Day 18-21: miles 207-266

Got to Big Bear Lake yesterday morning, and aiming to head back to the trail in a couple hours!

Day 18: miles 207-226

Did a big day today! We woke up early to do some good miles before the heat set in, and got to the I-10 overpass around 8, before heading into the wind farms and the San Gorgonio mountains. The sun was relentless, and I used some precious water just to soak my head. After more climbing, we got to Whitewater Creek, the first water in a while, and next to Whitewater Preserve - a Wildlands Conservancy preserve that was a fantastic oasis from the heat. We were expecting a couple spots of shade and maybe a table, but got gorgeous trees, a wading pool, outlets, a spigot, flush toilets, and plenty of tourists with too much food. After enjoying a siesta and snacking on grapes and carrots, we continued on. We wanted to make it to the beginning of Mission Creek that night - a notorious section where the trail has been completely washed away from Hurricane Hillary. After more elevation and hot sun, we got there around 6:30, in time to set up tents and make dinner before heading to bed.

Day 19: 226-246.5 (skipping 236-245, 2 miles off-PCT)

Today we conquered Mission Creek! I'd been hearing horrible tales of this section since before I even left for Campo, and had been dreading some rough miles. It wasn't nearly as bad as I feared but this might have been the hardest day on trail yet. The day started with about ten miles of Mission Creek. The whole canyon had been decimated by storms and the trail didn't exist anymore. It was just following the river up and up, hiking either on large rocks or sandy floodplains. The kind of hiking where you need to pay attention to every step - I had a couple near-misses for twisted ankles. The creek zigzagged across the canyon, forcing us to cross it 64 times by my count. Near the end, I almost welcomed each crossing because it washed away the build up of sand in the bottom of my shoes. For the first time this hike, I put my earphones in and blasted some music, which did wonders for the speed of my trudging.

Cheers, Chef, and I had lunch in some of the first shade we had all morning, before joining the now-present trail and exiting the canyon, switchbacking up to a ridge line. At mile 236, there was an alternate that took the ridge line straight up - climbing about 2,000 ft in 2 miles. This would allow us to skip 10 miles of treacherous hiking, where the storm hit the worst - requiring scaling some rock walls and major blowdowns. We took the ridge, climbing it in about an hour and a half, panting and groaning the whole time. Luckily, enough people had been on it by then that there was a rudimentary trail, but it was still really rough. We were incredibly happy to meet the trail on the other side, knowing we had only 1.5 miles til the next tent site. Little did we know it was 1.5 miles of post-holing in calf-deep, slushy snow. The perfect ending to the day haha. We finally staggered into camp, having done 14 miles that felt like over 20. But I had a fantastic dinner, good views of the sunset, and a great night's sleep.

Day 20: miles 246.5-259.4

A much easier day today! Some snow in the morning that felt good to breeze across, and a couple climbs as we summitted Onyx Peak. We had a peaceful lunch next to Deer Springs River, where we ran into Lookout and Waddles, who had caught up after taking one more zero in Idyllwild. It was great to see them again, though they couldn't linger since they were planning to go all the way to Big Bear today, while we were camping about 7 miles before. We took our time and had a couple more nice breaks before breezing into camp around 2. It was a great short day, and Cheers, Chef, and I relaxed in the sun. I got to catch up on my journaling and water coloring, and lament how much food I still had left. We had dinner and said our good nights around 7:30, and I went straight to bed.

Day 21: miles 259.4-266

Town day!!! I slept in, as my tent was in the shade, and woke up to Chef's excited yell. It's fun waking up knowing that a shower is imminent! We had seven miles until Hwy 18 and cruised down to the road, getting there by 9:15 and immediately catching a ride with Gary, a local ATV enthusiast who told us about the history of Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake as we drove into town. He dropped us off at his favorite brunch place in town, and we enjoyed a massive breakfast before heading to the hostel we'd booked for the night. We walked over and set our stuff down before jumping into the shower, which felt absolutely fantastic! We then signed up for a laundry spot and headed over to the supermarkets on the other side of town. I really didn't need much food and of course bought more than I needed, but it's hard having so many options available! We met up with Slim, Shade, Biscuits, and Boombox on the bus back to the hostel and made plans for dinner that night. Once back at the hostel, we did our laundry, I made some phone calls home, and got to soak my feet in the hot tub, then got to lie down and chill on my phone for a bit. Around 7, we headed over to this amazing Indian restaurant and enjoyed some fantastic town food. Tomorrow we're planning to head back to the trial in the late morning. Towns are tons of fun but I'm eager to get back on the trail!