Tag: PCT Southern California Desert

Sunday, May 17, 2026. 50 degrees and cloudy headed for 62.

Up at 5:15. New breakfast drink is pretty good. Packed, used camp bathroom, and on trail at 6:30.

My hip is bothering me today. Pulled something. Just need to walk slow.

YouTube video overlooking Cajon Pass.

Got off the trail for the .4 side hike to McDonald’s at noon-ish. Passed by old Route 66.

We reached McDonald’s at 12:15. This is the most famous McDonald’s on the PCT. 

Tons of hikers stop here to eat, rest, recharge electronics, and socialize. We get all kinds of odd looks from normal customers. Brad, me, Mash, Jacob, Niaal, and 12 others. 

Infinity, Kellie, TJ, Bonk, Brian are skipping Wrightwood altogether; they are afraid of Noro Virus. There is so much FUD out here. Noro is common on the AT, and people here are freaking like it’s the Black Death. Noro is easy to avoid with basic common sense. 

I rented a house Monday and Tuesday night. It has 4 bedrooms, 6 beds, 2 baths, and multiple sofas. There will be 5 of us Monday and at least 3 Tuesday. It has its own washer and dryer. That is a huge bonus. Very close to the businesses in town, which is why I picked it. I won’t be surprised if we add a few more people tomorrow.

We got back on trail at 1:50 after a big lunch and a good rest. 

Hiked another 5.7 miles, mainly uphill, crossing train tracks several times. Cajon Pass is a critical major train route out of the LA / Oakland ports. Constant freight trains 24×7.

Reached camp at the last water cache at 4:30. Hips hurt, feet hurt. I’m not going anymore today. The youngsters are doing 5 more miles or more. I’ll just have to deal with a big climbing day tomorrow when I’m rested. Love the chairs that the trail angels provided.

We are camping in a dry river bed, and I took a great spot behind some big shrubs. Those two things will help cut the wind. It’s been very windy all afternoon. 

Met a trail angel who helps maintain the cache here. Noro fears abound. It’s really getting annoying. 

Tomorrow is 16.2 miles all uphill on the PCT, followed by 2.7 miles down a blue blaze VERY downhill into town, and another 1-mile walk to the rental house. Hope to be at the house by 4:00 at the latest. Zero water until we reach town, so big water carry day.

Had McDonald’s leftovers and snacks for dinner. Lightening up my pack for tomorrow. It’s cold and damp this evening. Huddling in my tent.

Technical Notes:

• Protein Shake (10oz): 330 cal, 19g carb, 13.5g fat, 36g protein 
• Mango (3-4p, 49g): 140 kcal, 35g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
• Mango (3-4p, 49g): 140 kcal, 35g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per 
• Skittles (2.17oz): 250 kcal, 56g carb, 2.5 g fat, 0g protein 
• McDonald’s 
• Two cheeseburgers 600
• 20 nuggets 940
• Two Dr Pepper 400
• 10 nuggets 470
• Fritos (32p, 27g): 160 kcal, 16g carb, 10g fat, 2g protein 
• Fritos (32p, 27g): 160 kcal, 16g carb, 10g fat, 2g protein 
• Jerky (2 oz): 140 kcal, 12g carb, 0g fat, 22g protein 
• Water liters: 3.5
• Miles: 20.36
• Time: 10:00
• Up: 3346
• Down: 3219
• Calories consumed: 3800
• Calories burned: 3669
• iPhone battery used: 50%

Saturday, May 16, 2026. 40 degrees and sunny.

Up at 6:15. Walked to the Teddy Bear for breakfast at 7:15. Steady and Gandalf were there with their trail angels. They said they just saw Camel and Mother Nature headed out of town this morning. I have not seen those two since before San Jacinto.

Got picked up by my driver at 9:15. We have about a 1:15 drive. It took longer due to the cloud and fog coming up out of the greater LA valley. Beautiful drive.

Got dropped at 10:45. Ran late due to fog snd clouds rolling up and covering the mountains from San Bernardino. 

I can see Mount Baden Powell in the distance. It’s still snow-capped. Not looking to climbing that in several days.

