PCT Thru-hike #7: Bears and Snakes and Dudes, Oh My!
Thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail was a life-changing experience for Arthur and Jill. This is our story.
Follow the PCT thru-hike adventure from the beginning and hike with us to mile 2,650.
Bears and Snakes and Dudes, Oh My!
Written by Arthur
Sunlight beamed through the screw holes of our backyard shack bedroom, and baby house finches cried for their morning meal. We were greeted with hot coffee and cold orange juice by Ziggy & The Bear, ate breakfast, and were on our way.
The climb out of the town of Whitewater was tough — a steep ascent over what felt like a mountain pass. Several ups and downs later we passed by a gorge and descended to Whitewater Creek, an oasis, a heaven-send of running water! This was the largest flow we had seen since we started. Several hikers took a break to soak their feet in the cool water. It was a beautiful spot.
Leaving the creek was difficult, especially since we had to climb again. I had been feeling rather exhausted and nauseated during our uphill climbs today, the muscles throughout my body not wanting to work at all. Bushtit had me drop some Propel (electrolytes) in my water bottle, and right after the first sip I was revitalized! I thought my foods had been salty enough, but I suppose after two weeks of constant sweating I should have known that I might have needed a salt boost.
We trudged forward and met a nice man called Dude (the name fits!) who had hiked the PCT five times previously and completely thru-hiked twice. He shared some stories of past hikes with us and gave us a good idea of what was ahead.
It wasn’t much further down the trail that I had heard a loud rattle. My body was shot full of adrenaline. I looked down to see the rattlesnake I was just about to step on and I jumped backwards several times like a dancing marionette! My foot was inches from the rattler before I jumped back. The thing crossed the trail, but decided to stay put on the edge. We couldn’t get around it. I started throwing rocks to encourage it to move downhill, but it only became angrier. Bushtit suggested we wait to see if it would move, but nope. Our friend Puff Puff came down the trail and the three of us stood stymied at the snake showdown. I was just about to use my trekking pole to lift it out of our way when Dude caught up to us and took charge. He moved the snake with my trekking pole and gave us some good tips about rattlers to use in the future, but he also had a good laugh at my expense!
Leaving the view of Mt. San Jacinto behind, we traveled up Mission Creek towards Onyx Summit. It was pleasant to hike along a babbling brook, but we didn’t expect to have to cross it a dozen times and push through foliage dense enough to be in a jungle! What a change from all of the desert we had been going through.
And now we rest alongside the river, haven eaten our refried bean, cheese, tuna, and spam burritos. With full bellies we write, and cringe over thoughts of the many uphill miles we have to traverse tomorrow.
The Dry Dusty Landscape Around Mission Creek
Struggling Up Mountains
Written by Jill
I woke up kinda mad this morning. The wind was ferocious last night — our tent was sand blasted, the fabric whipping and cracking from midnight until four in the morning. I know because I was awake for the whole thing. So I was a little grumpy while shaking the sand out of everything.
Our day was slated to be a tough one — we had to climb back up to 8000 feet over the course of 12 miles. We were following Mission Creek most of the day in a canyon through the hills. Some parts were very green and very muddy! It reminded me more of a jungle than the desert. Before we even started the day, Tomtit was feeling nauseated again and the morning uphill was really hard. I was struggling with the hills as well — we had lots of stops and breaks throughout the day.
As we climbed up to around 5000 feet there was a burned area populated with poodle dog bush. I didn’t take a picture because I was too busy dodging the plant and slightly freaking out. Apparently if you touch the leaves and are allergic it can send you to the hospital. We’ll go by a section with more later so I’ll snap a picture next time. After some grueling miles of exposed trail we finally got up to the trees!
The higher elevation made it a little harder to hike for Tomtit on top of his nausea, and it was a relief when we made it to Mission Creek Trail Camp for water. Tomtit immediately threw down his ground cloth and relaxed in the shade while I took our platypus bladders to the spring. There was water trickling down the hillside into a large blue barrel for us to collect from.
