Things You May Not Know About The Desert Part 1...that I've learned from hiking the PCT

This list has been created solely by me and my experience in the 1st 350 miles I've spent in the desert of Southern California

1. The desert is NOT flat, and if there's a hill or a mountain the PCT will find it and go over it.

2. No matter how much sunscreen you put on your hands, your hands will get burnt.

3. Don't believe the thermometer, it's always 100+ degrees in the desert, 90 degrees in the shade and 80 degrees by 8am.

4. Desert nosebleeds.

5. If you have a fear of snakes, that will dissipate after 2 weeks in the desert, mine did after 8 days.

6. Rivers, streams, springs, any source of natural flowing water is a rarity if you find one, don't pass it by,  drink from it, frolic in it, be gracious for it...just enjoy it for what it's worth

7. Desert showers, my way of thru-hiking multitasking...soak self and clothes at water stops, cools you off, rinses the dirt off, and washes the stink out of the clothes your wearing.

8. If your sleeping below 6000ft, you will not be cold at night...most often you will be hot...many of nights I woke with less clothing than I started with, your body emits so much heat from being in the sun all day and your metabolism working overtime, you are your tents own heating system.

PCT Day 21 Mt Balden Powell

Day 21, June 10th

20 miles

PCT mile marker 390

Ron, Joe and I parted ways this morning as they were hiking back to Wrightwood and I was continuing on up the PCT.

Ready to head out for the day

About a mile in, I ran into some women day hikers, who said they come out here everyday to hike, they've seen a lot of thru-hikers and gave me some jicama and fresh garden cucumbers for the trail.

4 miles in, I started the ascent up Mt Balden Powell. It was a very steep 4 mile climb, with almost 3000ft of elevation gain. It took me 2 hrs to ascend with many stops to catch my breath and rest. There were a handful of day hikers coming down as I was going up. Once I got to the top the view was amazing, you could see 360 degrees around, it was breathtaking. 

Breaking on Mt Balden Powell...just 1.2 more miles up

I made it to the top!

Views

Another mile in I was beat, between yesterday's climbing and today's ascent up Mt Balden Powell, I could really feel the fatigue. I pulled off trail once I found a nice pine to rest under and took a couple hours to rest and nap. I got back onto the trail around 3pm and continued on until I was ready to call it a day.

PCT Day 20

Day 20, June 9th

23 miles

PCT mile marker 370-Grassy Knoll Visitor Center

Lots of climbing today! Started at 3500 ft and climbed to 8300 ft in 15miles. Ron and Joe, met up with me again. They hiked up from Wrightwood and met up with me around mile 359 and they joined me for the rest of the day. We found Chris at Guffy Campground where we all hung out for a bit and then hiked together until Bluejay Campground where Chris was camping for the night. Chris is resupplying in Wrightwood tomorrow and won't do much mileage tomorrow, which means I'll pull ahead of him and we probably won't see each other for a while. We've essentially been on the trail together, leapfrogging one another, since Big Bear. We said our goodbyes and wished each other well. Joe, Ron and I continued on to Grassy Knoll where we called it a night.

Young Gun and I, he went charging by today at mile 5 for me.

This means I am halfway through the desert section!!! Yahoo!!!

XXX...Poodledog Bush Stay AWAY...XXX

Hiking with the boys!

Ummm...can I sit here all day PLEASE

Happy Trails Chris!!!

Snack buffet...thanks Ron and Joe!

PCT Day 19- That was a scorcher!!!

Day 19, June 8th

16.5 miles

PCT mile marker 347

Today was one of those days I give Mother Nature my utmost respect and know not to push my limits on extreme days such as these.

This morning I had an 11 mile hike into Cajon Pass at Interstate 15. It was a awesome section, but it was HOT. By the time I got there at noon  the temp was already reading 97 degrees. Which means out on the trail is at least 5 degrees warmer than that (just my theory). I had just enough water to get me there, I was happy not to run out beforehand. I don't like hiking when #1, I'm conserving water because I'm afraid I'm going to run out because it's so darn hot and #2, If I'm not peeing every 3 miles or so...I know I'm not staying hydrated.

I was already planning on taking the 0.4 mile off trail detour to the gas station and McDonalds and knew I'd be staying there for a while, until it started to cool down. 

View from the morning hike.

Coming around the bend I could see the I -15, I hollered with joy, knowing I was close.