Hiked .3 miles UP to the trail to wait for Brad. While I was waiting, Niaal and Jacob were passing by. I had not seen them in a week. They do 20+ miles daily.

Ran into Margarita and Mash a bit before noon. 

Skittles and mango at noon. I’m trying to eat more and do better on nutrition.

Joined up with Brad about 12:05 and we headed to the campsite. It’s a weekend, so we are worried it may be full. Fingers crossed.

Well damn. 

Stopped at 2:00 for lunch in the shade with Brad and Infinity. Yum. We have 6 miles to camp assuming there are spots left. We only stayed 30 minutes due to the wind. 

We walked about halfway around the lake to the campground. Not a bad hike, minimal uphill. 

Checked into camp with the rangers at 4:45. Nice camping for $10. Setup with a bunch of folks we know by 5:30. More will join us later. 

Brad, me, Mash, Niaal, Jacob ordered pizza delivery. Delivery should be here about 7:00. 

Margarita and Infinity arrived too and Kellie will be here soon. They are also ordering pizza.

This campground is full this weekend. About 70 campsites. Most are the big car camping tents and a handful of smaller campers. Lots of families. 

Pizza arrived after 2 hours. Starving and ate in the dark with headlamps, but it was fun.

I only hiked 11.5 miles today, but I felt really good. I was nervous about how my lungs would do. Did well. Hopefully things will stay good!

Tomorrow is the big McDonald’s day. It is .4 miles off the PCT and people do the McDonald’s challenge. Eat nothing but McDonald’s takeout until reaching Wrightwood. I’m in!

Technical Notes:

• Apple juice 226
• Coffee 40
• Pastrami hash 600
• Eggs x 2 220
• Skittles 125, 28g carb
• Mango 70, 17g carb
• Tortilla: 140 kcal, 24g carb, 3g fat, 4g protein 
• Tuna: 90 kcal, 4-7g carb, 1g fat, 14-16g protein 
• Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein 
• Fatty beef stick 150 kcal, 1.5 g carb, 11.5g fat, 10g protein Fatty beef
• Pizza and Pepsi 2200
• Water liters: 2.5
• Miles: 11.74
• Time: 6:00
• Up: 1857
• Down: 1706
• Calories consumed: 4000
• Calories burned: 2429
• iPhone battery used: 60%

Friday, May 15, 2026. Last full day in Big Bear Lake.

Up at 6:30. Nice, sunny, cool morning again. 

I had breakfast at the Teddy Bear, then picked up USPS flat-rate shipping boxes.

Packed my food bag for 3 days, except for breakfast, which is arriving from Amazon later today. 

Flushed the filter and organized gear. I lost a water bottle somewhere. 

Packed USPS packages for home and for Wrightwood. 

I had a light lunch and coffee at The Copper Q in Big Bear Lake. 

Booked transportation back to the trail tomorrow. I will meet Brad around 10:30, hopefully a little earlier, at a PCT road crossing at mile 314.3.

Chilled the rest of the afternoon while waiting on my Amazon package. The town had been very quiet all week, but things started to jump for the weekend. I even had neighbors for the first time all week.

Bought a new water bottle and more Skittles…mmmmm…carbs. Packed some of my gear. 

Taste-tested Uncle Ben’s rice, cold-soaked in warm water for 40 minutes. Pretty good and will be perfect with tuna or jerky added. Nice 54g of carbs, 250 calories, and under 3oz including packaging. Adding this to my lunch options!

Joined the Friday Zoom at 3:00. Happy hour with some great friends. Thanks everybody!

I was getting stressed about the packages as the post office closed at 5:00. The Amazon package arrived at the front desk at 4:25. I hurried over there, got the package, mixed up 3 days’ worth of breakfast smoothie in zip-lock bags to hike with, sealed the larger bags of powder mix into USPS shipping boxes, and hauled it over to the post office. No line, so I was out of the post office at 4:50. That was close!

I poured olive oil into my fancy new leak-proof container (same container I use in my trailer), finished packing my gear, and had a chat with the Pit Crew. I’m pretty much ready to hit the trail tomorrow. A little nervous about that.

