Pictures

Pictures taken by Rain Maker and Ryan

A road walk detour that we had to take to avoid an endangered yellow-legged mountain frog.

Cameron and Ryan at one of the God send water caches.

Before the fire picked up. At this point we thought we would be able to walk the trail still and go around it.

Taken as Drama and Rain Maker got shuttled to Hikertown.

At the top of Mt. Baden-Powell. Matan, Rain Maker, Drama Queen, Simba, CornFed?Explagrance, Ryan

Laundry at Lake Isabella

Burn Zone

Relief from the desert and burn zones.

Windy outlook watching the sunset.

The bear.

Questions

We would like to know what you would like to hear about most?
What part of trail life or thru-hiking would you like us to address?
Ask us any question that you like and we'll try and answer or even dedicate a post to your question.
Just no promises on timing. :)

First Bear Sighting & Dirty Thirty

Post Written by Cameron(Drama Queen)

I finally did my first dirty thirty! and without Simba! I am pretty proud of my self. Rain Maker was sick so Simba stayed back and so I decided to hike out alone. I hiked for an hour when i decided to do my first 30 mile day because I was feeling fantastic and actually enjoying the hike (this rarely happens to me.) The Ohio Crew Cornfed/Explagrance and Ryan who we have basically been hiking with/next to our entire trip so far had decided to hike out an hour to thirty minutes before me. We had been hiking together for almost a week or two until this morning but I caught them within a few hours and told them of my plan, they didn't want to at first but then i forced/convinced them to do it with me. When we were about a mile away from where we had planned to siesta, Cornfed saw a small bear and we decided we should all stick together in case there was a mama bear walking around. So we get to our siesta point and set down our packs and 2 minutes later before we had started to do anything the bear is on the trail walking south bound toward us about 20 ft. away we were loving it! There was also two other people there with us named Lionheart and Scrubs. The bear kept walking around us trying to get to our packs with our food in it but we were occupying him. This bear was not shy or scared at all and was actually pretty aggressive so we had to take shifts occupying the bear while it was within 5-10 ft. of us to go get water. The bear would basically pounce and charge at the same time trying to scare us away it was the coolest thing. I have never been so close to a bear I could reach out and touch him literally. But once we all got water and after playing around with the bear for 15-20 min. we hiked out. I was so happy we got to see him and was like ha the one day Simba doesn't hike with us we see a bear super close up! i knew he would be so pissed when he found out and he was, i loved it. We also successfully completed our 30 mile day and i felt so accomplished. It was a fantastcic day.

Desert Goodbyes to Sierra Highs

Tehachapi gave us a welcome break. After leaving we felt ready to pound out the rest of our desert miles to reach the Sierras where beautiful vistas and most importantly cooler weather beckoned. The heat began to soar quickly as we climbed out of the wind farms causing us look for the only shade we could which ended up being under the highway underpass. We love feeling homeless sometimes. We all took a nap or siesta as traffic rumbled the ground above our heads. The remainder of our climb finally put us into the high desert, home to Pinion Pine, Juniper, and Sage.  I felt right at home again as I've spent over 8 months calling that ecosystem my home working wilderness therapy outside Spring City, UT. This also gave us intermittent shade which was a relief from the desert heat.  There hasn't been much water this last section so our packs have also been weighed down a bit with extra water.  We've had to change our schedule to hike more at night as well when you don't need to drink as much per mile.  One of the sections would have been near hell if it weren't for the amazing care of some Trail Angels who diligently stock two water caches.  Without them we would've had close to a 50 mile stretch with no water.  They got so little water this year that many of the springs have dried up.  One of our siesta spots ended up being right in the middle of a burn area that must've burned only last year as there was literally no new growth and the ground was full of soot. At the end of our break we took a look at each other and could only laugh as we looked as if we were three year olds who and just been rolling around in ash and sap. So dirty, you simply learn to embrace it. The trail dipped out of the high desert for one last stretch of true desert.  This stretch though was beautiful and well timed as we walked through hills of Joshua Trees as the sunset casting amazing shadows and leaving us with a very quiet sense of peace at the vastness that surrounded us. 

Our next stop was Walker Pass where we were planning on going into Lake Isabella for a quick resupply.  When we descended into Walker Pass in the dark we were expecting to have to hike 3 miles off trail to get to water but as we neared the sign for the campground we read a note that said, "come down to the blue tarp for some trail magic!" Yogi (A famous thru-hiker and PCT guidebook author) and Okie Momma had set up a feast. Because we got in so late 11PMish we picked through leftovers, ate fresh fruit, and chugged a few sodas and gatorades. We had no idea that this was here and it was a literal oasis. Yogi and Okie Momma come out for a couple weeks each year here and cook for hikers they also try really hard to make sure that no one advertises it so that it is a complete surprise for all the hikers that come in.  The next morning they cooked all you can eat pancakes.

