PCT 2022| CALIFORNIA | DAYS 31-32 mm282.6 to Deep Creek Bridge mm298.5 | EXIT VIA LAKE ARROWHEAD
Miles Hiked: 15.9 miles + 2.8 miles
Blisters. Blisters. Blisters.
2 years later I realize I never wrote anything down for this day. The ridgeline down to Deep Creek Bridge was my last day on the trail for the next week. My insoles and trail runners were on their last leg as I walked into Big Bear. I should have had family send me a new pair while I was in town, but instead, I decided to buy a new pair of insoles with the hope of lasting until Wrightwood—wrong decision. The insoles were a different brand and ended up wrecking my feet. Blisters on all sides and multiple spots on the BOTTOM of both feet. Wearing my Bedrock sandals couldn’t fix this (my go-to when my feet hurt). As I limped down the trail, I went through all the options in my head:
Take a few on-trail zeros and ration my food to make it to Cajon Pass (did not have enough food for this)
Take an on-trail zero, and then hike less than 10 miles a day and ration my food to make it to Cajon Pass (did not have enough food for this)
Exit the trail, eat lunch at Cedar Glen Malt Shop, and hitch from Lake Arrowhead to a car rental. Take a week or two off-trail
The answer was pretty simple for me. I didn’t have a trail family at the time and even if I did, I would not have been able to keep up with them. I left the trail and headed home for a week with my parents to heal. Before reaching the malt shop, I met two women who were finishing their thru-hikes from a previous year. We enjoyed burgers and malts before walking (and then hitching) to Lake Arrowhead. There was no public transportation, no ride-share options, and the only way to walk there was down a busy road with no shoulder. Our only option was to very carefully walk towards Lake Arrowhead and try to hitch along the way. Once we got to a location with more traffic, we were able to secure a hitch with a man towing a trailer. He had never heard of the trail, but offered to get us closer to the grocery store and transportation options. The two other hikers had finished their section and were flying out the next day. I decided to spend the night, tend to my wounds, and take the first bus into San Bernardino. Then home.