Unfortunately when I arrived, Chris, who was already there sitting in the shade, informed me that McDonalds was closed, but the drive thru was open and the gas station was open but the bathrooms were closed. Some water issue. Chris had decided to move on and take shelter elsewhere. I stayed needing to stock up on liquids and food. I hoped if I waited long enough perhaps the water issue would resolve and I had just enough water to get me there, I was happy not to run out beforehand.

IT DID. Shortly after 3pm McDonalds opened it doors. I took up residence in one of the booths and watched the temp creep up to 104 by 4:30pm. I wasn't planning on going out before it cooled off to 95.

Gas station round 1

Gas Station round 2

McDonalds round 1

McDonalds round 2

McDonalds round 3

I spent time reading, Facebooking, texting and eating. Another thru-hiker, Young Gun, came in with his parents who met him at Cajon Pass to say hi. We all chatted for a bit, then I left him to catch up with his parents. He's thru-hiking crazy miles, he's been out for 7 days and is averaging something like 47 miles a day. He'll be long gone by morning. 

One last trip to the gas station to stock up on snacks.

So I finally set out after 6pm, I resolved to a shorter day and hiked the 5.2 miles to the next water cache and called it a day. Chris was already camped out when I arrived, he also decided not to push it any further today.

Some pictures from this evenings hike

Tunnel of darkness...under the I-15

Tunnel of light

Day 18-24 hr calorie count

Now that I'm 18 days into my hike and eating like no ones business...especially on town stops, I was curious to what my 24hr calorie content was for 24hrs on the trail. Here it is:

Dried Pears 200cal

Kind Bar 190cal

Granola Bar 190cal

Bacon, egg, cheese grits 835cal

Root beer 170cal

Pepsi 150cal

7up 140cal

Trail mix 760cal

Rice and Bean + 1 pack of olive oil 670cal

For a grand total of: 3305cal

I'd say this day is a good representation of my normal caloric intake on trail. It's actually a little lower than I would have guessed...I feel like I'm constantly putting calories in and eating all the time. But then the days I'm in town and am eating less healthy and gigantic meals, I'm sure I'm adding 1000+ calories on those days.

PCT Day 18

Day 18, June 7th 

23 miles 

PCT mile 331

After soaking in the hot springs last night, I had one of my better sleeps. It seems the past week my night sleeps have been broken up and I've been tossing and turning quite a bit. Still didn't sleep through the night, but felt like I just slept sounder. With a few solid hours here and there. I'm hoping this is just a phase and my sleep will improve...you'd think I've exhausted myself enough everyday.

Today's hike was a fun one! 2 sections I really enjoyed was the 5 miles hiking out of Deep Creek Hot Springs along the river and then the hike around Silverwood Lake. See a theme here???...all my favorite sections so far involve bodies of water.

Deep Creek Springs Area

Silverwood Lakes

Around mile 15, I happened upon a water cache with some soda...I was fine with water, but happy to have an extra sugar boost. I chugged the root beer and saved the Pepsi for after my afternoon rest at the Cedar Springs Dam bridge. As I was coming into Cedar Springs, Chris was getting ready to head out, he had left earlier then I did this morning. I forced an hour rest upon myself as it was a hot day with not much shade.

Sugar!!!

Resting Selfie.

Later as I was hiking around Silverwood Lake I found another soda, 7up this time! And I couldn't resist. By the time I got finished hiking and had camp set up for the night I was so jacked up on sugar, it took me 2 hours to unwind and call it a night, which was nice for a change. Usually I'm so tired to do anything at night after hiking. I can't even remember a day I've had 3 sodas.

PCT Day 17

Day 17, June 6th

22 miles

PCT mile 308 -Deep Creek Hot Springs

I was really slow starting out today, cold mornings are hard for me to get going. I heard someone walking by me at 8am, I peeked out the tent and it was Chris. He said he also had a hard time getting an early start because it was so cold this morning - obviously not has hard as me as I wasn't even close to starting for the day. We both agreed we wanted to make the 22 miles to Deep Creek Hot Springs today. I wished Chris a good day and told him I'd be at least another 30 min. So 1hr and 20min later, I finally hit the trail.

Great hiking today the first 1/2 the day went by super fast the last 10 were a more of a struggle for me...this seems to be a very common theme. What I really need to do is start earlier so I can afford longer rest breaks during the day, lesson of the day, perhaps. I didn't see Chris until a mile before the hot springs, we hiked in the last mile together, we both still agreed we were camping here for the night. I was eager to get into the hot springs, so quickly set up camp. Then a nice long hour soak in the hot springs...nothing beats that after a long day of hiking. Can I have this every night please???

Soaking the feet, midday, in a stream

Breakfast