Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Sunny and mid-50s going up to 75.
Up at 5:45. On trail at 6:45.
I am bailing out this morning. It is 26 miles to the highway via PCT and very steep. I can’t make that with my breathing issues. I’m taking an old forest road in .6 miles that is mostly downhill, 7.6 miles to CA 38, and hitchhiking into Big Bear Lake or as close as possible. I’ll meet the tramily tomorrow evening in Big Bear and do a double zero.
Still having breathing issues this morning and dry heaves. No appetite, which is not good as I barely ate anything yesterday. Lovely.
I need to take a hard look at things and decide if my hike is done and it’s time to go home. More on that later.
Dry heaved more on the hike to the highway. Nauseous. This sucks.
The dirt road was trashed from the same hurricane that devastated Mission Creek. Major washouts across and down the road; the last half mile of road is GONE. The water washed away the road bed down at least 15 feet and left boulders, huge trees, and multiple landslides. The USFS camp at the bottom of the road near Hwy 38 is closed and possibly abandoned. Walking through there felt like walking through a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Got to Hwy 38 at 10:00 and got an Uber to Big Bear Lake at 10:40. Just barely had 1 bar of cell, so I count that as lucky. Got a NICE hotel for the next 2 nights while I figure out my plans.
Things got better once I got to Big Bear Lake at 11:15. I was able to check in at the Robin Hood Resort right away instead of 3:00. Lots of hikers in town but before tourist season, so things are very chill.
Got into the room and had the first of several long conversations with Pit Crew. I told her what happened the last 3 days and that I was 85% sure I was quitting the PCT and coming home. We talked through the whys and potential fixes, including medical treatment. I told her I would sleep on it. This is a very difficult emotional decision.
I showered, put on my only clean-ish clothes (my fleece pullover and rain pants), and had a light lunch. My stomach could not take much. Afterwards, I picked up some soda and snacks and rested in the hotel for several hours. I contacted my doctor and asked for a new prescription for my steroid inhaler. Fingers crossed on that! I felt better by 5:00 and had a huge, amazing steak dinner and HOT homemade salsa at a Mexican place a block away. Protein loading!
I got back to the room about 7:00 and had another long, deep conversation with Pit Crew. At this point, I am still leaning towards quitting the trail. I had a few drinks and dozed off by 8:30.
Technical Notes:
- Skittles: 120
- Propel: 1
- Real food in town
- Water liters: 2
- Miles: 7.39
- Time: 3:33
- Up: 577
- Down: 1634
- Calories consumed: tons
- Calories burned: 1265
- iPhone battery used: 70
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