Rain Maker had a close family friend who came and picked us up from Walker Pass and drove us into Lake Isabella for us to take care of our resupply.  Again it is crazy and humbling how much others kindness is so needed and accepted on our journey.  We got our shopping done, picked up some packages, and got a bit to eat. On our way out of town we decided to stop at Lake Isabella to swim. We'd be talking about this for days, it was one of our favorite subjects when sweat was running down our backs. It was funny to see all the locals out fishing as a group of 5 sweaty, homeless looking hikers clad in only underwear, jump in the lake, start showering, washing clothes and sprawl out as if this place was paradise.  It was quite the contrast. We all felt very gypsy and nomadic as we rigged our clothes out to dry on whatever fence or thing we could find.

We enjoyed hiking out of Walker Pass as we'd now caught up with a lot of other hikers that we hadn't seen in awhile. The miles between the pass and Kennedy Meadows went quick and as we'd make our climbs we would catch sight of Mt. Whitney in the distance calling our name less than a hundred miles away.  We crossed the mile marker indicating that we were a quarter of the way to Canada. It was rewarding and humbling at the same time as we now have to do what we just completed three more times.

We are now in Kennedy Meadows. Tom, a Trail Angel, has set his whole yard up for hikers.  There are retro trailers set up as if in a trailer park/camp setting where hikers can sleep in a real bed. Our trailer is complete with a fenced in porch, pink flamingos out front,  and a matching pink trailer. There is also a 9 hole frisbee golf course around his yard. Multiple guitars and hammocks scattered around and an outdoor amphitheater set up for movies at night. Hiker paradise. There is the one and only store here across the street with an amazing porch and burger shack where we all congregate, play games, and can shower and do laundry.  There is no cell service here or even a gas station. Cameron and I are now waiting patiently, going on 4 days now, for AJ and Andrew to catch up.

Day 11-"Hiker Hunger"

I woke up chanting "Burger! Burger! Burger!" Curtis, Cameron, and Aj quickly joined in (Curtis might have been chanting "Veggie Burger"). We hit the road around 6 am. Most the group stopped for a wilderness bathroom break, but Aj and I had food on our minds, so we pressed on despite the relief the wilderness had to offer. We talked about what we were going to eat the entire hike into town, and decided we'd try and order a meal and finish it before any of the other guys showed up, and then we could order another with them. Aj and I split three breakfasts, waited an hour until they served lunch, then got a burger. We were infected by "hiker hunger" at this point. A disease where no matter how much you eat, your body still tells you that you're hungry. Cameron's ankle had been bugging him, and Dirt Bag's Achilles had been hurting, so Cameron hitched to Idiwyld with Chosen One and Dirt Bag, while Curtis, Aj, and I began our ascent up the mountain. About 5 minutes into the hike Curtis found a giant pine cone the size of our head. He was so happy to see it, pointing out the cone to Aj and I with the enthusiasm of a 4 year old pointing out an elephant at the zoo to his dad. I was feeling a little rambunctious with 3 meals and 10 sodas in my belly, so on a whim, I punted the pine cone as far as I could. Curtis gave me a look of shock and horror, feeling betrayed at this new monster that had slipped into his party. Aj laughed until he was crying, which was almost as much a betrayal to Curtis as the fact that I kicked the pinecone in the first place.

The rest of the night felt a little weird without Cameron. We camped on a ridge that was full of old fossilized horse poop. Aj explained to us that the reason for this is because the hill we were on is where all the horses gather for their full moon rituals, it made sense.

Day 10-"Simba"

We woke up at 3 am, the earliest start we've had. Collected our gear, ate breakfast, and hit the trail around 5:30. The morning was cool from the mist and made for a beautiful sunrise. I spent the day getting to know Dirt Bag's story on how he ended up in Utah from Detroit, and Chosen One dubbed Curtis with the trail name"Simba". We had him kneel while the Lion's of Zion Knighted him with our trekking poles, making the trail name official and binding. Now that the Pride had it's leader, we all pushed on dreaming of Paradise Cafe's "best burger on the trail".

A few miles later we hit a water cache and got cell service. Dirt bag called Paradise Cafe, and we found out they closed early on Tuesday, so we wouldn't get the "best burger on the trail" that night. That information took the wind out of our sails so we decided to camp early at 5 pm, but still got 22 miles in today (tied for our highest day at this point) We fell asleep at 6 and all of us slept soundly until 5 the next morning.

