Day 18, May 5: Mile 249 to 266 and into Big Bear
Start: Mile 249.4
End: Mile 266.1
Miles: 16.7
Ascent: 1680 | Descent: 3483
I did not sleep well as I was super cold last night, and I heard that pretty much everyone had the same experience. Still, we set off for an early morning. Shortly after leaving camp, we crossed the 250 mile marker, woo!
Miles passed by quickly as the terrain was considerable easier than the previous couple of days. There wasn’t much climbing and the cool temperatures meant we were cruising. The group stopped at the last water source that we would hit before going into Big Bear. We were amazed to realize that that we had already done 9 miles by 8:30am or so.
I was feeling so sleepy that I could’ve just about fallen asleep while walking. I mentioned this to Amazon and how I was frustrated that I had felt so good yesterday but so crappy today. She suggested that I had “borrowed from today,” which resonated with me. I drank more caffeinated Crystal Light drink in hopes that it would revive me.
I felt a bit better and Alex and I had some good conversation as we hiked along. The sun was out but it wasn’t too hot, and the desert views from high up in the mountains were pretty.
The hiking continued to be easy and we got to the campsite we were planning to stay at, a half mile up from where the trail intersects highway 18, around 2pm. Snake Charmer and Topo, who had been out in front of the rest of the group, had missed the campsite and kept going to the highway. We called them and they were going to come back, but then they said there was a trail angel there who offered to bring them into town. We figured out a plan where SC and Topo would go into town to get pizza and beer and bring it back to the campsite, and Snake Charmer generously offered to treat us to it. So kind of him, thanks SC!
The day before, I had gotten in touch with my friend Susie who lives in Big Bear and offered to help me when I came through town. I had asked her if she would be available for a ride, and she wanted to but unfortunately was out of town, but she connected me to her neighbor who had hiked the PCT in 2019. His name is Ricky Bobby, and I had chatted briefly with him the day before and he agreed to pick us up Friday morning. However, while sitting at the campsite Thursday afternoon, he called me again and asked if we were sure we wanted to camp, and that we were welcome to come camp in his front yard if we wanted to. Sounded great to us, so we packed back up and started back down the trail.
By the time we reached the highway parking area, SC and Topo had returned with the pizza and beer and we chowed down at a shady spot. Soon enough, Ricky Bobby showed up and we piled into his RV. He brought us to his house and we got to meet his beautiful horses, wash our hands(!), set up our tents in his grassy front yard, take showers, and go to the store to get ingredients for dinner. A few of us cooked up ribeyes, and we had corn, kale salad and potato salad. We all passed out by 9pm to the sound of the braying wild burros in the distance.