Day 24-33: Trouble in the Tramily

Day 24: We get up early because we want to have a small breakfast in a cafe before getting back on the trail. On the way, we see a coyote running through the streets. In the cafe, there's free coffee for PCT hikers. I also order a grilled cheese sandwich, which is really good. After that, we go to the supermarket to hitch a ride. Cheese goes to the gas station across the street, talks to someone for two minutes, and then waves us over. We have our ride. It's just incredible. If everyone has a superpower, then Cheese definitely has the power to make anyone who talks to him like him. This hitch is much safer than the ride into town, and I am briefly surprised why it takes so long.
Back on the trail, we start with a small ridge. The trail is pleasant and we make good progress. Then the ascent to Mount Baden Powell begins. It is steep but initially easy to hike. Later on, there are many snowfields to cross and it is often impossible to see the trail. And since today is Saturday, there are many day hikers on the trail, some of whom are clearly overwhelmed by the conditions. But in the end, we make it to the summit.

The view is great and I really like the monument for Baden Powell. We take a little break and I chat with Ninja, a girl from Munich who is hiking the PCT for two months. Then we start the descent, and it is even worse than the ascent. By now, the snow is slushy and we constantly slip and slide, trying to find the trail.

When Cheese slips at a really dangerous spot, one of his trekking poles breaks. Luckily, that's the only thing that gets damaged, it could have been worse. We keep encountering groups of Boy Scouts, which is expected on a weekend like this. When we reach Little Jimmys Campground after only 14 miles, we are so exhausted that we decide to call it a day. But since the campground is overcrowded, as if it's not bad enough that you can reach it by car, we look for a quiet spot a little further down the hill. But even there, we can still hear the noise from the campground. It's relatively cold, and I hope that will motivate people to go to their tents sooner rather than later.

Day 25: We get up at 05:30 and pack up. By now, we've gotten pretty good at it. A few days ago, a hiker named Big Owl camped with us. When we met her again later, she said it's like being in the military with us. At exactly 05:30, everyone starts packing up, nobody says a word, and by 06:00, we're all ready to go. Shortly after we start hiking, I meet Yannick again, whom I met at the hostel in San Diego. We briefly talk about our experiences so far. I'm glad he's still on the trail. Like me, he didn't have a good start and had stomach problems in the first few days. He and a hiker named Fomo have breakfast with us a little later. We'll probably see each other more often in the next few days. The trail is quite boring today, so I listen to the Kangaroo books by Mark-Uwe Kling once again. I'm already at the 'Kangaroo-Apocrypha', which I'm listening to for the first time. First, we have to walk about three miles on the road because part of the trail is closed to protect the Yellow Mountain Frog. Luckily, the road is not very busy, and when a car comes, it's usually a sports car that you can hear from a distance. But road walking really takes a toll on the joints and is definitely not fun. But hey, what wouldn't we do for frogs.

Otherwise, it's mostly through open pine forests, but also through large burnt areas. So we have to be careful of Poodle-dog Bush again. It's interesting to see that there are trees with charred trunks that are still alive. And how new trees and plants grow back. But it's sad to see how large the burned areas already are here because the really big ones are yet to come. In the afternoon, we cross the 400 mile mark and after another 6.6 miles, we reach our campsite for tonight.

There are many other hikers there who we have met in the last few days, and since it's calm and quite warm, we can sit together for a while and chat. We don't have to retreat to our sleeping bags as quickly as we did in the last few days. I miss Cheese a little. He arrived at the campsite an hour before us and decided to hike a few more miles.
Today marks a small milestone for me personally. After today, this tour is the longest in terms of distance and duration that I have ever undertaken. And yet there is still a time and distance on the trail that is hard to imagine ahead of me.

Day 26: Today, there's not much to tell. We get up early again and have already done twelve miles by ten o'clock. We take a break at a fire station, where we can fill up on water for the next 14 miles. Then we continue on the trail, which is similar to this morning, sometimes steep, sometimes downhill, but always good to hike and with beautiful views. At noon, I meet some loggers who are clearing fallen and damaged trees. They ask me how long this trail is. I explain to them that it's the PCT, 2650 miles from Mexico to Canada. They are impressed, some of them know the trail but didn't realize it was this one. I chat with them before continuing on the trail. As I walk on, I realize how nice it was to see the enthusiasm of the workers and their admiration for us thru-hikers. Once you are on the trail, you have daily contact with thru-hikers or trail angels. But for all these people, a thru-hike is at least somewhat imaginable, and every hiker has to believe that they can make it. So it's good to be reminded through these encounters of the challenge we are taking on, and I continue walking with motivation. Overall, we easily cover 25,3 miles today. However, we have a very modest sleeping spot: right in the middle of a service road, a small forest road that is usually only used by rangers and loggers. Hopefully, none of them will have work tonight. I still haven't heard anything from Cheese. Before I forget, I should convey a message from Beans to my readers. Beans has learned some Chinese and has an impressive talent. Whenever he hears German from Natalie and me or asks about a certain expression, he can immediately repeat it with perfect pronunciation. I am supposed to convey the following: 'Guten Tag, jahaa!'