Wildfire, Trail Closure, & Healing

The last four days have been a whirlwind of change, chaos, and awe at the destructive power that nature can bring. Its amazing how our "set" plans really aren't as stable or sure as we think they are and can be altered by things yet unseen.  We set off from the Saufleys, who's hospitality and freely giving of their home and resources has been unmatched on the trail, on the 31st to hike 24 miles to the Andersons. The day of our departure smoke from a small fire close by but near the trail had begun the fill the sky, it was small and not posing a threat.  As we walked that day we were able to see the plume in the distance, it appeared to be very unassuming, coming from Utah where it is almost commonplace to see a couple fires a year this one did not worry me. Descending to the bottom of a canyon road some new signs posted hours before hand let us know that due to the fire they were rerouting the trail along a huge out of the way road walk to an aqueduct. There was no water along this path, no shade, extremely out of the way, and would not allow us to visit the Andersons who are legendary trail angels along the trail. So with the map of the fire that was posted we felt reasonably safe continuing at least to their home and then making a plan. Green Valley had almost been evacuated the day before our arrival but it was lifted.  The rest of the miles ran smooth and we were happy to arrive at Casa de Luna, the name given to the Anderson's home for the nonstop, anything goes, welcoming and laid back feel of their home.  Their slogan, "A place where we can all be insane at the same time."  The first thing that you must do upon your arrival is take off your pack and put on your pick of a thrift store Hawaiian shirt.  We came in pretty late but they saved us taco salad, because they knew we were coming in. Terrie makes taco salad every night and pancakes every morning during hiker season. Making the same meals and hosting a brand new group of hikers each day is like ground hog day for Terrie but you would never know because she does it all with the biggest smile, the most engulfing hugs, and sincere care of any person that I have ever met. It was so nice to relax with all of our hiker crew which has grown in size as we all know and love each other now.  Out here every hiker you meet is instantly your friend.  There is no wall between you or sense of judgement.  Its an amazing community of hodgepodge people who share a love for being outside which draws in a wide variety of personalities and flavor. That night we retired to sleep under the stars in the manzanita forest behind their home. This forest is literally magical, small paths wind on at what seems like forever with little nooks and secluded campsites found everywhere tucked in between overarching manzanita bushes.

The next day as we gathered around their home we watched the fire grow.  There began to be a lot more helicopter and plane activity. A DC-10 jetliner, the size of a smaller commercial airliner was brought in to dump fire retardant on the flames. We watched it make circles above our head towards the ever increasing plumes.  Each hiker tried to put in there two cents about what we should do as the flames were now obviously moving toward the trail.  It was pretty obvious to us now that we needed to at least head the trail closure warning and either shuttle forward or take a long road walk around the fire.  All 13 hikers at the Andersons decided to skip forward to Hikertown at mile 517, including Cameron, except for me. At times I can be a bit egocentric and stubborn.  I don't like to admit defeat and if I think I can do something, amidst consequences I usually will, this often comes back to bite me in the butt.  I took off at 6PM to hike through the night in an effort to catch up with my brother and friends. The sky had darkened considerably with how much smoke was now in the sky, it blotted out the the sun.  Hiking up the road it was crazy to be this close to fire, especially after we had hiked through so many burn sections already and now see the force behind all of the damage that fire had left in its wake along the trail already.  I put one of my favorite songs from a band named Death Cab For Cutie which seemed fitting entitled Grapevine Fires.

Please watch it! Traffic picked up on the road a swarm of firetrucks, army sized vehicles carting in firefighters as if to war, and police vehicles were going every which way. As I turned to make my way around the fire on Elizabeth Lake road, one of two small towns in the path of the fire, the descending sun emerged from the smoke in the deepest form of red i'd ever seen, only to be consumed again an hour or so later.  Traffic again picked up as they had now begun to evacuate Lake Hughes and were in the process of closing off the road that I was intending to walk down.  At this point you could see the flames begin to bridge ridgeline above the town.  I had to reroute turning my road walk into a 27mile trip rather than 21. Walking away from the town a woman in a small Honda full to the brim with her two young girls in the back noticed me walking and stopped to offer me a ride.  I told her I was too prideful but thanked her and asked her if she was from Lake Hughes.  She began to tear up telling me how she had grown up there and how fearful she was. I was in awe it made me stop and feel like I hadn't in a long while. Part of reason why I had chosen to hike this section alone was because I need sometime to myself to think and process through some emotional baggage that I'd left unattended for awhile. When I saw this woman who was fleeing her home and in distress think of me offering me help I couldn't keep it in anymore either.  As she drove away tears came.  So did the ash, the wind picked up, smoke began blowing in, sending ash into my eyes and down my throat.  Luckily I was now heading away from the fire.  It was dark now the darkest night on trail yet as the smoke literally covered the entire sky, not a sign of stars or moon.  Yet with the darkness I had to wear my sunglasses and a bandana to keep the ash from my eyes.  The only light I saw was from the flames dancing on the ridge being blown downwards at times because of the strong wind. This would light up the clouds making for an interesting show.  I was torn between amazement and sorrow as I thought of the people that would potentially loose their homes and as I thought about the women who stopped to offer me a ride and the Andersons who's town was not too far off from the wildfire as well. Prayers were in my heart as I walked but the wind did not seem to show any signs of diminishing.

