Day 23
Today was a big sleep in day! I felt like I was in a fog when I woke up and saw it was 9!!! I heard lots of foot traffic and wanted to get up and moving to the hot springs. We left by 930 and pushed through the day to get to Deep Creek. I feel like this part was a blur – lots of small up and down and little to no shade. Small bushes and lots of thorns! We should have stopped at the big bridge where people go down and swim but I think I really just wanted to get to the springs. We tried to find a different spot near the water for lunch but nothing compared to that big swimming spot! I definitely felt grumpy and I know it’s because I was dehydrated.
We passed a huge group of people and I recognized Max, someone we started with on our first day who is from Bellingham! I also saw TomTom, a girl from Switzerland we were leap frogging with for a bit before Big Bear. The rest of the people I didn’t recognize but later I’d meet them all.
We hit 300 miles today! Someone took our picture and we kept on moving to our destination. The last bit went fast – I had my headphones in and tunnel vision for the hot springs. I hiked behind TomTom and then caught another group, hiking with them until we made it.
There were a lot of people enjoying the water so we found a place to camp, set up and headed down. I was definitely feeling some social anxiety but once we started talking to people things got better. I met Sergeant Pepper, a guy we think we saw on our first day as we started together! He’s also blogging for The Trek so we had lots to talk about.
The hot springs were amazing. There were so many of them! The main one was pretty full but right next to the creek so we took turns soaking our muscles and then jumping into the cold water. The sun was setting and there was a waterfall nearby. It was so beautiful and peaceful, looking around at the canyon and jumbo rocks.
Some other people we met and chatted with were Hell Yeah, Galloping, Zinger, Spooky, Yeti, Gaspard and Gil. Then, the Atlanta Crew arrived! I was ecstatic to see Vivi :). We hung out with them for a bit in the hot springs and then headed off to bed. As much as I wish I was more focused on the hiking part of the day, I’m so happy to be here at the hot springs!
Songs at the forefront of my mind: “Reason to Pretend”-Flipturn and “Burnout Days”-Flipturn
Day 24
Today was SUCH a rewarding day. It could top my other two fav days on trail so far!
It all starts at 2am….
I woke up, felt muscle soreness, saw moonlight and REALLY wanted to go in the hot springs. Noah and I slipped out of our tent and took a little night soak!! It was INCREDIBLE. The moonlight was so bright it was casting shadows. No one else was out so we had it to ourselves. 
We got back in bed around 3 and went back to sleep, no alarm! We woke up at 8 feeling incredible. Everyone was already up and most of them had left, but Vivi, Ben, Pigeon and Suds were there hanging out. We didn’t feel like getting in after our moonlight magic so we soaked our toes, filtered water, ate, checked out the other springs and headed out! The others were so cool and secluded, tucked away in the rocks.
Our hike today was beautiful, incredible, 9.8 out of 10. I powered through all day and felt so good! It feel like I got my sea legs, or I guess my STRIIIIDE!! We did 9 miles easily, meeting up with everyone for lunch. The views were unbelievable. We hiked out of the canyon and I didn’t use my headphones so I heard the creek the whole time. It made a HUGE difference. We also saw SO MANY FLOWERS! The most I’ve seen on trail so far! It was a dream come true, seeing spring happening on the trail.
Lunch was YUMMY. Max gave me a pop tart – TRULY the INCREDIBLE. He said he was tired of them??!? Granted, it was my first trail pop tart. We also filtered water and had a pb tortilla with granola. I was a ball of energy so we headed out before everyone.
The next 9ish miles went great too! We walked through the flowers – omg I forgot about the wind. I truly forgot wind existed for a few days but it reminded me it did today!! It was SO windy! And the breeze was COLD. We muscled through, doing 7 miles in under a two hours! The last bit was tough, as we left the flowery hilltops for a walk along the highway and then straight up to Silverwood Lake. We’re camping on the beach tonight! I’m so excited to fall asleep to waves.
The rest of the group is here with us, and we spent our dinner hanging out with Vivi, Ben, Pidgeon, Max, Jackson. Jackson’s from New Jersey! We had a great time watching Vivi make a burrito out of mashed potatoes, ramen and imitation crab.
The sunset was beautiful. I can’t believe I’m sleeping on a beach tonight. Another incredible day on the books!
Songs at the forefront of my mind: “Applause”-Lady Gaga and “Gimme More”-Britney Spears
Day 25
MCDONALDS DAAAAAAY! And boy did it not disappoint! Today I did my best trail mileage to minutes – 5.5 hours to hike 16 miles!
