Day 35-36: Angeles Crest
May 9-10; Mile 369-406
Day 35
My parents dropped me off at the trailhead early in the morning; I could see clouds gathered in the valley nearby. Thankfully the wind from the previous day had died down, and the cold mountain air was refreshing instead of biting. The trail headed steeply up the side of Mt Baden-Powell, and near the top it disappeared among patches of snow. Some footprints veered around the blocks of white, others cut a path across it. It was a “choose your own adventure” of steep, loose rocks or hard, icy snow.
By the time I reached the summit, the clouds were waking from their slumber in the valley below and billowing over the ridge in expanding plumes of white. Los Angeles was completely obscured, and I didn’t stay at the top for very long. I ran into Piper again, this time heading north, and she said it was the best “view” of LA she’d ever seen.
As I descended down the ridge line, so too did the clouds. The trail passed into a burn area that was very recent; even the dirt looked charred. The only thing growing was poodle dog bush, like a manifestation of the earth’s rage at having burned. The blowing mist and empty trails lent the area a sinister feel.
The next water source was at Little Jimmy Spring, and it was the first time I’d seen other hikers in hours. I had originally planned to camp nearby, but it wasn’t even 3pm yet, so I decided to keep going. There was another spot in 5.5 miles, and I tried not to think about how that would push the day’s mileage to 20.
I passed the aptly-named Windy Gap, and the day stayed cold and gray. The trees dripped on me from their charred branches – the closest I’d come to seeing rain since the storm in Idyllwild. I was passed by two folks about a half mile from the camp spot, and we all set up our tents together. The spot was a decommissioned forest road that had been reclaimed by nature, and it offered several protected spots away from the burnt trees. With the forecasted cold front settling in, everyone retreated to their tents after eating to stay warm.
Day 36
After the long, challenging hike the day before – it had ended up being about 11,000′ of elevation change – I slept through my alarm and awoke to full sunlight. People were packing up around me as I lay bleary-eyed in my tent, and by the time I finally emerged the other camp spots were empty. The sun had burned off all the clouds, but the morning was still cold as I hiked the remaining mile of trail before the road walk. Part of the trail had been closed to protect the breeding grounds of the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog. This meant we had to walk along the shoulder of a two-lane highway for 3 miles. Thankfully it was early on a weekday, and I only saw 2 cars in the hour it took me to reach the turn off to Buckhorn campground.
With abundant water and picnic tables, Buckhorn campground was a pleasant spot to rest. I made myself a hot brunch to celebrate being done with the road walking: garlic couscous with tuna, olive oil, and cheddar cheese. Then I followed the Burkhart trail along a babbling creek until rejoining the PCT at last.
The next several miles seemed like a string of campgrounds and trailheads, with a pit toilet appearing every hour or so. The trail wove back and forth across highway 2, and often through burned areas, so when I reached the 400-mile marker I wasn’t in the best of moods. I took a few pictures and soldiered on. I finally ran into another hiker after 6 hours of solitude, and he and I paused to filter water from a piped spring alongside the trail. After that the trail finally mellowed out and took us high above the highway for views to the rocky ridges around us. The sky was churning with big puffy clouds, but they all disappeared by the time I reached camp.
About a mile before the turnoff to my camp spot, I came across a cooler in the woods with “PCT Papa Bear” written on it. Inside was fresh fruit, candy, trail mix, packets of red pepper flakes. I took a clementine and tried to leave my sour mood behind. The Sulfur Springs camp was spacious and shaded by towering pines. It was quite lovely, and I’d gotten there by 4:30 – which meant plenty of time for stretching and napping before dinner.
15 Comments
Dov
Wow, this sounds like quite the arduous couple of days. I can’t imagine doing 11,000 feet of elevation change in a single day. You must have been exhausted. And 400 miles! You’re just cranking them out now! I hope the fruit sweetened your mood a little. It sounds like this section was a little bit cooler, which is something to be thankful for.