We spent a good hour at the camp site drinking the delicious water and eating food. Tomtit was feeling a lot better, so we pushed on an extra five miles through a beautiful alpine forest to a tent spot on top of a ridge. The day was an exhausting one, but we made some good miles and had a great spot to spend the night.
Climbing Out of the Dust
San Bernadino Wilderness
Written by Jill
Last night was a really pleasant night! Even though we were at 8400 feet and on a ridge, there wasn’t much wind and it wasn’t freezing. Score! We packed up and headed down the trail with the goal of a campground two miles in that had a pit toilet (yay!). A few minutes of walking provided us with cell service so Tomtit used my phone to call home to check in.
The trail crossed a dirt road up in the mountains which lead to Coon Creek Campground. Sadly the toilet door was locked (gotta dig a hole…) but there was an old run down cabin there with trail magic! Someone had left a few cokes and beers on the fireplace mantle — it’s the little things out here!
The goal today was to set ourselves up for a short day tomorrow into Big Bear Lake and a nearo. We cruised the first ten miles past some sad movie/stunt animals in cages (small cages, no shade), a water cache, and a trail magic cache with a pull out sofabed. We took a break at the Arrastre Trail Camp and filled our Smartwater bottles, and then pushed on another seven miles. The terrain changed as we dropped in elevation to a brushier and rockier forest.
There were a few miles of ridge walking with no ups or downs, and since we weren’t trying to crunch miles it was a relaxing stroll. With four miles left for the next morning, we found a flat space near the trail to set up camp. On to the Big Bear Hostel and breakfast in the morning!
Big Bear Lake from the PCT
Big Bear Lake
Written by Jill
All I could think about this morning was breakfast! We flew the four miles to the road. I grumped at Tomtit once when he stopped to pull a thorn out of his foot – sorry love! I really wanted food. There was no time for stopping!
We changed into our sleep shirts (because our hiking shirts were filthy) and walked over to the group of hikers who waited by the road. It turned out that the Big Bear Hostel had a shuttle to pick up hikers, but they encouraged trying a hitch first. The group by the road had called for the shuttle, but it wasn’t going to arrive for another 30 minutes. Two hikers, Ranger and Bubba Gump, were across the road trying to hitch. We ran over and joined them. Five minutes later two men in a truck pulled over! The four of us threw our packs in the bed and then we all squeezed into the back seat. We had a nice ride into town from the two fishermen (they gave us donuts!) and they dropped us right in front of the hostel. Thanks guys!
Tomtit and I went right in to the hostel office and grabbed a room for $45. The room wasn’t ready, but Sarge at the front desk gave us coupons to a breakfast place down the street so we happily left our packs and sauntered to Teddy Bear’s for food. It was delicious. After food we returned to the hostel with stuffed bellies and were let into our room.
An extremely sweet lady offered to drive Tomtit, Roxanne, Puff Puff, and I to the grocery store two miles away after her yoga class, so Tomtit took a quick shower and I caught up on some blogging. The resupply was quick and painless and Danielle drove us back with all of our groceries! It’s so amazing how kind a complete stranger can be!
After shopping we were hungry again (go figure), so a group of us from the hostel went for tacos and margaritas down the street.
Tomtit and I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting our food for the five day stretch ahead and messing around in the common room until we were hungry again. This time just Tomtit and I went to the local brewery to get some pints and dinner.
We came back stuffed and ready for bed : ) The hostel turned out to be a good choice — they knew how to cater to hikers and we had a great time!
The Lake Looks Dry from Some Angles
Dry Woods
Written by Arthur
The hostel offered pancakes and coffee before sending us on our way. Not only did I eat pancakes, but also last night’s leftover bacon mac n cheese and a we made a quick stop at a local breakfast joint for a bagel and cream cheese. At 9:30am sharp eight hikers jumped into an old station wagon provided by the hostel with a chauffeur, and we were dropped off 12 miles out of town at the trail.