We hiked around the lake during sunrise and it was gorgeous. I loved the small up and down with the beautiful views at every turn, the clouds rolling in with the sun and the mountains in the distance. The flowers were beautiful and the trees were green and luscious – spring is doing her thing for sure.
The landscape changed quickly, turning to clouds and lots of wind as we wound our way up a huge cliff with 360 degree views. Then came a tough downhill part, all the way to Cajon Pass. At this point I was lightening – speeding so fast because I had mcnuggets on the brain. I pulled away from Noah and some others, practically running downhill. We walked under a transmission tower, snapped a photo, and then I wiped out. The photo is great tho!
We were the first to arrive to McDonalds. Noah got a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Spicy McCrispy, two McDoubles, 20 McNuggets, a Big Mac, a Large Fry, McFlurry, Frappe and two Large Dr Peppers.
I, on the other hand, got a Deluxe Double Quarter Pounder, McCrispy, a Medium Fry, 20 McNuggets, a Small Fanta and a McFlurry. It was EVERYTHING.
Everyone filtered in, and soon we were sitting with Spooky. Spooky is from New Zealand, and we’re moving there at the end of the trail! We spent a few hours chatting with him and I was really excited to get to know him. The guy ate THREE MCFLURRYS. That’s like a gallon of milk!!
After spending way too long at McDonalds, we hit the trail for another 5 miles – this time with Spooky. We talked the whole way and it went by so fast! Spooky also got a very cute photo of us, Titanic style.
We made it to our campground for the night, and it had chairs and a water cache. Noah and I stretched and prepared dinner, and soon the group was sitting in a circle, hanging out. It’s been so nice meeting new people and socializing. I think it’s just what I needed on trail.
Tomorrow is a town day! We’re headed to Wrightwood, and Zinger’s parents are visiting her from Michigan. We’re debating spending a night or not, but I think we’ll end up spending a night. The big group got an Airbnb but we might hop in on TomTom’s room!
Songs at the forefront of my mind: “Let it Go”-James Bay and “Maine”-Noah Kahan
Day 26
Today was my favorite day on trail FOR REAL I PROMISE and that is because of COMMUNITY 
I had such a fulfilling day and that is all because of the people that I was surrounded by today.
I woke up and the tent was pretty soaked. Outside because it rained; inside because of condensation. We were up by 640 and on the move by 715. We had only 9 miles today, plus the 2 it took to get to the dirt road where we were going to hitch to. Noah and I left a few people after us and got a quick start, bypassing breakfast and opting for water and mileage. I was still full from last nights chicken nuggets honestly…
I don’t really remember counting mileage, other than going from 9 to 6.4 to 2.8 and then 1.5. I don’t know id that means anything to anyone, but to me it is a small number of checks, meaning I was having a great time not checking!!
It was so foggy and cloudy we couldn’t see 10 feet in front of ourselves. We passed some of the group, then caught up to Spooky and hiked the last 4ish miles together. It went by so fast because there wasn’t much to look at other than clouds, fog and my feet. We talked about favorite foods and desserts, movies, tv shows, music and more. It went so fast! By the time we got down the 2 mile dirt road, Zinger’s parents were graciously waiting for us. They gave us the first ride into town!
Coming into town felt surreal. Going from fog and clouds to a sunny day was crazy!
They dropped us off in town and the three of us got Grizzly Cafe. Dr. Pepper, pickle, sandwich with AVOCADO and coleslaw provided by Spooky. What a great start to the day!
We went and aired out our tents then resupplied and stopped at the hardware store, where I found a leftover bottle of tequila in a hiker box. I took it, for sure.
We saw some other people, including TomTom (who we’re staying with), Max and some people we saw in Big Bear.
We walked up with Spooky to the Airbnb because our room wasn’t ready yet and we hung out there for an hour and a half. Vivi, Ben and Pidgeon joined and we drank beers and had some tequila.
We walked down to our room and showered and I got to talk to some friends and family, then we headed back up to the Airbnb with some beers for CHILI NIGHT!!!! That’s right, we had family dinner – rice, chili, guac, cheese, chips, the whole deal. We went around and gave our high low buffalo and then watched Napoleon Dynamite. I’m so glad to have been brought into this group of people- everyone is beyond kind and inclusive. This week started in kind of a blur for me, but I’m ending it feeling more purpose and that’s because of the community I find myself surrounded by.
No songs today just gooood town vibes
Day 27
Today was part 2 of Wrightwood ending in a beautiful sunset a few miles from the peak of Baden Powell.
