*these posts are coming straight from trail, I apologize in advance for typos!*
Location: The Desert
Start: Vincent Gap – 374.0
End: Little Jimmy Campground – 383.9
Miles: 9.9
Ascent: 3256 | Descent: 2355
Sleep: Tent
It feels good to be back on trail! After several days in town I was ready to be back in the simple routine of hiking. Town is great, but I honestly always feel a little anxious sitting around because I feel like I should be doing something. In trail I’m always moving forward and resting also feels productive. I’m grateful for the rest and relaxation town affords, but I came out here to hike so I’m glad to be doing that again.
I woke up early this morning so I could have time to drink coffee and get some work done in my phone before everyone else woke up. The rest of the house started waking up around 7am and we had leftover pasta and chicken for breakfast. Thankfully we had mostly packed up the night before so we just had to tidy the AirBnB and do small stuff like refill our water bottles. Our shuttle drivers, Christy and Dale, arrived just before 9am and we were in a dash out the door.
Gooey and U-Turn road with Christy and Hangman, Pinky, Truffles, and I rode with Dale. Pimento didn’t feel up to hiking out on his ankle. Late was supposed to come with us but decided to stay in town an extra day last minute. Our ride was about 45 minutes long and was very curvy, Pinky and Truffles both said they felt very carsick. Dale told us more about the 2024 Bridge fire that closed the section of trail we were being shuttled around.
The drivers dropped us off Fenner Cam/Big Rock Creek and we were hiking just after 10am. We had a steep forest service road to hike up for the next 3ish miles. It was hard but thankfully it went by pretty quickly since U-Turn and I chatted intermittently about her life in Belgium.
We all made to Vincent Gap to rejoin the trail around 11am. Hwy 2 is closed for construction but thankfully the gap had picnic tables and pit toilets. My new shoes are giving me blisters on the backs of my heels so I took some time to tape them before eating a snack. We all milled about for a while before starting the 4.5 mile climb up Baden-Powell.
I remember hearing somewhere that there are 33 switchbacks to the top of Baden-Powell. I did my best to count as I climbed. The ascent today felt very challenging. Im not sure if it was because we were hiking around 8-9000” or because we’d taken several days off, but I felt very sluggish and my legs got tired quickly. I kept climbing with several breaks along the way, all the while counting the switchbacks.
Our group stooped at the Lamel Spring to top off on water. As i was hiking back to the trail, I saw a guy hiking up the trail. It was Punisher! We did the AT the same year jn 2021 and although I don’t know if we actually met, I’ve been following him on Instagram ever since. He is currently attempting a calendar year triple crown. He did the Florida trail and then the AT, just stopping in the Whites to flip over to the PCT to check it off the list. I was pleasantly surprised he took the time to stop and talk to me and the rest of the crew when they came up from the spring. He was super nice and I’m so happy to have run into him. We knew from his instagram posts that he was getting close, but never dreamed we’d actually see him on trail!
After our trail celebrity encounter we continued hiking around switchbacks. I made it all the was to 28 before I lost count in the snow. Thankfully the snow wasn’t bad near the top, but it was still covering the trail in a majority of places. I went slow and managed to stay upright without slipping in the sludge. I lost sight of the trail multiple times and just had to follow shoe prints.
Finally I reached the trail to the summit. It was short and steep but it was so worth it. 360 views from the top made for an epic lunch spot. On one side we were looking down into the desert, in the other we were looking back at other mountains we’d already passed like San Gorgino and San Jacinto. We could even make out a little bit of the LA skyline! We stayed up top for about an hour before beginning the descent.
Thankfully the rest of the day passed quickly. I listened to my audiobook and listened as excited to get to camp. The views as we descended along the ridge were stunning and kept my attention as my knees started to hurt. We made it to the Little Jimmy Spring and were so impressed with it. There was a flowing spring with a large and accessible pipe to collect water from, plus multiple benches to filter water at. Truffles, U-Turn, and I filled to on water and then made the short hike over to the Little Jimmy Campground.
This is a wonderful campground! We are tucked in the conifer trees, there’s ample tent sites, plus picnic tables and pit toilets. The rest of the group arrived and we ate dinner at a picnic table before heading to the tents for bed. We did close to 13 miles today, but just under 10 actual trail miles.
Location: The Desert
Start: Little Jimmy Campground – 383.9
End: Sulphur Springs Trail Camp – 406.6
Miles: 22.7
Ascent: 3455 | Descent: 5694
Sleep: Tent
We woke up early to try and get a head start on the day. We were on trial around 6:30am. Gooey, Truffles, and I hiked together for the majority of the morning. After the first couple miles the trail crossed Highway 2. We saw on the map that we could walk on the road to cut out a climb, so we opted for the road walk.
It reminded me of our road walks through Shenandoah and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We could see sprawling mountain vistas off to one side and dramatic rock outcroppings on the other. A DOT dump truck drove by and the driver pulled over to offer us trail magic. At first we thought he was just giving us his lunch, but he was insistent that he brings snacks just for hikers. It was so unexpected and random, it absolutely made my day!
The road took us through tunnels and past “day use” trialheads every few miles. These were awesome because there were picnic tables, trash cans, and lit rompers at almost all of them. It was a good thing we had access to so many pit toilets because Gooey’s stomach was upset all day…
We continued road walking, this time around a section of trail that was closed due to endangered frogs. We were all feeling good and in good spirits, even Gooey. We stopped for water and bathrooms at Buckhorn Campground and Gooey took a turn for the worse. He said his stomach was cramping but he said he thought he’d be fine and said he’d catch up later.