Headed to a Burger and Brews place for dinner around 6:00. Getting touristy in town.

I ran into Gandalf and Steady at the restaurant and had drinks with them. They are thinking at a slower pace and it was a pleasant surprise to see them again. Have not seen them since I-10. We are all leaving town tomorrow, just at very different times. 

Stopped for more food at the Mexican restaurant on the way home. Watched TV until 10:30.

Thursday, May 14, 2026.

Up at 6:15. Clear and upper 50s.

Working on healing and logistics today. I did a lot of research on food and nutrition, with an emphasis on things I will actually eat. I think I have a decent plan. Adding more carbs and fat for meals and snacks is a big goal. Going with dried bananas and dried mango for breakfast additions and snacks. Found out that Skittles are super high in carbs, so I got that going for me. I’m going to try doing a tortilla with pepperoni or tuna for lunch. And adding olive oil to dinner and maybe breakfast. A few other modifications as well.

Had another nice breakfast at Teddy Bear. Love that place. 

Placed an Amazon order for my breakfast protein drink ingredients. Only things I could buy in town were in 1.5lb quantities. That ain’t gonna work. Also had to order a good leakproof container for olive oil. That all arrives tomorrow.

Extended my stay until Saturday. I have a game plan on where to meet the gang around 10-11 Saturday morning about 50 miles up the trail at a road crossing.

Taped up the mat that goes under my air mattress. The thorn trees around San Jacinto did a job on it. Gotta love duct tape.

Took the bus to the grocery store for resupply including a sealed container for making my new breakfast.

Back to the hotel and taste tested a few new food items for lunch. Also experimenting with cold disking Uncle Ben’s rice cups. It will work, just need to test how palatable it is. Will be a great lunch if I can make it work.

My Amazon order of LMNT electrolytes arrived around 3:30. Need to figure out where I can send more up the trail. 

Broke down all my food into meal or snack size Ziploc bags. Need to do the same for breakfast drink tomorrow when it arrives. I only have 3 days until next town, so I’m shipping a lot up the trail tomorrow afternoon. 

Had a long call with Pit Crew, got blogs posted, and had a lovely Mexican dinner. Home and watched movies online until 10:30.

Wednesday, May 13, 2026.

Up at 6:00. Nothing like 11 hours of sleep. Had to wait for restaurants to open. Made a plan for the day. Haircut, laundry, outfitter, pharmacy, grocery store.

Got a text from my doctor that they sent my corticosteroid inhaler prescription to the local CVS. Yes!! Time zones are working for me.

I had a major attitude reset this morning. Amazing what 11 hours of sleep, good nutrition, hydration, and a large dose of steroids can do for you! Last night I had basically decided to quit the PCT. The last 3 days with the respiratory issues, coupled with whatever made me weak, nauseous, and unable to eat sucked big time. In retrospect, I think the respiratory and nutrition issues started to hit slowly 5 days ago on the ascent of Mount San Jacinto. Factor in 100-degree desert heat and lack of water and all this was a recipe for disaster.

I’m loading up on protein the next few days. I am fairly certain I have started to burn muscle instead of fat. I’m down 20 lbs and 2 inches on the waist. Not good and helps explain my muscle fatigue the last 3 days on trail. Basically, I need more protein and more fat in my diet. And I need a big protein bump in the morning.

A favorite quote of mine is “if nothing changes, then nothing changes”. I plan to make several changes to my diet going forward. I need to try for 3000 calories, 150g protein, 75-100g fat. 

• I’m going to try a breakfast protein going forward. 
• I’m adding a fatty meat like pepperoni or hard salami for lunch. That helps both the protein and fat intake.
• I’m carrying olive oil and adding 1-2 TBS to my dinner, yielding 120-240 calories, 14g fat.
• I’m also experimenting with high-protein ramen that I found here in town. Double the protein and fat intake of the normal ramen.
• Of course, I add a protein like tuna in oil (140 cal, 8g fat, 17g protein) or spam (230 cal, 21g fat, 9g protein) to the ramen.

