Big Bear City

5/2 -
Day 22 - Staying in "Pink Motel" tonight, home of Don & Helen, a wild & wooly pair of trail angels living in the desert outside of palm springs. The motel consists of 2 buildings surrounded by a moat of junked cars full of old couches, board games, books&maps, a propane-powered kitchen w/ antique furniture, & a fully stocked refrigerator. We spent a late night with a bottle of Tequilla & "Drew," a young ex-marine hiker we met in town. -Ez

Day 22 - Overheard in Cabazon, "I don't mind jail, but I hate payin' the fine." - Ben
Other meals: "It will thicken" & "Tubes of goodness" It will thicken is a meal that seems to have too much water, but with patience, becomes sauce. Tubes of goodness - metal tubes of flavor for dinner

5/3 -
Day 23 - Working together, Ez & Drew build a rock dam across the "Whitewater river" (more of a creek by early May). The resulting "swimmin' hole" provides great refreshment to the menacing vegetables during a 6 hour lunch stop. - Ez

Drew and Ezra's swimmin hole was a dream come true after a hot, shadeless day. We also had a fabulous potluck lunch of which Drew was quite impressed. Most everyone we have met is quite impressed for that matter. - Kate

Some Trail Terms-
-The camera with the color film for the website is called the Tanner Cam.
-the notebook we use to write entries for the website is the laptop
-Sleazy Mac is bright orange macaroni and cheese or any brand cheaper than Annies. Short for cheap and sleazy mac and cheese -Jonny

Floaties - inanimate objects in one's water bottle
Toadies - visible, living things in one's water bottle
Menacing Vegetables - 1)dangerous, often thorny, trailside plants 2) any predatory plant, ie carnivorous poison oak, bullwhip ocotillo, predatory chaparral 3)The group trail names for PCT thru-hikers Pickle, Staggerin' Willy, Tahoe Katie Mae, Squirrelfight, and Kaptain Krumholz (and any others the aforementioned manage to suck into the "Vegetable Vortex.") - Ben

5/4 -
Day 24 - Saw 3 rattle snakes before lunch today. The first was directly across the trail, but I heard it before I saw it. The other two were wrapped together, silent & still. I only noticed them when I watched Ben step directly over the pair. - Ez

Sometimes I eat candy bars for breakfast. - Jonny

5/5 -
Day 25 - An incredible day. So nice to be in the beautiful wilderness, pines, and tons o' shade. A wonderful change from the hot desert. A pleasant 18 miles. - Kate

Today the trail passed right by these big cages which contained one giant grizzly bear and two lions. Movie animals. We were able to go right up to the chain link fence which kept us from them. So amazing to get so close to such enormous animals. The bear wanted out. - Jonny

Day 25- Hiked 18 miles & got into camp before sunset & feelin' good! I think me hiker legs are finally kicking in. - Ez

5/6 -
Day 26 - THE RULES 1) Don't get between a thru-hiker & her or his food. To add to the glossary of terms- Unilever - Ben&Jerry's (as in "I could sure use some Unilever."

Day 26 - Early in the day, I realized that it would be possible to hitch into Big Bear City for lunch & be back on the trail by the end of the day. After tat I busted out the 4.2 miles to the highway in record time. Big Bear was an easy hitch, and in town I ran into all the thru hikers we've met so far, almost. I also ate a calzone before hitching back to the trail and meeting the rest of the vegetables at Doble Trail Camp. - Ez

5/7 -
Day 27 - Sunday - all descended into Big Bear City today by way of various hitches. Our mail will wait until tomorrow when the PO opens. It looks like we will be taking a short detour from the PCT for the next couple of days if we can find some trail maps of San Gorgonio Mtn. This is the snowy peak that can be seen from San Jacinto Mtn. We walked around it this week on the PCT but looks like a worth climb. If we go ahead with this plan then we will pass through Big Bear City again on Wednesday and will send more notes if we have any. - Jonny

In baseball news we were all heartbroken by Pedro Martinez's loss to Tampa Bay (and when I say we, I mean me). Too bad Nomar sat that one out. I was surprised , however, to hear of Pedro's five day suspension. I'm sure the ball just got away from him (likely). - Will try to watch the Simpsons with the firemen tonight. - Jonny

RETURN to Big Bear City

5/8 -
Don't know if we mentioned it, but last night in Big Bear city we went to the pizza place and they gave eight of us control of the TV so we could watch the Sunday night Fox cartoons. What a treat.
Day 28 - The first day of the rest of our lives. For the the two years that we have been talking about this trip, we said we would not attempt to finish the trail in one year. We would not walk too fast. We would take side trips, see as much as we could, and enjoy ourselves.

Now that we are out on the trail we are, of course, feeling the pull to Canada. As we meet more and more people (fifteen so far) who are aiming for the finish line there is definitely a temptation to join them.
Today as we watched nine of our new friends leave Big Bear City, knowing we most likely won't see them again at our pace, we made an important decision for our group - we are taking our first side trip. 24 miles, 2 1/2 days, for a summit attempt on 11,500' San Gorgonio Mtn. south of Big Bear City.

The PCT took us right around this snow capped mountain instead of over it due to overuse of the wilderness area so close to L.A. and San Bernadino. It is a Monday in early May but we are probably the only people on this mountain.
The thru-hikers are headed north. As Ezra said of our view from camp, "so far the most beautiful spot on the PCT isn't even on the PCT." - Jonny

5/9 -
Day 29 - The Whisperlite stoves are gently roaring as the savory smells of our cooking meals fly by gently through the meadow air. Tonight is our second night at Dry Lake camp area. The Menacing Vegetables successfully summited San Gorgonio - 11,500 ft. today. The tallest mountain in southern California. And all I can think about now is how many more minutes? seconds? till I get to eat some pesto pasta and all the rest of our potluck foods. : ) -Maria

Day 29 - I'm totally overwhelmed by the generosity of people we've met along the way. In every town, every encounter with civilization, some trail angel has stepped forward and contributed something wonderful to our journey. Thanks to Paul and Pat, Don and Helen, Bob Reiss, Mort, and the latest angel, Bill McConnel. Bill picked up Ez at a Ranger Station (where we had located a Gorgonio map) and when he heard about our side trip, offered us a ride to the trailhead. This was no small favor - the drive was 45 minutes down a winding, 2-lane to nowhere. I didn't know if today's spectacular climb would have been possible without Bill's help. I feel so fortunate to see this side of people. Thanks for everything! - Ben

Day 29 - After a somewhat grueling climb through post-holey, sun-softenend snow to the summit of "Old Greyback," we were rewarded with a smog draped view of much of So. Cal. I can't believe the PCT doesn't even go near this!

The true payoff, however, was the trip down. Snowfields that took hours to ascend, we slid right on down in a matter of minutes, hootin' and hollerin', leaving miniature avalanches in our name. Possibly the most fun I've had so far on the hike. -Ez

5/10 -
Day 30 - My last dream before waking up today was that I was taking fielding practice in the left field of Fenway Park. Those guys sure can hit the ball high. - Jonny

The Menacing Vegetables will not be near a phone this Sunday, but we all want to wish our moms a Happy Mother's Day. We love our moms. - Ben, Ezra, Jonny, Kate, Maria

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