I made it to Hikertown at 5:30AM and crashed for 4hrs. When I awoke and started hiking again, now safe from the wildfire.  The fire had taken a turn for the worse. It had jumped the ridge, overtaken the road I'd walked and the aqueduct that I'd planned on walking on but didn't find. It looked as though a volcano had erupted with smoke reaching as high as a cumulus cloud, creating its own weather. The cloud had the appearance of a mushroom cloud and I could watch as these huge planes that I mentioned earlier that now looked like a speck against the cloud take sweeps as if their load had even the slightest chances against this giant of unstoppable wind and flame. It started spotting meaning starting new separate fires across the desert plain I was to hike across from hot particles landing away from the main blaze.

   This picture is not my own as I am not carrying a camera, I found it on the internet. Had I chosen to sleep at the Andersons and not walk through the night I would not have been able to walk around the fire and would have been stranded. I made it the nick of time.  Someone must have been watching out for me. The next morning the winds miraculously died down, the smoke thinned out and as I hiked on to catch up with my brother it faded from my view.

The fire burned 32,032 acres, thankfully only destroyed 6 homes and damaging 9.

Cameron's ankle is doing amazing! Thank you all for your prayers. He is even beginning to be able to walk without his brace and experiencing minimal pain if any at all. Healing is possible. Just as this parched earth will eventually heal.

We are both safe in Tehachapi staying at the Best Western Inn living a life of luxury with a pool and jacuzzi. Our feet need a rest. We'll hike again tomorrow catching the trail at mile 558. 

Day 8 and 9 Trail angel Mike's

Day 8 was Sunday, so we went to The local historic Catholic Church. After church we had energy from the resupply sight and hit the trail singing. Once we got into the mountains we all decided to sink our iPods up to "Impossible Soul" by Sufjan Stevens, and for the next thirty minutes we were a mess of incoherent singing, beat boxing, interpretive dancing, and hiking. We thought we were alone, but When we turned one of the corners on the Mountain two hikers had stopped and pulled out there cameras to record us when they heard our cacophony. As we kept hiking up a mountain, the night got misty, so we all threw on our rain gear. The rain starts pouring down, which was not expected. Earlier on a lot of hikers told us to send our rain gear up to Kennedy meadows, we were glad we didn't, because the storm only got worse. We were stuck up in the mountains and we finally arrived at our camp site around 10:30, the only problem was that other campers already took the only spots. With our gear getting wet, and our party getting more miserable as the minutes went on, we decided to find makeshift campsites. Cameron took the first flat piece of ground that looked semi decent, and Curtis told him to wrap his tarp over his sleeping bag burrito style to not get wet. Curtis and I found a rock to sleep under (Curtis slept under, I was half in and half out) and Aj ended up getting his tent tarp up in the middle of nowhere somehow.

I had the worst night sleep on the trail, it was cold, and my sleeping bag was getting soaked. Lucky for Curtis, between me and the rock we were both sleeping under, he was protected from the storm, and was snug as a kitten. When I woke up I had to laugh while donning my hiker gear at how cold and miserable it was. I heard Cameron yell what sounded like a complaint through the morning mist. We got in an discussion about who had it worse that night. I came to find out Cameron had it worse, it turned out the reason the ground we found for him that night was so smooth and flat was because that's where all the water dumped and drained out when it rained. He got all of his gear soaked, and spent the entire night singing hymns and Beatles songs like "there is sunshine in my soul today" and "here comes the son."

With Cameron's goose down sleeping bag soaked, and everyone (except Curtis) running on little to no sleep, we started off hiking. Three miles later we came across a sign for trail angel Mike's place which we had no idea existed. We stumbled in from the storm, were able to dry our stuff, and Cameron was able to get some sleep in an RV. It was incredible, we didn't know what we were going to do about Cameron's stuff and the trail Angel's place saved us. We met up with "Dirt bag", "Chosen One", and team Ohio, then spent the day singing songs and debating if the stat wars galaxy or harry potter world would be better to live in while our stuff dried. That night our group from Utah (including "Dirt bag" and "Chosen One") was given the group name "Lion's from Zion", and we all crashed early to get a quick start the next day.