The hike itself was an easy 19 miles around and over Big Bear Lake. We traveled through a fragrant pine forest which gave way to burned cliff sides where more forest once stood. We dropped down through the hills to the valley below where we made camp creek side at a trail camp with a horse corral, fire pit, and a roofless outhouse equipped with a solar panel to aid in decomposition.
A few more weary hikers made their way to our humble camp while I collected firewood. The camp was surrounded by dry weeds and had burned chunks of wood from the forest fire. Everything around was ridiculously dry. We made a modest fire and collected creekwater to put out any wandering sparks.
The fire kept us all up and chatting until 10pm, a couple hours beyond our usual bedtime. It was a nice change of pace for the evening. We mostly talked about food, and I swear we had an hour-long conversation about ice cream.
The Desert is a Beautiful Place
Cruising to the Hot Springs
Written by Arthur
I can’t believe it is May already! We’ve been on the trail for three weeks — it has been incredible so far.
Today we woke up at the little campground and got to use the outhouse (yay toilet seat!). We had a leisurely goal of around 18 miles which would put us just short of Deep Creek Hot Springs. Mama is planning on meeting us there tomorrow to hike a 34 mile section. So exciting : ) We were ahead of schedule and decided to make it a leisurely day.
The first seven miles went by quickly with a smooth, rock free trail and light cloud cover making for excellent hiking. We came to Holcomb Creek and spent some time filtering water and snacking. We got moving again after about 30 minutes and headed towards the next water at Deep Creek Bridge. There were a few creek crossings along the way as we slowly dropped in elevation.
We got to the bridge at around 1 o’clock and we had already done 13 miles of our planned 18, so we relaxed for an hour and a half — eating and collecting water and soaking feet was on the to-do list. Only one rattlesnake bothered us.
I could have stayed there all day lounging around! But we dragged ourselves up and away from the creek. The trail followed Deep Creek for the next seven miles but we were much higher up the cliff side.
After hitting 20 miles we stopped next to the creek where the trail went down to meet it. We’d gone a bit further than planned but that just meant a more lazy day tomorrow : )
The Rainbow Bridge at the Hot Springs
Mama Hikes Again!
Written by Jill
This morning was a lazy one. We were lying in our sleeping bags as Roxanne, Puff Puff, and Zog packed up and started hiking to the hot springs. Eventually we stuffed our bags away, rolled up our sleeping pads, crammed the tent into its stuff sack and started up the trail.
We got to the hot springs around 8:30 in the morning and it was pretty quiet. There were maybe 10 people around and most were still asleep. Our friends who had started earlier had already gone in for a dip and highly recommended it. We had the hottest pool and the creek all to ourselves.
We soaked in the hot spring and then jumped in the creek to swim with the tiny catfish and trout. After our swim we still had a few hours to kill before mama was due to arrive and the sun was beginning to beat down on the beach. Tomtit and I walked up the trail to find some shade only to see a large number of people coming down from Bowen Ranch — where most of the day hikers access the hot springs. Tomtit started to get antsy with the crowd, so we decided he would hike on two more miles to the rainbow bridge and I would hike the two miles uphill to Bowen Ranch to meet mama and papa. We had a little separation anxiety as we walked in different directions, but the uphill pulled my attention back quickly. The trail was pretty steep and I had to frequently step to the side as more and more people headed down to the springs, but I made it to the top in under an hour. I set up my groundsheet to wait in the shade and ended up striking up a conversation with Vernon, a day hiker. The wait went by quickly with a cool drink in hand and a friendly chat — trail magic is so unexpected!
Mama and papa pulled up around noon with four In-N-Out burgers (yay!!) which I strapped onto my pack. I hugged papa goodbye and we started back down to the hot springs. By the time we reached the bottom there must have been around 50 people swimming and hanging out, some of whom were fully naked. There was also a man who apparently dropped his gun and was searching for it. Mama and I made for the PCT as soon as possible.
We strolled along for the first two miles admiring the beautiful views of Deep Creek. At two miles in we heard a call from below the rainbow bridge — Tomtit had been lounging in the shade waiting for us.