I woke up early but had an incredible sleep in a bed! I chatted with my brother on the phone for a bit and then got to work on my blog. I posted it, showered and then we packed up and walked into town for a free coffee (!!!) and up to the Airbnb. We hung out with everyone for a bit and Sergeant Pepper made us breakfast sandwiches which were delicious! Then we all headed down to a free tai chi class – Zinger’s parents drove us and I think 9 of us crammed in the car (I was in the trunk alongside TomTom, Spooky and Pidgeon). Class was awesome! We all had a great time and the room was full.
After class, we headed over for our free hot dogs, got a sticker and magnet (a tradition we’ve been keeping for years), some postcards, then headed back up to the Airbnb. We did our laundry (FIRST TIME SINCE WE STARTED!!!!) and hung out until 3 because we had an angel taking us up to the trailhead. I ate some food, laid in the sun, talked to my mom and prepared to get back on trail.
The ride we got was lowkey chaos. Our trail angel was the best for taking us, but he was a bit aggressive driving and soon I was carsick. Me, Noah, TomTom and Gil got the ride (we all stayed together last night too!) and we hiked up to our campsite together. I had some nice conversation with Gil, then we all took a short break on these cool chairs carved out of tree stumps, then did the last 2 miles together. Our campsite is beautiful! We all ate dinner together and watched the sunset, then decided to wake up early for sunrise at the top of Baden Powell.
This is also where I got my trail name…. awarded to me by TomTom! While we were sitting there watching sunset and preparing dinner, I realized I didn’t bring my water over to add to my instant potatoes. Instead, I had my water that had a sugar free Kool Aid Cherry packet in it. I didn’t think it tasted much like cherry, so I added it to the potatoes, thinking it would be fine.
IT WAS AWFUL. And I added a ton of other shit to it, like a beef and broccoli seasoning packet, chips…etc. It looked like sorbet. It was so bad that I couldn’t even finish it – I scraped all the bits I added off the top then added oats to it and MORE CHERRY WATER for breakfast. Horrible decision.
Alas, my trail name is Cherry. I think it’ll stick? We’ll see!
I miss everyone else in town and am feeling sad to go ahead without them (Vivi especially), but I think we’re all going to the same campground tomorrow. I’m also feeling excited to summit for sunrise so I know it was a good decision.
Songs at the forefront of my mind: “Strawberry Wine”- Noah Kahan “Big Yellow Taxi”-Counting Crows
Day 28
We summited Mount Baden-Powell just as the sun rose this morning!! It was hard and snowy but the tracks were good and I was trying my hardest to make it for sunrise.
We woke up at 430 and were on trail by 5. We were first ones out which I was surprised by! It took us half an hour to do half a mile. That’s when I realized we might miss the beginning of sunrise so I LOCKED IN, bringing knowledge from my dance major that “my pelvis is the heaviest thing and therefore needs to move first if you want to go fast” and boy did that work. We had some tough snowy patches to cross, and I definitely took some shortcuts because at one point I was following tracks straight up.
When we got to the summit we enjoyed the sunrise, and also spent some time watching the shadow of the mountain we were standing on. I called my mom and got to say Happy Easter to her and my 101 year old grandmother
We settled in to eat and wait for TomTom and Gil to arrive. I grabbed my sleeping bag and popped in, not expecting to nap for an hour. I woke up around 745 to see TomTom and Gil packing up.
Noah and I didn’t really have plans for a long day so we decided to celebrate the holiday and stayed for another two hours (another nap!!!). We woke up at 10 shocked to have slept that long, then hit the trail. The next 6 miles traversed snowy terrain but tracks were good, even if my knee was not. 
We took a break at the top of sheep mountain, looking out at a beautiful view. I spent more time appreciating nature today because I know we’re leaving the forest soon. I also loved being on top of Baden Powell! I could see LA and I enjoyed catching glimpses on the rest of our hike down.
We arrived to Little Jimmy Spring at 2, filled up and headed to the campsite. We’ve been here since, getting a fire going because we know everyone else is planning on making it here today. I’m super hungry but know if I eat everything I won’t have enough for the next few days :/
I’m excited about tomorrow! I’m honestly excited to get my friend Anthony’s resupply in a few days, but that’s way too far from now.
Songs at the forefront of my mind: “Good Days”-SZA and “The Black Dog”-Taylor Swift
Week 4 was such a fulfilling week. I’ve made a bunch of new friends, I’m hitting my stride and my body feels great. Mount Baden-Powell felt easy. It was definitely strenuous, but my body was prepared and I feel so good knowing that I can do all of this! I’m really happy we met Spooky – he’s convinced us to move to Christchurch where he lives in NZ. Gonna be a lot of fun hiking with him in the next few weeks and being able to see him past the trail!
