The Saufley's

We're here at the long-awaited Hiker Heaven; also known as the Saufley's home. To get here, we went through some incredible scenery in Vasquez Rocks. The rock structures are so wacky, you half expect dinosaurs to step out from behind them. This is where The Flintstones Movie was filmed and you can even see where they cleared the plants for their filming equipment. The trail turns into a long road-walk coming out of Vasquez Rocks and into the town of Agua Dulce. We got a few snacks and went to the local pizza place before heading up to the Saufley's home. The first thing you notice when you walk through the gate, is how incredibly efficient and organized they are. The garage is organized like a polling place. A bulletin board with an intro, procedures, and updated trail information. There are white tents with comfy cots set up. Bikes to rent for trips into town. Amazingly, a trailer for the hikers to make their breakfast and fresh coffee in, sit on the couch, and feel at home. The thing that we have most appreciated is that they practically have a post office operating in their garage and we were able to spend some time to redistribute our packages. Tomorrow, we head out to another trail angel home at the Anderson's, AKA Casa de Luna.

Mile 400

After an unexpectedly cold, drizzly, and windy day, we are camped on the floor
of a vacant boy scout's camp with nine other hikers. It's so cozy. I have no idea whether or not we are supposed to be here, but I am hoping that the boy scouts won't be too harsh on us considering the weather. We just passed mile 400! We haven't written in a while. Every day has so many twists and turns, it's hard to convey or even remember the details. We have had some challenges, as was expected. We've also had a lot of beautiful experiences. The day we left Big Bear, we decided to relax until the hostel shuttle headed back to the trail. It didn't end up being until 2pm so we got a pretty late start, but were grateful for breathtaking sunset and a great camp spot overlooking all of Big Bear Lake. Over the next days, we went through pine forest, burn area, desert, a reprieve from the heat at Silverwood Lake, more desert, and up to the mountains again. Some days have seemed very slow going. Stopping every few minutes for shade or rest. Other days, we can tell that we're getting stronger. Some highlights since leaving Big Bear: lounging around in Deep Creek near where my family used to go camping at Crab Flats. Getting to the Deep Creek Hot Springs on a busy weekend, being creeped out by naked old men doing yoga, and passing it up completely. Hopefully, to come back on a less busy day. Going to Korean BBQ near Silverwood Lake with Brett's parents. Being in the middle of nowhere and being able to smell McDonald's in the distance. Running through the hills to get to it and emerging from the wilderness to find a McDonald's standing there. Camping perched high above the train tracks and being able to watch (and hear!) them go through the canyon all night. Deciding not to take the first unofficial Poodle Dog Bush detour because a few people told us it "wasn't that bad," only to find that it really was "that bad" and backtracking to the detour. Staying at a vacant

Methodist Youth Camp in Wrightwood. Taking our first hitch out of Wrightwood. Climbing to the peak of Mt. Baden-Powell on a beautiful day and heading back down it in a windy rainy cloud. Finding that there is so much more to this journey than the physical tasks of walking, eating, and sleeping. Slowing down and finding a spirituality in all of this. And that brings us to the present. We'll try to keep up with this more from now on.

Big Bear-Mile 266

We're getting ready to leave the Big Bear Hostel. What a relaxing couple of days. The owner of the hostel, Grayson, actually picked everyone up from the trail. One of the reasons we decided to stay there. He said it was his mom's station wagon from '92 repurposed into the company shuttle and gave a little tour of Big Bear on the way. How awesome. Everyone here is a snowboard bum working their way through the summer. This may be the last bit of SoCal culture we see for a while. We got to the hostel at 9:30am and the house was PACKED with "hiker trash", as one of the guys that works here loves to refer to us as. It's nice when we get to a town and everyone we've met along the way is all together, hanging out. Mostly it's been nice to be under a roof, relaxing, having good conversation. Someone mentioned that they have a new appreciation for VHS tapes and it's true. It's the weirdest thing. The crackle and static, people laying around watching movies we watched as kids. The hostel workers listening to classic rock. The slam of a door. The crackle of butter sautéing in a pan. The smell of the dryer going and fresh sheets. The simple things that remind us of home, but we would never appreciate them if weren't out here. Everyone's getting into the groove of this journey. The reality of what we're doing is becoming more and more clear. I hear a lot of people saying "we just walked here from mexico!" In the beginning, people were rushing to be ahead or to not get behind their friends. Now everyone's loosening up, starting to go their own pace, meet new people, and make a life out of this journey.
It's unbelievable how much food we've eaten while here. We had a lot of good cooks, and an awesome gourmet chef, in the house and we made good use of the kitchen at the hostel. I think everyone appreciated being able to sit around a table together, eat fresh food, and use real utensils. The night we arrived, everyone chipped in and both kitchens were making massive amounts of food. Pasta, salad, and lasagna. We had a nice time at the local sports bar, filling half of the place. For breakfast yesterday, Brett and I made steak, eggs, and an entire loaf of French toast. We used 14 eggs for one meal! And ate it like it was nothing. Pizza in town with a few other hikers and then straight back to the house to make Tri Tip for everyone. Breakfast this morning at Grizzly Manor Cafe with the biggest portions I've ever seen. Pancakes twice the size of the plate. Mmmm. Enough talk of food, but I'm gonna miss it!


