PCT-3

So we stayed 10 days in Phoenix, we took a Greyhound bus to get there and it was quite a social experience! The air conditioning  system stopped working when the bus would go uphill while the outside temperature was up in the 90iesF (30+C). And the gas station stores would pretend the bathrooms were not operational to keep bus passengers away.

But we made it to Phoenix where our good old friends welcomed us and helped us with our needs.  Phoenix temperatures in mid-May were already teasing the 100F (40C) and the pool waters were warm as a bath.

We fixed our house water damage: pipes, bathrooms, drywall, etc (in 7 days!) and while at it did yard and pool plus additional preventative maintenance. Not much of a rest!

BUT we also treated ourselves to a few more entertaining activities.

We hiked up the gorgeous Camelback mountain (a classic!) in record time (without heavy backpacks we actually felt we could fly up the slope!).

Jeremy here in an easy soloing shot!

We visited old places we remembered from when we lived in Phoenix like Hole in The Rock in Papago Park.

And the very scenic desert botanical garden.

We even got to see a ballet under the stars by the botanical garden.

And finally we added a little culture  infusion and visited the new Scottsdale Museum of the West.

But Jeremy's shenanigans pushed us back to the trail before we could enjoy a good friend’s 50th birthday party. Only exhausting wilderness hikes seem to keep our teen in check.

So Thursday May 17th we drove back to Wrightwood California to resume our PCT hike where we had left it.

Fri, May 18 - PCT mile 369

We're back on the trail! And for our first day back it goes up Mount Baden Powell at 9400ft (3100m)! It's always when our backpacks are loaded to their maximum with food resupply for several days that we climb the most! Plus there's no water on the way so we have more than a gallon each to haul up too. Welcome back to the PCT!

Right below Mt Baden Powell a tree estimated at 1500 years old stood on the edge of the cliff. A beauty!

That first day we also hiked by mistake up and down an extra 2 miles making it a 17-mile hike day. ☹️ Tough first day!

But the next day was a lucky one.

We found a 3 mile car ride to avoid a long and nasty road walk detour due to a trail closure to protect an endangered frog.😀

Then just a few miles before our campground a car stopped as we were crossing the road and we were given oranges and treats.😀

And to finish, a boy scout club at the campground where we ended our day was making free hamburgers for all PCT hikers when we arrived!! 😀

Monday May 21 - PCT mile 436

It's the first time we have hiked 17 miles per day for 4 days in a row with elevations changes of 18,000ft up and 14,000ft down. We came back from Phoenix with trail hunger! Jeremy was dragging the first day but then he blew past us!

The desert in the spring offers us a lot of flowers to offset the parched sadness of large areas of burnt forests. The hiker crowds seems to have increased from before our long interruption. The entire world comes to attempt the challenging PCT thru-hike. We've met people from  a long list of countries already: Israel, Australia, Sweden, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, Poland, Slovakia, France, United Kingdom, Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Korea etc. And half the hikers are female, often young women hiking solo.

We continue being spoiled by “Trail Angels'” along the way.

Like that evening when we arrive at a very welcoming ranger station where a trail angel offers water, sodas and hot dogs!

Busy campsite tonight!

Thursday May 24 - PCT mile 471

Tuesday we made a short day to the Acton KOA campground. It was supposed to have showers and washers but none were operational!

View hiking towards Agua Dulce.

Since we also needed to find better shoes for Jeremy and Muriel we decided to take a Uber to North Los Angeles for a motel with showers and laundry, a REI store and a resupply groceries store.

What a contrast to go from the PCT to LA! But we had errands to run in the city while the trail was not too far from it…

The next morning we take a Uber back. Jeremy and Muriel have new shoes. Quite a big change of footwear by the way. Muriel switched from heavy boots to trail running sneakers! That's what 99% of the hikers use! Every step feels much lighter! Jeremy has sneakers now too but a bit more heavy duty.

We resume our hike from the Acton KOA to Agua Dulce going through long miles of desert hills thankfully followed by a beautiful park with interesting rock formations created by the famous San Andreas Fault: Vasquez Rock County Park. It has been serving as a frequent setting in many movies. Hollywood is close-by indeed….

Agua Dulce is a horse lover heaven filled with ranches and luxury equestrian properties.

We stop for a few drinks at a hiker-friendly café and resume hiking a few more miles just to get out of town and pitch our tents uphill. We're overlooking what looks like an outdoors movie gear storage (there's even the carcass of a Boeing plane!).

On our way we meet again a young couple we befriended along the hike, Luke and Adriana. She’s from Slovakia and he's from Australia. They tell us about this place called “Casa de Luna”:  a hippy couple has opened their large property for all PCT hikers to stop and take a rest. It's 21 miles further, 2 miles off the PCT and well worth the detour.

Friday May 25 - PCT mile 478

Lucky for us the weather has been quite cool lately, which is unusual for this time of the year in the dry and hot Mohave desert. We have even had several days of morning fog in a row, a blessing for us hikers! Especially since water spring refills are few and far between forcing us to do mostly dry-camping and carry at least 5 liters each to hold through 24 hours needs.

We make it to Casa de Luna for a good rest in that special welcoming place indeed. The backwoods are a maze of campsites under jojoba bushes. We are given Hawaiian shirts and told to lay back among all the other hikers spread all over.

Time to stuff ourselves with much needed extra calories too at the  early food joint, and send our blog 😀.