The other issue is hydration and electrolytes. I’m making a big change to the electrolytes. I’m moving from Propel (230mg sodium, 60mg potassium, 0mg magnesium) to LMNT (1000mg sodium, 200mg potassium, 60mg magnesium). That will be helpful in the desert.

Aside from nutrition and hydration, I am back to the corticosteroid inhaler daily on top of my Albuterol inhaler. I now have a 30-day supply and will arrange a refill on that when I get to Tehachapi, CA. 

Relearning some lessons from my AT thru-hike. That’s enough change for now. I’ll pay more attention to diet going forward. Now back to our regularly scheduled trail log.

I plan to stay in Big Bear until Friday or Saturday morning (3-4 days). That gives the meds time to work their magic. I plan to skip about 80-100 miles of PCT and rejoin the tramily on the trail. There are 3 good options for that ride to the trail. Not sure exactly which it will be, but it will be an expensive shuttle or Uber. 

I extended my room at the Robin Hood Resort to Friday with an option for Saturday. It depends on how long it takes all the meds to get my body back to a good state and where I can reconnect with the tramily.

It’s a lovely sunny 65 degrees in Big Bear Lake this morning. I walked a block to a great little diner called Teddy Bear Restaurant. I had steak and eggs. Yum.

I walked around the village to scope things out. I stopped at an outfitter and picked up socks. Brad and Margarita texted me that they were having breakfast back at Teddy Bear Restaurant, so I walked back and had coffee with them. They and Kellie, infinity, TJ, and a bunch more are at the hostel 10 minutes away. Not sure if leaving tomorrow or zeroing.  The plan is to all meet up for dinner or drinks later.

I took the free bus to the laundromat with BFG (Big Freakin German) and a couple we met on day 1 in Campo. There were tons of hikers in town. I window shopped at one grocery store. I’m planning a big diet change. I found most of what I need except electrolytes and breakfast protein drink ingredients. I may need to order from Amazon. 

I grabbed lunch at a nice little Italian place next to the laundromat while waiting on laundry to dry. I stopped at CVS for a steroid inhaler on my way back to the hotel. I’m hoping this kicks the asthma’s ass.

I did a bunch of major blog updates. I will post them tomorrow as I won’t have much else to do alone in town. 

I just talked to Brad. The hostel where the gang is staying includes dinner later, so they’re eating in. I’m going to walk over there now for drinks and pick up beer on the way. I’ll eat dinner in town later. 

Had a nice time talking with Kellie, Infinity, Margarita, Brad, Hell Yeah, Dancer, and others at the hostel for a couple of hours. Everyone was very encouraging about staying on trail and rejoining them in a few days up trail. 

Walked back into town at 8:00 while chatting with Pit Crew and stopping at the hotel. It was 8:30 when I got back to the restaurant area and most places close at 9:00, so I ended up back at The Teddy Bear, which is open late. No complaints. It is pot roast night. More protein. Yum.

Home and in bed at 10:00. More logistics and healing tomorrow.

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

Monday, May 11, 2026. 

TRIGGER WARNING (mainly for my mother) 😀

Things sound bad on this and the next 2 trail logs, and they are bad. But I don’t die, I get off the trail, and I get over it all. 

Up at 5:00. On the trail at 6:00.

The day started out well. Brad and I made decent time through the initial Mission Creek section. We will hike this all day. Some people say that this is one of the hardest days on the PCT due to the damage. Here is the official PCT warning:

Storm damage along Whitewater and Mission Creeks in Sand to Snow National Monument alert:

In August 2023, the remnants of Hurricane Hilary caused significant damage to portions of the PCT within Sand to Snow National Monument.  

The damage in the affected stretch (Nobo mile 216 to 241) particularly impacts the Whitewater and especially Mission Creek drainages. Reports indicate that the most significant impacts to travel may be in the upper portion of North Fork Mission Creek (~mile 235-238).  

A range of challenges include major trail washouts, substantial debris accumulation, erosion of trail entrances and exits along the riverbed, and in some instances, complete trail disappearance.