There's always a lot of talk about "the vortex." Not wanting to leave the comforts of town. We definitely felt that, but today I can't wait to get back on trail. We're on our way to Wrightwood, with a stop at the famous Cajon Pass McDonald's. It's practically on trail and there's even a trail marker for it. After Wrightwood, we're headed to Agua Dulce and Hiker Heaven at the Saufley's. We have a couple of friends joining the adventure there. Can't wait!

Mile 227

Woke up at Ziggy and the Bear's to people shimmying out of their sleeping bags, still dark out. Rushing around, getting ready to leave. We hung around a little while to enjoy the trail magic. Ziggy and some volunteers were up early to make coffee, orange juice, and oatmeal for everyone. At home, I would have stayed there the rest of the day, cleaning up and helping out. It's weird to use the facility, eat the food, enjoy the company, and just take off in the morning. It is what they expect though. You have to get moving early to beat the desert heat. I always ponder what motivates people to become trail angels. To devote so much to it. Did the trail give them so much that they felt they needed to pay it forward? Will we feel that way at some point? Anyway, we left the house around 7:30 and it was already burning hot outside. We hiked 8 miles to the creek and realized that there was no shade for miles. We made the last-minute decision to take a side trail to Whitewater Preserve. It's a picnic area outside of Palm Springs with wading pools, grass, bathrooms with sinks!, and a huge room with air conditioning. There was a boy scout group, families, a reunion, an engagement party...it was kind of a culture shock. This is all out here? In the middle I nowhere!? We got over it when we were able to clean up and cool off. We spent the rest of the day there and headed out at sunset to hike the last 8 miles before bed. The hike at twilight was so beautiful and so much easier without the heat. The ranger at Whitewater told us that it's supposed to be 105 in the desert tomorrow so we're getting up at 4am to make it up to the trees before the sun beats down. We're learning how to hike our own hike and enjoy it.

What Day Is It Again?

We're back on trail now after welcoming a new neice to the family. The first couple of days back were slow. Half of one was spent doing town errands. The second day back, I wasn't feeling well and needed sleep so we didn't get many miles in that day either. It was worth it though. Today we hiked from San Jacinto down to the desert. A long, slow descent down the mountain in full sun. Somehow, though, I enjoyed it completely. Coming into the desert was so strange. We kept coming to things thinking they were mirages, wiping the sand from our eyes, only to find they were real. At the bottom of the mountain, we came to a water fountain in the middle of the desert, surrounded by tired and sunburnt hikers. A mile further, we came to a port-a-potty with a sink. Then a mile or two further, under the I10, our friend from Palomar College was trail-angelling; giving out twinkies and cold sodas. It was especially nice to see a familiar face today. We also found out that, by some estimates, there might be as many 750 hikers this year. It is usually 300-500. The trail angels are so amazing, I can't even begin to express. We are now camped at Ziggy and The Bear's home with about 15 other smelly hikers. It's been such a nice oasis in the desert. This stretch probably would have felt very lonely without the trail angels today. They fed everyone salad and huge bowls of ice cream (Memories of the ice cream man as a kid had been going through my head all day). They had Epsom foot soaks for everyone. Hot water, candy bars, cold drinks, fruit, blister supplies, stories, jokes. Now everyone's sleeping under a roof (a tarp) and it almost feels like a living room. We'll be in Big Bear next. Love, Brett and Dana

First Zero Day

Yesterday was our 11th day on trail. We got to Idyllwild yesterday afternoon--a 12 mile day, including some non-pct miles coming down the mountain. It was cinco de mayo and we were greeted at the base of the mountain by super nice former pct hikers. They offered us beer and a ride to the campground in town. I couldn't think of anything but a hot shower. Our phone died and we hadn't been able to get a hold of anyone, but found out that Brett's parents were already in town. It's been really nice to have the rest. I've been daydreaming about the time to stop and rest my eyes for a few days. The past two days of the hike have been the hardest. Up and across all of the mountains from Paradise Valley Cafe to Idyllwild. A short drive, but a loooooonnnng walk. It's kind of weird in town though, because I'm so exhausted I can't concentrate on what needs to be done. This morning was so nice. We went to a place called The Little Chef in the Forest that was very homey and relaxing and yummy. Probably not the best place for rowdy hikers, but for a few quiet, well-bathed hikers, it's a very relaxing place to go. After breakfast, we went to Brett's parents cabin and found out that we have a niece on the way today! We had been planning on getting off trail sometime in the next week for this, but were happily surprised that it happened today. So now, we're headed to LA. Not sure what will happen after that, but we should be back on trail in the next couple of days.

Day 8- eagle rock to mile 122

Camped in the clouds. Someone on trail commented that it looked like Big Sur. The terrain has changed a lot since just a couple of days ago in the desert. We are right up the hill from a place Brett and I camped at when we first met. Tomorrow, we'll be across the San Diego/Riverside line and Thursday we'll feast at Paradise Valley Cafe on the way to Idyllwild.



Warner Springs

Just a quick post from Warner Springs to say that we're more than safe and having an amazing time. I'm posting from the computers at the very generous Warner Springs Community Center. We got to have fresh coffee, the ladies that work here are so nice and made everyone HOT BREAKFAST. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs. Cleaning up, charging electronics, people are telling stories, someone's playing guitar...it's really nice. I have posts and photos from every day, but I don't have wifi right now on my ipod, so will have to wait till we get to Idyllwild to upload them. Hope everyone's great.

-Dana