Day 27: Today was one of the, if not the most beautiful day on the trail so far. The day starts well, as none of us gets run over. In fact, no car passes by at all. We start early again. The trail once again leads along mountainsides, sometimes uphill and sometimes downhill. We make good progress and after 4.2 miles, the trail finally turns north again. Well, at least northwest. Our first goal of the day is the KOA Campground in Acton. When I come down the hill leading to the parking lot, I can already see Cheshire Cat's car from a distance. I pick up my pace a bit because I'm looking forward to having some fruit, and I'm not disappointed. Once again, I get an apple. This time, Cheshire Cat is a bit quieter, probably because he has been at the parking lot all morning. But it's still fun to talk to him and hear his stories. After a while, we continue to the campground. Here, we can restock on supplies, take a shower, do laundry, and hang out with other hikers. In the afternoon, we continue to our second goal of the day, Agua Dulce, a town the trail passes through. It's very hot, so we take our time. The trail hasn't felt like the desert as much as it does today. I'm curious to see what it will be like when we cross the outskirts of the Mojave Desert. On the way, we encounter a rattlesnake. Gumby, who is in front, gets rattled. By the time I reach it, it has already disappeared into the next bush, but I can see it well, and it turns its head towards me. So, let's move on quickly. Just before the town, the trail passes through an area where several movies and TV series have been filmed, such as Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, and Bonanza. It's an incredibly beautiful and exciting landscape.

Shortly before reaching the town, we meet Ninja and Taco. I already met Ninja from Munich on Mount Baden Powell. We all go to the Mexican restaurant together. The food is incredibly good, just like the margaritas. It's nice to have two new people joining us for a meal. Agua Dulce is also one of those incredibly hiker-friendly towns. We're allowed to sleep on a kind of porch in front of the restaurant. It's a bit bright, but it should be okay. If we maintain our current pace, and we will probably even get faster, we will reach the Canadian border on August 26th. That's already earlier than I expect to be there at the latest. I'm incredibly glad that a few weeks ago, I didn't follow the impulse to go faster and instead stuck with the others. I like every single one of them, and we function very well as a group. Together, we should easily be able to complete the trail.

Day 28: Last night, I woke up because dogs and coyotes were barking like crazy. Otherwise, I slept pretty well. Since we want to have breakfast in town, we sleep in. That means we're not up at 05:30, but at 06:00. And that's without an alarm clock. Ninja and Taco, who slept on the porch with us, join us for breakfast and for the rest of the day. Breakfast is very good, and after that, we go back to the hotel. After everyone has showered and our laundry is in the washing machine, we finish our conversation. In the end, our communication was not good enough, and we were somewhat unlucky to have two such situations in one day. Until now, it hasn't been a problem at all, especially when I think about how Natalie stayed with me during my migraine. I'm pretty sure that in the situation on the morning of the trail, I would have stayed and waited for the last person, but that's also an unrealistic expectation if I expect that from others. At least we have assured each other that we want to continue hiking together and ideally reach Canada together, and we love each other again. And I have to learn to communicate better when I have a problem with someone and not suppress it only to explode later. That's definitely one of my character traits that I can't stand. The rest of the day, we spend watching Marvel movies, eating pizza, and drinking beer. American advertising is interesting because we definitely don't have the same kind of advertising for medication and lawyers. And amidst all the frustration, I forgot something. We've already been on the trail for a month, and it was probably the shortest month of my life so far.

Day 29: Today is a sad day. I have to say goodbye to two good friends that I met in Germany. After a short getting-to-know-each-other phase, we fell in love and quickly decided that they will accompany me on the PCT. Since I left the house towards Frankfurt on April 1st, they have been by my side every step of the way. They flew with me on my first long-haul flight, and together we explored San Diego. They were with me when I had a heatstroke. We crossed mountains, hiked through forests, fields, and the desert, and crossed rivers. But now they have reached their limit. They try not to show it, but I can sense it. They have suffered injuries from which they can no longer recover. They are too old, too tired, and too weak to face the challenges ahead. Therefore, I have to leave them behind. Thank you very much for your loyal service, my friends. Sayonara!

We slept in today (07:00) and went for breakfast at the hotel. After the usual zero activities (mobility exercises, packing, writing the blog...), I went with Ben, Taco, and his wife, who came to visit him, to Bakersfield to not spend the whole day at the hotel. Here, I picked up two new friends. I'm sure I'll get along with them just as well as with the old ones.

Otherwise, there's not much else going on today. Later, we will all meet in our room for a bar exchange party, as most bars and similar things are sold in larger packages or are cheaper that way. And tonight, we're going to a Chinese restaurant with an all-you-can-eat buffet, which is just right for a group of increasingly hungry hikers.