Start point
A spot around mile 165
End point
Spitler Trail and PCT junction, mile 168.6
Miles hiked
3.6
Wilderness area
San Bernardino National Forest
People I met
Mike and “Get me the f*** off this mountain”Melissa
The day on trail
Holy. Smokes. If you ever want to feel like a terrible hiker, take five hours to go just under four miles.
Last night was so, so windy.
And I slept on a slant and kept having to adjust my quilt and pad. It was terrible. But I somehow still woke up feeling rested.
It was so windy though, getting up, that we were very slow going. Some of the people who passed us yesterday camped just downhill from us, and they got going faster. But it wasn’t just windy. It was so cold that my water started freezing in the bottle just after I took it out of my tent. Big Tuna’s water bottle froze in its neck.
Shark and Half Pint got to the site around 8:45 and started eating breakfast. The rest of us; Pat, Bottlecap, Big Tuna, and myself, finished packing.
We started hiking around 9:30 and it was okay at first. Micro spikes were nice. Snow baskets helped on the trekking poles. We had a descent, then an ascent. We set a plan to meet up around 5 miles in. Pat, Bottlecap, and Big Tuna had a faster pace while Shark, Half Pint, and I have a really similar pace. We broke up into those two natural groups and kept on.
My goodness, some of the blow downs were huge. Do you go over or under this one? I went over.
Then we had just snow. Thousands of feet of slanted, terrifying snow. It was so scary. Like, you could easily see yourself falling and sliding down, down, down.
Shark, Half Pint, and I stayed at the Spitler Trail/PCT junction because we knew it wasn’t going to be any better. With that terrifying traverse and Shark having seen how steep the rest is in a drought year, plus knowing that there’s about 8 miles of trail that haven’t been broken yet this year, we wanted to stop and take it easy.
The others went up to Apache Peak and to see what they could find.
While we sat in the sun, drinking water and talking, we met a few other hikers. There were some Norwegians whose names I didn’t get. There was a guy with a dog (who no one saw come back). And there was Mike and Melissa, who were both very done with the mountain.
Pat, Bottlecap, and Big Tuna came back with news that the trail was too sketchy to be safely passable and they went to find a spot down Spitler Trail. We decided to keep camp up at the junction and go down in the morning.
Tomorrow I’ll be hopping on the alternate route on Black Mountain Road and getting to Idyllwild to get my new pack. I have some underwear I need that shipped, and I’m hoping to get that forwarded to the next resupply point.
We don’t quite know what’s going with the group. I imagine the faster hikers will continue faster and Shark and Half Pint will hike as a couple (since, y’know, they are one) and I’ll likely bop into them now and again.
I’m just glad to have survived today. Though the views were incredible.
It’s really amazing how snow like that can slow you down. I’m just glad I had my ice axe and micro spikes.
1-You mentioned sleeping on your quilt and pad. The pad I get because it’s a nice cushion on the ground. What’s the difference between a quilt and a sleeping bag?
2-The picture of you with the scary, snowy incline….was it warm enough that you didn’t need to wear your coat?
3-Also, how does anyone know where the trail is when it’s covered with snow? Other than when it’s on flat ground and obvious because of footprints. And are trails ever on steep inclines?
Love, love, love the photos. The views are incredible and truly awe inspiring.
Really great questions! Thank you!
1. A quilt vs a bag. Sleeping bags zip up all the way, quilts usually only zip up or are seen up to maybe knee height. Bags have insulation all around, quilts only on the top and sides.
When you lay in a bag, the insulation underneath tends to compress, which makes it less effective. Dappled textures on sleeping pads help, but not too much.
Quilts eliminate the insulation under you, get rid of the full length zipper, and let you move around a bit easier. So they weigh less than a bag and give me a touch more room. But that fits my sleeping style. Everyone is different.
2. Snow reflects a lot of solar radiation. It was fairly toasty on top of it! I was wearing my hiking leggings though. And my feet didn’t feel cold, despite them being wet, because my socks are merino wool.
3. We have an app. And San Jac Jon has been known to carve the trail out at times.
Yeah. Seeing these pictures again still gives me the willies. Ain’t no way it’s safe to continue in those conditions without more gear, more finesse, and a way to break the trail. Eek! I’m glad you diverted off the mountain as a crew. Where are Shark and Half Pint from? I hate hate haaate sleeping on a decline/incline on a pad/mat. I don’t know how you got any sleep, but I’m glad you did! Hope Mike and Melissa are enjoying their time off the mountain now… they were fed up, I can tell!
Shark and Half Pint.. I don’t remember where they’re from.
The incline was annoying. Ugh