Start mile 265.7, finish mile 285.7, 20.0 total miles. Total ascent 2505, total descent 2734, grade 262 feet per mile average. Sunny, high 70, low 36, light winds.
Yes, this is day 21. I spent days 18, 19, and 20 with my wife.
While in Big Bear, I became separated from my trail friends I have been hiking with since the beginning. It was a rather lonely hike, but good for the soul. I had hoped that the 3 days off would have helped my knee, but they didn’t. My knee is just going to hurt, unless I take a few weeks off, I’m just going to have to deal with it. This next 4 days are going to be the easiest stretch of trail so far. It’s the calm before the storm of Mt. Baden-Powell. I’m going to take a side trail and avoid that mountain above 7,000 feet. There are Park rangers turning hikers back that don’t have spikes and an ice axe. The side trail will be longer so I will make up miles I previously skipped.
My plan is to get in another 20 ish miles today as the terrain is easy, gentle hills with a slight downward trend. Water is plentiful so I don’t have to carry much. I walked through previously burned forest that is giving rise to the next generation of forest.
I ended up coming to a campsite that had a flowing creek, toilet and tables. It was nice to fall asleep to the sound of the breeze in the tree tops, a running creek, and lots of birds, one of which sounded like a kitten meowing!
Sounds tough with a bum knee. I sure hope it improves as you go, Jason.
Thanks Ron