Once Ivy and Wolf left camp slightly before 8 this morning, we didn’t see another hiker until we met them at camp this evening. We didn’t feel rushed since we only had 15 miles planned for the day. That feels great to think that 15 miles isn’t that big of a day for us. We had just finished eating when they left so we had to pack up and take care of other things before we would, ultimately, hit the trail at 8:30.
Upper Shake Campground appears to have been abandoned by the Angeles National Forest. It’s a shame because it just needs a little TLC to become a nice spot. Just send in a crew to cut down all the dead trees, pick up the trash, clean out the privies, fix up the roads, and install a reliable water source. All this could be done for a few million bucks and then you’d have a great $5/night camping spot.
There is a privy here that looks like something out of a chainsaw massacre movie, but if you brush aside all the debris and are brave enough to lift the lid…nothing actually jumps out of the pit to grab you. Not even odor. It was actually quite a pleasant experience except for the rust ring left on my ass. I won’t pass up a privy if one avails itself, but I am a bit of a savant when it comes to AAA (anal aiming ability). I attribute my laser accuracy to the fact that I’ve only had 2 prostrate exams and one colonoscopy so my rifling hasn’t been affected by too much traffic.
Bunny claimed to not need the privy, but I know my wife. If she doesn’t take advantage now, we’ll be stopping half way up the first climb because her “stomach is upset.” It took some sweet talking, but things worked out for the best and my wife was a happy climber once we got going.
The first climb was pretty steep and was almost 2 miles in duration. When I say steep, I don’t mean AT steep (2100’ in 1/2 mile was the worst climb we had last year). I mean PCT steep which we had about 400’/mile which we would have considered level on the AT. It really wasn’t that bad. Even so, Bunny’s stomach wasn’t the hold up, it was her calves. She has the tightest calves I have ever seen on anyone. It usually takes her a couple miles of walking to get them to loosen up. I got to the top and knew that I had plenty of time to kill, so I got out the nail clippers and gave myself a pedicure. When Bunny caught up, she thought that was a great idea and gave herself one, too.
The next 7 miles of trail were paradise. We found ourselves undulating near the upper portion of a ridge traversing oak forests and pine forests. The oaks in Southern California tend to be all California Live Oak which stay green year round. We did pass through some that had no leaves or green and had a lot of fallen limbs on the ground and broken trunks. We considered these to be victims of the long time drought in the area (of which we are not experiencing).
The pine forests were like nothing we have experienced before. The pine cones are scary huge. They were bigger than Bunny’s head and weighed a few pounds. If one of these things fell on you in a heavy wind, they could kill a person.
When we started the next big climb of the day, I was definitely the weak link. At first, I thought I was just getting too old for this, but I looked at Bunny, who is significantly older than me, and she wasn’t having any problems. Then I started to wonder if the manicure had been a bad idea. What if I am like Sampson, only it’s my nails and not my hair that contain my strength. Will it take me a week to get my strength back? Should I never cut my nails so short that I can’t have dirt under them?
After a little more contemplation I did get to the bottom of the problem. The grade of our second climb was nearing 500’ per mile; not a terrible slope. The day wasn’t particularly hot, it was barely over 60 and partly cloudy. Not at all hot and miserable like yesterday. It’s this damn cold combined with me not getting enough calories. I didn’t get sick even once last year on the AT. In fact, I’ve only hiked once when I was sick and that was on the Camino de Santiago 2 years ago. Even then, with me vomiting and experiencing diarrhea, I still put in 14 miles. I only got sick because Bunny left the meat sitting in the sun for an hour before kicking it in the dirt and letting a dog lick it. To get the dirt off of the meat, I think she wiped the dog’s ass with it. I thought she was being generous when she let me have all the meat.
I have been swallowing so much snot the last few days that I don’t really have an appetite. I wonder if I can sell my snot as an appetite suppressant and pick up some extra money to extend our time out here. Mistakingly, I believed my sinus drainage was making up the caloric deficit that my reduced appetite has given me. Today, my pack just felt like it was filled with rocks. Bunny kept encouraging me and when we got to the top, I rewarded myself with a pedicure just to bite my thumb at “ my nails are my strength” theory.
Nearing our camping spot for the night, we did run into someone. It was a PCTA trail Maintenance volunteer out checking on this section of trail to see what work needs to be done. His trail name was Leapfrog. He section hiked the PCT in the early twenty teens and has been doing trail work since 2014. We thanked him for all his work and for the excellent condition of the trail we have hiked so far. Without people like Leapfrog and all the other trail crew volunteers, we couldn’t be out here.
Leapfrog did tell us that Ivy and Wolf were a little bit ahead at the campsite waiting for us. It was nearing 4 and we figured they had gotten in no later than 2. We were off, they had been there since 1:30. The campsite is on an exposed point and the wind was starting to pick up. Rain is predicted for tomorrow with much colder temperatures.
We were able to get everything done that we needed to do while it was still light out (including trudging down the side of the mountain about 500’ of elevation over 1/4 mile distance to get water. Ivy and Wolf did join us for hot tea while we ate our supper before we were all forced into our tents from the wind and cold. The reason they did stay here rather than push on further down the mountain is that there is cell signal here. Wolf has found out that no one has made it over San Jacinto yet and are still stuck in Idyllwild. We made the right decision to jump ahead.
EFG
Minor correction to your comment of being ‘sick’ on the Camino de Santiago two years ago. I recall you were simply hungover. Just sayin’.
Cheers buddy, really enjoying your blog!!
That was a different time. Bunny did try to poison me.
No, Bunny was smart & did not eat meat that had been in your pack for 2 days & she tried to tell you to throw it out. Next time, you will listen to Bunny 😉
Bunny pooped in her sleeping bag last night.
I can confirm that Curtis was sick and not hungover haha
If he was hungover that usually meant i was too haha
But Perks decided the best way to prevent a hangover was to not lose the buzz. This can only work for a couple of days and then you have to sleep.