We hiked on, this time alternating between the trail and the road since the two crisscrossed so much. We left the road for the final time and hit the 400 mile marker! These milestones feel less exciting to me than they did on the AT… maybe it’s because I understand how much trail is in front of me, or maybe I’m just jaded. It’s still exciting but I’m trying to stay realistic and keep my expectations in check, it’s a long ways to Canada.
Shortly after the mile marker we stopped at Camp Glenwood. This small “camp” was occupied by the president, Brad, who greeted us warmly and asked if we wanted hot dogs. We eagerly agreed and he fired up the grill for us while telling us about the camp. Apparently the building was erected in the 1930s and was a school house before it was moved to the current location in the 1950s and became the camp. They mainly host Scout groups (and hungry hikers).
We enjoyed our hotdogs and Brad’s company before moving to the picnic tables and eating more food. We sat and rested for a while before embarking on the final stretch for the day. We only had 6 miles till camp but it dragged on. In reality we made great time and it only took 2 hours for us to get to camp, but those two hours seemed to last forever.
My news shoes have given me awful blisters on the backs on my heels, and all the road walking today had my feet feeling extra tender. I didn’t think we were ever going to make it to camp. Finally we reached the junction and made our way to a very “primitive” campsite.
Not long after we arrived, a guy we didn’t recognize came over to ask we knew Gooey. He told us that he and his friends had found Gooey still at the campground where we left him throwing up and having a really hard time. They helped get him to the road and get him a ride into town since they thought he likely had noro virus .
This news was shocking to us! We knew Gooey wasn’t feeling good, he had been pooling all throughout the day and said his stomach was cramping. We never imagined his symptoms would worsen, he was in good spirits when we left. We all felt so guilty for leaving him, and also started worrying that maybe we too had been infected.
The rest of the evening passed with a sense of anxiety. We all vocalized plans for what we would do if we woke up with diarrhea or vomiting. We were able to message Gooey from Hangman’s Garmin and he said he was okay just trying to figure out what was wrong. We are all hoping maybe he actually has food poisoning or something and that we aren’t all also infected. He is safe in town and being taken care of. What a crummy ending to the day…
Location: The Desert
Start: Sulphur Springs Trail Camp – 406.6
End: Tentsite – 427.0
Miles: 20.4
Ascent: 3098 | Descent: 2923
Sleep: Tent
Today felt like another long but good day. We all seemed a little weary coming out of our tents this morning, but everyone perked up when no one reported have any stomach problems overnight. I had a hard time falling asleep because I was afraid I was going to wake up vomiting or with extreme diarrhea, but once I fell asleep I slept great.
We got moving around 6:30am and were excited because a comment on FarOut said there would be train magic at 10am at a road crossing 7 miles up the trail. We knew that would time out perfectly with our day so we spent the morning dreaming of hotdogs and cold beer.
U-Turn, Truffles, and I hiked on the trail while Pinky and Hangman took the forest service road. The climb wasn’t bad, and I’m glad we got it over with before the heat set in. We got some great views the further up we climbed.
Near the top of the hill was our spring, but it was also infested with bees. This was the most amour of bees I’ve ever seen, and they swarmed us as soon as we walked up. It was nearly impossible to filter water because we were constantly swatting the bees away. I even got stung and Truffles gave up and took his water further up the trail to filter in peace.
We set off from the spring eager for trail magic. We arrived at the road crossing around 9:15am and found Pinky and Hangman. We found some shade and sat patiently waiting for the trail angels to arrive. Truffles got a little signal and updated his FarOut comments. The comment that said trail magic would be at 10am was changed to 12pm. We all got nervous and hoped it was a fluke and decided to wait until 10am to see if anyone showed. As 10am drew closer, our spirits began to falter. When 10am came and went, we were discouraged and packed up our stuff.
We decided to walk the forest service road down as an alternate to the trail. When we were walking down we passed another excited group of hikers. They stopped us to ask how the trail magic was and we had to deliver the news that it wasn’t there. They also seemed defeated and dejected by the news. Somberly we pressed on down the road.
The 5 of us talked intermittently which helped the time go back. We got blips of cell signal and k called my mom. We finally made it down to the fire station with a small trailhead and water faucet. There wasn’t much shade, but we made do under a small tree and ate lunch. I was grateful for the water, a pit toilet, and trash cans.
I took my shoes off at lunch to investigate my blisters. My new shoes are tearing up the back of my heels in a bad way- I have one blister that’s nearly the size of a golf ball on the back of my right heel, and there’s a bunch of raw skin in my left from where a blister has popped. Thankfully I’ve gotten tape to stay on them, but the backs of my heels are so swollen that I think it’s pushing my toes into the front of my shoes. Either that or I should have gone up a half size with my new pair. My feet definitely hurt throughout the day but the pain is manageable. I’m looking forward to a shower in Acton and hopefully popping the monster blister on my right heel.
We got moving again around 1:30pm. As we were leaving the fire station, two cars pulled up and asked if we wanted trail magic. Turns out these were the people who were supposed to do trail magic earlier in the day, they just got a much later start. They gave us a couple of drinks and sent us on our way.
We had a big climb which was hard after lunch and in the heat. We were all moving slow, especially after chugging the trial magic soda, so the climb felt grueling. I made it to the top of the hill first and found a rock in the shade to rest in and wait for the others.
The rest of the day was uneventful. We climbed, walked through overgrown and exposed trail, and that was pretty much it. We stopped to get water a couple miles from our campsite and again it was swarming with bees. We filtered extra water since we planned to dry camp and were on our way.
We had a little more uphill to do before leaving the trail and connecting into another old road. Not far from the function was a flat spot with room for plenty of tents. We were so happy to finally be done for the day! We set to making our campsite and Jonas came to join. Other people arrived as the evening wore on. We ate and laughed and eventually called it a night. We’ve got 17ish miles into town tomorrow, hopefully we can get there earlier in the day.