This is some hard, nasty trail. The actual trail is OBLITERATED. The flash floods ate away the trail that used to be about 25-50 feet up on the riverbank. There is no riverbank anymore. Just water-blasted base rock, landslides, and boulders ranging from basketball to dishwasher size everywhere. And where there isn’t rock, there is loose sand and gravel that is very difficult to walk in. It’s all at an ever-increasing angle upward to camp. As we got closer to camp, the ravine narrows. That narrowing caused the flood damage to increase. This damage is incredible and hard to show in still photos.

My bad day began again after about mile 5. I had to stop every .5 miles or a bit less. 

We took a 1-hour break in the shade with Kellie and Infinity. We ate a bit. We were dreading the next 4.5 miles uphill to camp.

Had to stop every .1 miles for the last 4 miles today.  My asthma issues flared up massively. Hard to catch my breath, and we are at over 7000 feet. Asthma plus 7000 feet elevation plus 5299 feet of elevation gain today makes for a very bad day. The breathing issues also cause muscle problems in the legs. 

We made it to camp at 6:45. That last mile took us over an hour. This sucks. Kellie, Infinity, Margarita, Hell Yeah, Chinchilla, BFG, and others were here. All concerned about me. Exhausted. Ate a small dinner and crawled into bed. 

Once again, Brad stuck with me. I had no bailout options for the last two days. The hike to the next town is 26 miles with a 16-mile water carry. I can’t do that. I found a dirt road .6 miles up the trail that leads 7.4 miles mostly downhill to Hwy 38, where I can hitch to Big Bear Lake. I plan to get off the trail in the morning after the gang leaves and then figure out my future on the PCT. Needless to say, something had to change.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts 340
• Jerky 100
• Jerky 100
• Fatty Beef stick 210
• Dehydrated ground beef 100
• Curry noodles 300
• Propel x 3
• Water liters: 8
• Miles: 1439
• Time: 13:00
• Up: 5299
• Down: 466
• Calories consumed: 1150
• Calories burned: 5005
• iPhone battery used: 50

Sunday, May 10, 2026. Clear and 75 going up to 100.

Up at 4:30. On trail at 5:00. We hiked out in the dark with headlamps for the first hour.

We walked through the wind farm for about 3 miles. 

We got to the top of the first nasty 5-mile climb by 7:25. That final .3 miles was a 24% grade! We avoided the morning sun and heat, which was our goal. It is going up to 100 today. 

We ran into Infinity, Kellie, and Chinchilla about .75 miles from the top. 

We reached the Whitewater River at 9:45 and 10.5 miles. We found a huge boulder with shade to hang out in. Dumped our packs and walked .2 miles to the water for a soak. The water is cold and wet. 

Infinity, Kellie, Chinchilla, BFG, and Bedazzled were at the boulder when we got back. Margarita arrived followed later by Hell Yeah and Brian. Nothing to do but rest, sleep, and watch the desert bake until the temperature drops.

We left for the next water and camp 6 miles away at 4:00.

This is where things started to go south. I was going great all day until we started hiking again. Long story short, I struggled to get to camp. Five of those six miles were uphill and I got weak, nauseous, and was having some breathing problems. I had to stop A RIDICULOUS number of times to rest on the uphills. Not sure what the issue was. 

We got to camp at 7:30. Yes, 3.5 hours to go, 6  bloody miles. Brad stuck with me the entire time. Thanks, amigo! We met Kellie, Infinity, Margarita, and BFG at camp by Mission Creek.

My appetite was off. I had about 1/2 of my normal dinner. I crawled into bed at 8:45. We need to start early tomorrow to beat the heat.

Damn hard, frustrating afternoon. Only 6 miles, but I struggled and did not feel well. I had heat and dehydration issues. Also, I had asthma issues for the first time in over a year. It was a bad end to an otherwise good day.

Technical Notes:

• Pop Tarts: 170
• Slim Jim: 350
• Skittles: 220
• Peak Refuel: 600
• Propel x 2
• Water liters: 9
• Miles: 17.93
• Time: 14:23
• Up: 4262
• Down: 2539
• Calories consumed: 1300
• Calories burned: 5276
• iPhone battery used: 50