Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Miles: 28.6
Elevation gain/loss: 5200’/6811′
Start: Highway 18/Big Bear Lake
End: Bench Camp, Holcomb Creek
I was awake before my alarm at 5:45am. For whatever reason, I didn’t sleep very soundly, though I enjoyed my horizontal time. I took one last shower and ate the breakfast burrito and yogurts I’d bought the night before. I chatted with Toby for a few minutes, since there is a 3 hour time difference. I was ready to go when Jessica texted me to say she was in her way, though after looking outside and finding half an inch of snow and active snow fall, I dug out my rain shell. She picked me up at 7:15am and we had good chats on the way to the trailhead. I was back on trail and hiking through the snow by 7:30am.
It snowed from before I started hiking until 2pm. Very little stuck on the ground, but it was pretty cold, hovering around 40 degrees all day with some chilly wind. The water cache I came across was almost completely frozen. On the plus side, the cold meant I didn’t need much water, though there were a number of water sources today. I stayed very hydrated and while it helped my moral, it was annoying to need to stop to pee every hour or two.
Interestingly, the snow meant the environment was more humid and less dry, so while my sinuses enjoyed it, my feet rubbed in ways they haven’t before. I taped them and hopefully, tomorrow should be warmer, perhaps in the mid 60s.
About halfway to my evening’s site, I met 7-Up, a retired thru-hiker from Quebec with a thick French Canadian accent. He shared a slice of his Swiss cheese with me while we sat on a rock and chatted about the Northeast in the snow. He made it to the same campsite as me this evening, and is camping nearby, already snoring by 7:15pm. I was at the campsite by 5pm, so I had some time to get settled in and relax. Another thru-hiker, Badlands, from Santa Cruz is camped here too.
Transcending Mountains 