The cover photo is eerie and haunting. I’m guessing the burn section was also a bit unsettling. Hopefully it wasn’t too unpleasant to hike through.
I wouldn’t be surprised if poodle dog bush were an early generation reclamation type of plant. A couple years after the 2000 fire in Los Alamos, there was a ton of scrub oak and small plants growing in burned areas that had been dense forest. It’s apparently a life stage thing for forests to move through: bare dirt/rock to lichens/mosses to grasses and small plants to bushes to young trees.
chasingalpenglow
This section was definitely tough, and the apples in my food bag didn’t make the climb any easier…
Sheila
woohoo! 400 miles! so awesome 🙂 <3 I remember hiking through a burned-out area in the High Sierra, while listening to thunder in the distance, thinking about the fact that the burn was probably started by a lightning strike… and also keeping an eye out for rattlers… it can definitely be a bit unnerving sometimes!
I have to admit that I'm still having a hard time thinking of you as Stormy 😉 Sunny would be a better fit, I think, but I know that's not how trail names are chosen 🙂
here I sit, envious, writing SQL and python scripts,
Sheila
chasingalpenglow
Ha! I laughed aloud at your last line. Are you and Andy going to be able to do any trips this summer around CHS work?
Norene Lewis
Lilacs are in full bloom here in the Chicago area. Not as spectacular…or eerie…a sight as what you’re seeing, but they perfume the air so beautifully. Perhaps you can imagine that, if you have to hike through a scorched landscape again.
chasingalpenglow
The lilacs I’ve passed out on the trail have been so fragrant and nice too!
kate
One of the many things I like about your posts is the choice of media you use to depict the n-hundred-mile markers. You’ve gone from stones in the desert to pine cones in the mountains. I also just like seeing the number grow. You are also still managing to portray the feel of the terrain really well in your photos: the lushness around water sources, the cool mist and clouds, and now the scorched, yet resilient and recovering forest. Thank you for posting so many photos!
chasingalpenglow
Oh I can’t claim responsibility for the mile stone markers – they were there before I got here. And I certainly didn’t have the extra energy required to make the 100 or 400 mile ones 🙂
Therese
400 miles through all those different ecosystems – truly amazing! You’re seeing places that so few Americans will ever experience; the variety of nature must fill you with wonder and it must be an exquisite feeling to touch the sky and to soak up all that beauty and majesty. It’s because of you that we’re getting a real taste of the world beyond the concrete, steel and glass jungles that many of us call home. As the chalkboard in the basement has proclaimed for the past 18 years, “Karen rocks!”
Grandma
Hi, Karen,
Am really enjoying your posts. Nothing like my Girl Scout hiking days.
Scenery is something most of us will never see.
. ENJOY!!
Love, Grandma
chasingalpenglow
Thank you! I am so happy to share the scenery with you all through photos. It’s truly stunning out here
Ray
This trail segment sounds a bit like a forced march by a Roman Legion. Ave Caesar! Wandering through the charred remnants of a forest fire is so unsettling, no matter how long ago the flames raged. What’s always so amazing is how life not only clings to the landscape, but relentlessly reclaims it. We’ve wandered far through the scarred shadows of the Great Fires in Yellowstone, and each time stand awestruck at how flora and fauna return, even if it takes decades. Hope your journey keeps you far from the season’s actual conflagrations . . .
chasingalpenglow
Ave Caesar indeed 🙂 I’ve much more enjoyed the burn areas where the trees are silver and the ground is a sea of grass and wildflowers. Hopefully the ashy, recent burn areas are able to heal for new hikers in years to come. One place I’m very curious to see is the Eagle Creek fire area in the Gorge – they’ve done a lot to repair the trail in the 5 years since it burned.
Kenny B
Very impressive mileage you are covering, especially considering you have a pack, constantly changing climate and 11k elevation delta, and able to keep your wits about you all the while.
I’d be as sour as the clementine you confiscated. 🙂
Eagerly awaiting the next leg of the journey.
Sincere thanks for bringing us along.
chasingalpenglow
Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying reading it