Pacific Crest Trail 2013: Big Bear City, CA (Mile 265.9)

Yippee, we've completed one tenth of the trail and we are feeling great!!! Just a few minor ailments to deal with, but overall our bodies are adapting quickly! The heat has been building up. It's been over 100 degrees down low. To combat this we've been waking up at 5AM, taking the afternoons off, and hiking in the early evening.

We slowed down a little bit to attend the ADZPCTKO (Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off) party back at Lake Morena, CA (mile 20) for 3 days. The party is held to celebrate the beginning of the thru-hiking season and includes lectures, educational seminars, free food, vendors, and merriment.

One of the best lectures was titled the "The Story PCT Relay". For those that don't know (we didn't) Warren Rodgers' was the originator/creator/explorer of the PCT, but the first people to complete the PCT were a group of Boy Scout teams. Between 1935-1938 forty different teams of Boy Scouts hiked to prove out the continuous footpath concept in what would be called the "YMCA PCT Relays". It just so happened that one of those Boy Scouts' was turning 90 years old this year and one of his sons' contacted the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association) to see if they could get something to give him--not even realizing that everyone at the PCTA would love to speak with him and document his stories! Lucky for us, this Boy Scout named Marcus Moschett came to speak with us at the Kick Off! He could still recall names of trails, getting lost, animals, etc. and he was hilarious and witty!

The last thing I wanted to mention is the amazing group of Trail Angels we've come across in just a few weeks. These people have offered rides, water, a cold soda, a place to sleep, etc and asked for nothing in return (generally we do leave donations when appropriate). Earlier this week we stayed at "Ziggy and the Bears" just outside of Cabazon. This amazing couple in their 80s decided to move from Anza, CA (which is a town maybe 50 miles south) and buy a home close to the trail just so they could host thru-hikers--I have no idea why anyone would want to host extremely hungry and stinky hikers! Upon arrival, Bear immediately tells us to sit down take our shoes and socks off. He scurried back into the house and not 3 minutes later came out with a hot bucket of foot soak for each of us. The night was followed up with hot showers (including towel), salad for dinner, and a huge helping of ice cream for dessert! By the end of the night there were at least 20 thru-hikers there! Just before 9PM Ziggy asked when we wanted breakfast. I hesitated to suggest an early time after all the work they had done throughout the day, but Ziggy took charge and said breakfast will be out at 5AM. Words cannot describe how selfless these people are to strangers. Tonight we are staying with another Trail Angel family, "Papa Smurf and Mountain Mama". We cannot say how much we appreciate everything they do!!!