I was truly in no rush since my parents were meeting me later in the day, and I didn’t really want to push myself as hard as yesterday. I knew I would probably have to separate from them, including Clare, who I’ve hiked and camped with every day since Day 1.

Even before the PCT, I had never camped alone. I figure that camping alone is just like how driving used to be for me— I never did it until I felt like I wanted a different lifestyle. I think I want to hang out with people on trail a bunch, and camp together when I can. I also want to be independent, however, and make sure I’m making the best decisions for myself, which at a certain point means doing things alone.

I split up from the group and planned to camp separately. I got to camp early, after an easy thirteen miles, and used the time to catch up on blog posts and rest.

I was pretty nervous about being alone. I knew that I would have to camp alone at some point, and I was glad to try it out in a place not far from town and with cell service. Even though I was anxious, I was proud of myself for prioritizing my independence!! I’ve grown so much as a hiker even in the three weeks I’ve been out here.

Right as I was making dinner, though, another hiker came around the corner planning to camp at the same spot. So my plans for camping alone for the first time were foiled! I wasn’t upset. His name was Pav and it was nice to chit chat with him, and I lent him some fuel to cook dinner with since his ran out.

I settled in for an early night. My campsite is so flat today that I know it’s going to be a good rest at last! I’m hiking seven miles into Big Bear tomorrow to meet my parents for two days (a zero and a half). This has been a hard section, but I’m surprised that I’m actually feeling really good physically and mentally. It doesn’t feel like I’m desperate for a day off. More than the rest of a zero, I’m looking forward to hanging out with my mom and my dad. I’m predicting that my mom will be shocked with how filthy I am from this sweaty, sandy, and dirty section of the PCT

I’ll post the near-zero and zero days together since this post is getting long! Thanks for reading!