PCT Days 34-39

We sadly had to leave the Bud Pharm on day 34 — the hospitality and good company would be missed. We easily hitched from the highway back to Wrightwood, where we resupplied for the next 4 days. We then hitched a ride up to the trailhead, where we set off in sunny but windy weather toward Mt. Baden-Powell. After a few easy miles, we descended to the highway and the beginning of the climb up the mountain. The trail to the summit of Mt. Baden-Powell is only 4 miles, but a hiker climbs nearly 2800′ in that short distance. The first three or so miles were snow-free and easy enough to hike, if a bit steep. The last mile to the summit was covered mostly in snow. At this point, the footprints quickly abandoned the endless switchbacks and instead plowed directly up the mountain — perhaps saving some distance but turning the hike into a climb up steep, slushy snow steps that were prone to giving way at any time. Finally we reached the summit, and took a few pictures before descending back to the PCT and sheltering from the intense wind. The next three miles were brutal, often covered in snow, with the trail disappearing and the footprints frustrating and clearly wrong at times. Eventually we made it to camp at mile 383.9, having hiked a tough 14.6 miles. The forecast called for rain the next day.

I woke up around 6 AM on day 35 to near freezing temperatures and constant rain. I decided not to deal with this right away, and went back to sleep. This continued until 10, when after over 12 hours of sleep I couldn’t sleep any longer. I was a bit surprised and amused to find that all of my hiking buddies were still in their tents, as were most of the 20 or so hikers who had stayed at this campground the night before. No one wanted to get soaked in upper-30s temps, especially with the wind still vicious (thankfully the campground was in a nice little corner where it was shielded from most of the wind). We lounged in our tents for a few more hours until the rain finally stopped around 1:30. We emerged from our brief hibernation, and debated whether to hike or not. The forecast was iffy, but we eventually decided to hike a bit. After a few miles, we had to take an alternate route, as the trail itself is closed due to an endangered frog. This route involved a three mile road walk on a dead Highway 2, and in the dense fog the mood was eerie. After a short while, it began to rain, then sleet. Temperatures were near freezing, and it became apparent we needed to stop hiking and warm up. Thankfully, after the road walk there was a campground that had yet to officially open for the season, so we set up our tents along with a dozen others. We hiked 9 miles today… better than nothing.

Day 36 brought sunshine, and with it, raised spirits. We waited a few hours after the sun rose for everything to dry out, hitting the trail around 8 AM. We rejoined the PCT as it made its way through Cooper Canyon, with beautiful views all around. We passed the 400 mile mark, and continued on to hike about 19 miles to mile 411.7. We arrived fairly early, and by 7 we had all eaten dinner and finished camp chores. There was a small hill to the west that was obscuring what I suspected to be a nice view of the sunset, so I badgered Joren and Benjamin to climb the hill and watch the sunset with me. The view was spectacular, and despite the bitterly cold wind, we sat for nearly an hour watching the incredible sunset.

On day 37, our goal was the Ranger Station, 24.4 miles away. The day was partly cloudy with temperatures in the 50s, weather that made hiking easy. The miles went quickly, with enjoyable but hazy views. At the Ranger Station, there’s a volunteer named Ron who sells chips, soda, and granola bars for $1 each, which benefits a local non-profit. This year, he’s also giving away hot dogs to hikers who spend $2. Ron has thru-hiked many times, including the CDT and AT in addition to the PCT, and was a great source of information. We set up in some horse corrals as it began to rain and the wind picked up. Sharp gusts blew late into the night, and I braced my tent at times against their force. I didn’t get to sleep until nearly 1 AM, when the wind calmed down a bit.

We left the Ranger Station at mile 436.1 on the morning of day 38 fairly late, a bit after 8 AM, as we waited for the night’s rain to end. The weather as we descended was bizarre, with the rain clouds breaking over the mountains we were leaving, but the winds carrying enough water to make it misty for most of the morning, despite it also mostly being sunny. We had 18.4 miles to hike to get to Agua Dulce, where we planned to stay a couple nights at Hiker Heaven. The views were incredible as we made our way along hay- lined ridges. We eventually reached Vasquez Rocks, a site with bizarre geological features that has been used as a film set for various movies and shows, including Star Trek. The sky threatened rain but we reached town dry, and had a nice meal at the local Mexican restaurant. We caught a ride to Hiker Heaven, enjoyed a couple beers and settled in for another rainy night.

Today is day 39, and we’re taking a zero at Hiker Heaven. Hiker Heaven is on the property of the Sauflys, a family that’s been helping hikers for over two decades. They allow camping and offer showers, free laundry, places to hang out, rides into town and to REI sometimes, etc. It’s an amazing place that offers wonderful hospitality. The weather is finally sunny again, despite still being cool, in the mid 60s. Joren and I took an Uber to Santa Clarita to go to the Stater Bros grocery store to resupply. The grocery store in Agua Dulce was sold recently, and the new owner has made the interesting decision to run the store into the ground, not reordering stock and thus having a store of mostly empty shelves. So, we needed to get the ride to a real town for food. After grabbing Panda Express for lunch, we got another Uber back to Hiker Heaven. Now just relaxing for the rest of the day. We’ll hike most of the way to Casa de Luna tomorrow, and nero in the following day.