Day / April 4, 2017

by Gizmo

Day 21 Zero day in Big Bear đŸ» April 3, 2017

Well….this is the first time in 3 weeks that I really needed a zero day.  When we took one in Julian, Rob really needed it for his ankle and in Idyllwild we needed a day to figure out how to pick up the trail. My body started to feel the 3 weeks of hiking right before we got here and as I write this, both our feet feel less sore. We had a really nice day in Big Bear grabbing some local organic coffee from this little coffee hut in town.

IMG_5474

IMG_5473

Rob says my hair is getting so long and beautiful..awđŸ€—

 

After some much desired caffeine (we both really enjoy coffee but rarely drink it anymore because it’s one more thing to carry and prepare on trail plus it dehydrates you. Just makes it better when you’re in town😊) we headed to Big 5 – sporting goods store- to look for a few things. They didn’t really have what we needed but picked up a few more dehydrated meals for this week. We are doing a mix of those and sausage, jerky, and other snacks. I’m eating for 5.  I swear, I’m so hungry all the time. Hiker hunger! We checked out the lake, hung out with the family and enjoyed a beautiful day here.  We also met backup with John here (aka The Ghost) who we had met back in Idyllwild. He is a nice guy and hope we have more time today with him tomorrow. He is writing a book and we would love to learn more about it.  Met a lot of really nice people we chatted with. Now we are sitting in our cabin, making dinner and watching a couple $3 dvds we got in town. A very nice evening. And we are excited to see Papa Romero tomorrow who is driving 2+ hours from LA to have brunch with us and take us back to trail. It’ll be great to be back in the 4SR and nature.

PS- I love having so few clothes and wearing the same thing all the time. It takes all the questioning out of getting dressed. We had our weekly shower and laundry and we are feeling fresh. Honestly, we don’t even crave anything more than that.

by Gizmo

Day 20 Miles – 8ish off trail April 2, 2017

IMG_5470

A little town time isn’t so bad 😉

Operation: Get Baby to Big Bear!!!

That is our affectionate title for the day. We were both worn out from the week and all it’s challenges from Mother Nature’s little natural elements. But most importantly we deemed the increase in elevation and snow pack on the north side of the mountain to be beyond the gear we have and patience we have today. Safety first, friends. We don’t have micro spikes or an ice axe. (Side note: we heard that on the area of Fuller Ridge that we bypassed, a hiker fell 1,000 feet and was saved by falling on his pack on a boulder. We knew that snow was too much for us right now. Well played.) We had what felt like a very nice stroll down a dirt road from the cabin area we stayed at last night. It was about 8 Miles & we got to walk side by side which was very nice so we could  chat. At one point, Rob saw mistletoe on the ground and picked it up for a smooch. What a romantic. We hitched a ride fairly quickly from Ray, a  local. He originally passed us and then turned around to get us. Hitching makes you meet so many great people who you wouldn’t normally. The hostel we were going to stay in is closed for renovations before hiker season (yeah, we are ahead of the crowd) so we are staying in a cabin close by. It has a kitchen which is nice. The nicest guy manages the property and was soooo sweet to take me up to the grocery store and back. I got two nights worth of dinner, breakfast and basically enough food to feed a family of ten. Have I mentioned all this hiking is making me incredibly hungry!!!!!  Steak, baked potatoes, carbonara and a little salad for greens. YUM! we had a little champagne toast to celebrate completing one tenth of the trail. Let’s be real, we have a lot more to go, but it feels great.

Minnow (Boston’s trail name now) and Mellow showed up late in the evening after a really long day of hiking and hitching. We fed them, gave them some stout drinks and we all enjoyed catching up about the last few days.  Canary is behind and we are sure she is OK but we will be eager to hear from her tomorrow. ❀ Hiking family is great. We all stayed up laughing and chatting until late.