PCT 2023 | DAYS 25-30 BIG BEAR LAKE TO JOSHUA INN

DAYS 25-26

Miles Hiked: 0

Days 25 and 26 were spent as a double zero doing town chores, relaxing, and seeing Jessica for my ankle. I confirmed that it was probably the peroneal tendon. The adjustments helped, initially but as soon as I started hiking again with an ankle wrap, it seemed to feel worse each day. I decided taking time off in Wrightwood would be best while the others hiked ahead. We lost Woodsy (he had to return home for a few weeks), but Bad Ass decided to stick around for another zero to join our tramily! Yay!

DAY 27

Miles Hiked: 16.4 miles

The snow started soon after Caribou Creek, flowing strongly under the small bridge this year. Last year we had to go off trail and then do a little bushwhacking to get to a small area of water. The snow was nothing sketchy, but it was late in the day and I’m not the smallest person, so post-holing was a given. We gained a new tramily member: Doe! Bad Ass and I waited at a blowdown for Heather, as finding trail was not the easiest. It turns out she had taken a different route without us realizing, so she ended up ahead of us. We pushed on, getting a few more miles in, unsure how much snow was left. We finally found a spot off a dirt road and played some tetris with our tents (the snow continued most of those miles).

DAY 28

Miles Hiked: 11.3 miles

One final day of snow for this section! No microspikes were needed today. Bad Ass and Heather left early to finish the snow before it got soft — I started soon after and was able to catch up with them after a couple of miles. Soon we were greeted with dry trails and welcomed with overgrown bushes. Late morning, we noticed smoke in the distance…right in the direction we were headed. The air grew warmer as we made our way down to Little Bear Springs. By lunch, it was time to break out the sun umbrella. I remembered the heat of this section last year and it didn’t fail to disappoint this year. I met up with Bad Ass at our next break. We discussed the newly developed Nob Fire and she showed me the butt rock.

I picked up two balloons on the trail (enough with the balloons and balloon releases people!). In the last miles before camp, we cooled off with not 1, not 2, but SIX water crossings. The first was easily crossed without getting wet and another was just shallow snow melt over the road. But four were knee-deep to hip-deep, depending on where you found your footing. We set up camp on a beach, dried out our clothes on the boulders, and enjoyed dinner in front of my tent.

DAY 29

Miles Hiked: 14.1 miles

Today I passed the mile I got off the trail last year (for the first time). I left the trail via the Cedar Glen Malt Shop, so mm298 until Cajon Pass are all new miles. Today was mostly solo hiking, meeting the rest of the trail family at breaks until we got closer to Deep Creek Hot Springs. I saw Bad Ass standing just off the rail: another rattlesnake! It had already crossed the trail and was somewhere in the bush. Stitches and two others showed up not long after and we all climbed a boulder to avoid stepping next to the snake. There was a very large blowdown just before mm 300. Options were limited, due to the steep drop on one side and steep hill on the other. You could take the steep and sketchy footpath below the tree, climb up and over the tree, or go through the tree. Doe and I chose to go through it. Not the easiest, but less sketchy than the other two options. The trail followed high above the river, hot and exposed, with temperatures in the 80s and the sun beating down (sun umbrella for the win once again).

Bad Ass saw a mountain lion moving through the bushes a couple of miles before Deep Creek Hot Springs. One water crossing for the day. One of the comments mentioned a rock hop near the trail (we couldn’t find a place where that was even remotely possible). We ended up crossing to the right of the small cairns as another comment suggested and had waist to hip deep water. We arrived at the hot springs at the heat of the day. I set up my tent and my small thermometer quickly rose from 90s to 110F (43C) inside. We cooled off by soaking our legs in the ice-cold river. There was no chance I was swimming!

Deep Creek was busy with nude day hikers. Young and old: jumping off the boulders, enjoying the various hot springs, and even tightrope walking.

Bad Ass, Heather, and I soaked in the “medium” hot spring after dinner. The perfect hot tub temperature.

DAY 30

Miles Hiked: 6.5 miles

It is another day in the high 80s, but today is a nearo! Only 6.5 miles into Joshua Inn. I got a later start than I wanted, but I got in a good groove and just kept moving until I caught up with Bad Ass and Heather. My momentum started to slow on the downhill to the water crossing, ready to be out of the heat. We crossed the first dam and then made our way down to the water. Bad Ass scouted for a good spot to cross, but we ultimately made our way over the auxiliary dam and crossed where it was barely knee-deep and slow-moving. From there, it was less than a mile to the road where we could get a ride. Joshua Inn: a place to camp, do tub laundry, the best-feeling outdoor shower on a hot day, deli sandwiches, and cold drinks. Usually, you can call them for a ride, but the driver was helping another hiker. We ended up getting one Uber driver to accept. He ended up doing multiple trips for the dozen or so hikers that were at the road.