Climbing into the Blizzard

I had probably my best night of sleep on the trail so far. The temperature was great and I was on flat ground. It was going to be a long hike today uphill all the way. I was climbing up toward Big Bear and there was rumor of weather. In two or three days I should be in Big Bear so I wasn't too worried about it. I didn't realize what I was in for...

It's interesting to not how the mind works. I knew from looking at other people's maps and elevation profiles that it was a 20 mile section of almost all climbing but once you get on the trail you're thinking, "I wonder what the trail has for me today?" Then it's almost like you're surprised when the maps are right. An all day climb is kind of unbelievable. when you're on mile 14 or 15 and you normally get 20 - 25 miles you get frustrated as the landmarks come by much more slowly. In your hiking head you're thinking that you have come 7 miles and then you come up to some hikers at a stream and find out you've only gone 4. Nearing the end of the day, the last few miles into camp are excruciating as you come around another turn and there's another stretch of uphill that turns toward a peak you couldn't see earlier.

I've heard that the climbing section into Big Bear is one of the hardest on the whole trail and that it's the reason that many people get off the trail permanently in Big Bear. Well, I can definitely see that. I thought I was lucky because it was an overcast day with a lot of wind when typically this part of the trail is extremely hot; however, in the afternoon the temperature began to drop very quickly. As a ski instructor and frequent traveler in the mountains I pride myself in being able to tell the temperature without a thermometer. I'm rarely off by more than three degrees in the 10 - 50 degree range, even with wind but as I climbed and the temperature dropped I was afraid to believe my guesses. It felt like 40 degrees at 4pm! It couldn't be! It felt like 35 degrees at 5pm as I pulled in to a campsite that had some water. There were a couple of packs sitting by a horse "burro" or "Hitching Rail" and a tall hiker there. In my kilt and thin shirt I was quickly shivering.

"How cold is it man?" I asked Pepe who was getting ready to go further up the trail
"Pretty cold, somebody had a thermometer on their pack and it said 39 about a half hour ago"
"Man I can't believe it!" It's gonna go below freezing tonight and yesterday I thought I was going to get heat stroke!"
"Yeah man I'm trying to get to 146 to some shelter they have there."
"Man I think I'm just gonna wrap up in everything I have and pass out. Is there water here?"
"Yeah, it's about a 1/4 mile past the campsite. Catch ya later"
"Later"

There were a couple of people at the campsite and I started gathering raking up pine needles with my trekking poles to try and get better insulation to sleep on. It was going to suck tonight.

Seahorse and her boyfriend who doesn't have a trail name yet walked up, he was the one with the thermometer. He told me it was 35 and dropping quickly. Shit

I got a bunch of water and then collected wood and we all started a fire with pinecones. I stayed up late with the fire, not wanting to face the cold. I was guessing it was now about 28 degrees at 9Pm which meant it could go down to 20 or even lower by 3am. I got into my tent and put on everything I had and tried to go to sleep. I blew all the water back into my bladder so my drink tube wouldn't freeze and I was not looking forward to this night cause I only have a 40 degree bag and a Patagonia down sweater. Shit.

David AKA “Mister F. Gentle Spirit”
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