The three of us ate the delicious In-N-Out burgers and then started out in earnest. Tomtit led the way for about four miles on a nice section of track while mama and I chatted away. There was a cool view of the Mojave Dam at the end.
We stopped to collect some water from Deep Creek and then came upon a good stretch of road. We walked three miles farther from the dam to a sheltered camp site on a hillside. It was a relaxed and fun start to our three day stretch of hiking with mama!
The Gang is All Here
Silverwood Lake
Written by Jill
The moon was so bright last night. The blowing winds faded away during the night and we woke to a lovely morning. We scarfed a quick breakfast of bars and started out while the hills were still cool and shady.
We followed the trail as it contoured along the hills. There was a camp site tucked away in the shade where we sat for a snack break after five miles. Mama sat on her bright orange sleeping pad, and for some reason it attracted a ton of flies!
Our goal after the break was Cleghorn Campground in eight miles for the next water, so we got going. The trail dropped down off the hills and we walked parallel to a road for a bit. We started going up into a shady grove when Tomtit spotted a cooler — more trail magic! There was a gallon of ice water as well as bottled water and chocolate bunnies. So good!!
After that refreshing stop there was another small uphill. Mama was feeling too hot in the sun and had to stop to pour some water on her head. When she was feeling cooler we made it to the top of the hill to a sweet sight — a lake!
The breeze coming off the lake was fantastic and just what we needed to combat the hot sun. We wound around the lake for a few miles and then took a half mile detour to the Cleghorn Campground. Tomtit was parked on a picnic table in the shade and had already scoped out the water source (the sinks in the bathroom were flowing). We decided to take a long break in the heat of the day, so mama set up her tent to take a nap.
Two hours of chilling in the shade and chatting with other hikers put us at 4:30 in the afternoon. We were well rested and ready to do a few more miles. There were a few sections where the trail was very narrow with a steep dropoff, and mama is a little bit afraid of heights, but she was repeatedly brave and kept on walking!
The sun started to set, as it does, so we sent Tomtit ahead to scout for a camp site. The moon came out in its full glory and mama and I donned our headlamps for our second night hike together. The most exciting thing we got to see when it was dark was a large toad!
We finally heard voices and came around a corner to see Tomtit with Llama and DuPont in a valley. There was plenty of room to set up our tents and eat a quick dinner before climbing into our bags. We did 20 miles today! I am so proud of mama again, she can really hike!
The Sun Has Set on Mama’s Hike
Fog and Full Bellies
Written by Arthur
This morning was wet. We had slept on grass in an open field, and fog had rolled in over night. Our sleeping bags were moist, and our tent was dripping wet. It sure was chilly.
Our friend Llama had cowboy camped, and all of his belonging were soaked. He and DuPont shared a story of a previous venture where they had been caught in a hail storm and quick-rising streams surrounded their tents. They had a video showing how in seconds the ground around their tents had turned white with hail balls. It was crazy!
We ate quick breakfast snacks and were on our way. It was a short 6.5 miles to a highway-side McDonalds. We were ready to stuff ourselves stupid. The fog thickened as we hiked, and the wind was cold. We couldn’t see much more than a couple dozen feet in front of ourselves while we walked under power lines and inched ever closer to the roaring highway.
The fog cleared as we approached the highway and we took our half mile detour to Mickey D’s. Jill’s dad (Mike) and his dog (Baby Bear) met us in the parking lot. Chris dropped her pack in the car and chatted with her husband while Bushtit and I walked over to grab some grub.
We each shoved about 2000 calories into our guts before being satiated. Mike drove us across the highway to a Best Western where Bushtit and I got a room for the night. We were due for some showers and laundry.
Chris and Mike drove back home while we got clean. At the hotel we ran into some friends. It was great to see Shaggy, Papa Smurf, Cashmere, and Physio again. We grabbed some Subway and beers before the night is through! Time to relax a bit.
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See more pictures from Arthur and Jill’s Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike by downloading the Adventure and The Pacific Crest Trail eBook. A print version is available as well. All sales help support Better Hiker.
