Mile 790ish- Kiersarge Pass

I don't think anything I say right now will do justice to the beauty I've been hiking through, so I'll just post these pictures and a couple videos for you to enjoy! Trail Magic! Brian makes camp ovens, and he hiked in food to promote it- he made us pizza and banana nut bread! A view right after we hit the snow I made it to the top! The view from Mt. Whitney Looking across the snowfield at Forrester Pass- It's the one in the middle Me at the top of Forrester Pass

First big creek crossing!

Glissading down Forrester Pass!

Mile 703ish- Kennedy Meadows aka the jump-off(to the Sierras)

Mile 500!(ish)

Everyone hanging out in the only shade in the middle of the Mojave Desert

One of the burn areas along the trail

A bunch of hikers getting water out of the only on-trail water source in the middle of a 30 mile dry stretch

One of my Cowgirl camping setups

A view after hiking up out of Walker Pass

I'm just happy to be at KM

Kennedy Meadows General Store

We made it 700 miles, and we are semi-officially out of the desert! Yes, I've technically been in the desert for the past 6 weeks, even though it's just started getting above 75*. We're moving onto the Sierra Nevadas, and I'm going to attempt to make it into Mammoth Lakes by June 23 so I can catch a bus upto Reno to go back to Colorado for a family Reunion. Our Group of 7(Princess, Lip Service, Avo, GQ, Captain Obvious, Blaze, and I) will be going up Mt. Whitney in the next couple of days(the highest mtn in the continental US) and hitting the highest point on the PCT- Forrester Pass(at around 13,000ft) right after that. It's going to be an adventure, I'm definitely very excited for this section of trail!

Mile 558ish- Tehachapi, Ca

I left my camera on the other side of town, so unfortunately there will be no pictures this post. We've walked for about 4 days from the Andersons to here, and it's finally gotten warm! Highs have been in the 80s instead of the 50s and 60s, and I've been sweating! This may not seem like big and exciting news to most of you out there, but with the Sierra Nevadas coming up fast,(about a week away) the hot weather is definitely to be enjoyed because it means we won't hit the snowpack until 11,000ft. instead of 10,000! It also means the snow'll only be 8ft. deep instead of 10, who wouldn't be excited for that?
I did my first night-hike out of Hiker Town(which is at the edge of the Mojave Desert) after talking with the eccentric gentleman who owns the HT property- quite an interesting guy. We hiked along the L.A. Aquaduct through the Desert from 8pm to 11pm, then got up at 5am and hiked to the only shade by 10am- a bridge/water source.
Worldwide, Seamus, GQ, Fuzzy Monkey, Blaze, Fully Loaded, Princess, Lip Service, Shani, Noga, and I hung out until about 6pm, then right as we were leaving got trail magic from a couple- Law and Order- who usually do magic in the now burnt-out section of the trail. Watermelon and Orange soda never tasted so good.
Pictures will hopefully be uploaded next week while I'm in Kennedy Meadows!

Mile ?- The Anderson's house in Green Valley, Ca

We headed out of Wrightwood the morning the Tour de California came through. This is the beginning of the massive roadwalk

We made it to the Sauffleys in Agua Dulce! This is what their yard looks like during hiker season

I finally found a pinecone as big as my head!

Emilee and Avo doing their best to get a hitch into the Andersons after a 24-mile day from Agua Dulce

Since Wrightwood, we've walked about 60 miles on road because of a fire detour, and about 25 miles on trail. I don't have many pictures because road walking is tiresome and monotonous aka freaking boring! The group I'm with is really great, and Dagney got a trail name- Princess! We've decided we're in no hurry to get to Kennedy Meadows(the last stop before the Sierras) because it's still really snowy through the Sierras- they got another 2 ft the other day! So we zeroed at the Sauffleys in Agua Dulce and are zeroing again here at the Andersons. Good times have been had by all!

Mile 363.6 ish- Wrightwood, Ca.

Hasty and I's clothes dryer in Idylwild One of the Rattlesnakes I almost stepped on along Mission Creek Finding the re-route after Hwy 15 Emily and Dots doing Yoga and a drying party Avo, Emily and Dagney hiking the road re-route
I've been doing good mileage since Big Bear Lake- I did my first 25 mile day, with an hour stop to enjoy a natural hot spring that was right next to the trail. Onto Agua Dulce!

Hasty and I crossing some of the first of much snow in the San Jocintos

Mile 165ish - Big Bear Lake from Hiway 18

So wow, snow already. After leaving Warner Springs, I hiked a few 20ish mile days through desert to palms-to-pines hiway. Everyone on trail had been talking about the San Jocinto Mountains being possibly snow-ridden from palms-to-pines hiway to Fuller Ridge Campground. I decided to try it anyway, and met up with Hasty, who was going to try to go through as well. We didn't hit snow until about 2 or 3 miles before Devil's Slide trail, which we were planning on taking into Idylwild. We couldn't find the trail for a while, but thankfully Hasty had a compass and we used our compass and map- reading skills to find our way across the valley to the saddle that the devil's slide trail is in.
The next day, after filling our bellies and food bags in Idylwild, Hasty and I went back up into the mountains to attempt Fuller Ridge. After walking for about 12 hours, most of which was not on-trail but sinking/traipsing/bushwhacking through snow, rocks, and bushes, we made it 14ish trail miles to Fuller Ridge campground. It was the first time on the trail thusfar that I'd truly been relieved to be in camp for the night. I was told after the Fuller Ridge section that going through that area has better prepared me for the Sierras though!
The next day, going from an elevation of about 8,500 ft down to I-10 in the Mojave Desert at around 2,000 ft was an adventure- switchbacking 15 miles down the mountain to the next water source (a water fountain) by about 2pm. We planned on going 23 miles to a windfarm, but got distracted by Jackalope and Eagle Eye's trail magic under I-10 - those grilled cheese sandwiches and watermelon really hit the spot!
We then proceeded to head back up the mountains(the San Gorgonios this time) to about 8,000ft. Thankfully, this part of the trail wasn't covered in snow in most parts, and had some beautiful views. I'm unable to post pictures here at Big Bear Lakes Hostel, so I'll have to post more next time I'm in town. There are a few fire closures coming up, so I'm sure the trail will look a lot differently than it has for the past week- I'm definitely looking forward to it though!

Mile 111-ish: Warner Springs, Ca

Before the Head-shaving: Bones, Low and I

After

Everyone I started with on Friday

An over view of ADZLMPCTKO(kick-off)






It's been great so far getting back into the swing of hiking everyday, though my feet are taking a bit longer to get used to it than my mind. The first few days my knees were hurting so much on the downhills, I wasn't sure I'd be able to go on. Thankfully, that cleared up though they still ache a bit- it's amazing what stretching and Glucosamine will do. The best part of the trip so far other than the people is most definitely the views- so amazing. Since it's been such a wet spring, everything's green and blooming- one of the streams along the trail that's been dry for 5 years is running this year!
I'll be heading into the San Josentos mountains this week, which was impassable last week because of snow. There's (according to a person who walked through it Thurs) 'still enough snow to make it interesting'
Highest Mileage Day: about 23 miles
Lowest Mileage Day(other than zero Miles): 10 miles into Warner Springs
New friends: Guthook, Kerry, Ishmael, Furniture, Wolf Taffy, Seamus, Paladine, Annika, Burny, Chance, Cloudbuster, Not a Chance, The Croatian Sensation
Thanks for the Trail Magic: Wayne and the Julian Outfitter, Doug and Marilyn Streed, Louie, & Wally and Ginny Winkler, Hamburger Helper