PCT Day 19 – Turning Lane

We sleep in an hour this morning because we are only hiking 13 miles today. Keith has booked a room for us in Big Bear Lake for tomorrow, so we will hike to a campsite near the road to town.

More Juniper!

OK, you are going to have to put up with my juniper obsession just a little longer. The first few miles of the trail are dominated by these grizzled giants.

Keith and I play the silhouette game again today. Keith looks like Goomba and I look like Aunt Jemima.

The early trail goes through a dense forest not unlike what you might find in southern Oregon. The earth is rich with organic material. The trail is soft like foam. And some pretty enormous trees are here too.

High desert

After we collect from the last water source we will see today, the trail takes us out of the hollows and up to the high desert again.

It’s nice hiking when you know you are stopping early. The pressure to make your daily mileage goals is huge. (OK, the pressure is self-imposed.) As the trees drop away from the ridge I can see Baldwin Lake below. The lake is just to the south of Big Bear City, my destination tomorrow. The three mountains on the horizon are Gold Mountain, Delamar Mountain and Butler Peak. All three are north of Big Bear. When I leave Big Bear in a few days I will hike behind all three as I head west toward Los Ángeles.

Flippers

Due to the heavy snow in California this year, many hikers that started early have been forced to skip sections of the trail that were snowed in. These hikers skipped hundreds of miles north and then hiked south from there. These hikers are called “flippers” because their route has flip-flopped. This gentleman skipped from Paradise Valley Cafe to Walker Pass. He has made it this far back. When he completes this section, he will have to decide where to go next. There is still a lot of snow on most of the mountainous sections north of here.

Signs

Keith and I stop for lunch along a fire road. On a tree nearby is an unusual sign. We contemplate it for a few moments. What is this sign trying to say? We can’t figure it out.

Are we supposed to step on plants? Do you have any clues?

I am pretty sure that vehicles are prohibited, but this sign leaves it ambiguous. Is this sign accidentally or intentionally damaged? It’s hard to know for sure.

Ridge Running

It’s really beautiful up here on this ridge that runs east of Baldwin Lake. It’s called Nelson Ridge. On the east side is a small valley that separates Nelson Ridge from Bighorn Mountain Wilderness.

On one east side there is the Lucerne Valley, which leads to the south to 29 Palms, also the location of a big Marine base. A marine base in the desert?

On the west side of the ridge above Baldwin Lake are these chalet mansions. We looked down a side trail toward one of these homes. A big KEEP OUT sign greeted us.

The little things

You might think I spend all my time gazing at spacious panoramas. Not so.

Camp

We arrive at camp at 3pm! We get chores out of the way early. I start writing at 4:30. Dinner at 5:30 and we are in bed by 6:45. Now that’s living! Keith eats the same thing I had last night. It was … interesting. How can oriental noodles and peanut butter go together? It doesn’t. Keith dumped half of it out.

Camp is filling up with people who are hiking into town tomorrow. It is windy up here and even though I am in a somewhat sheltered spot, my tent roof is beating me on the head as I write. Oh well. It will be fine. It’s Big Bear Lake tomorrow where I can rest and plan.

Keith gets off the trail for good during the next section. He is meeting his wife in Las Vegas for their tenth anniversary. We are still working out the logistics of that transition. And I am trying to get ready mentally for being alone.

• May 23, 2023
• Starting marker: 253.1
• Ending marker: 265.8
• Miles hiked today: 13
• Total PCT miles: 236