7th May 2025

We had another night of full sleep, that was two on the trot! It was a cold one though and I woke with ice on my sleeping bag from where the condensation froze. 

I felt so much better today energy-wise. I had two portions of oats instead of one and I was beginning to think that may be the best way forward. Hiking when hungry is not sustainable. Not for me anyway.

We stopped for a break at the top of a pass and admired yet more views of San Jacinto Mountain while we drank coffee. This would be our last sighting of our first mountain summit. Up here on the ledge we got signal and realised that half of the group would be in Big Bear that afternoon. The race was on and we booked a lodge and raced down the hill to meet them. We made good progress passing through pine woods with patches of snow on the ground. The chill from this morning lifted with the increased effort of pace as the morning sun continued it ascent.

I was walking a little quicker than Dan and after a while thought it best to wait for him. I stopped under a tree and enjoyed a 15 minute break. Dan is never normally more than 10 minutes behind me. I checked Far Out to discover I wasn’t on trail at all. I retraced my steps and found the trail. Dan was somewhere ahead of me I was sure. I knew we were cutting down one of the side roads to hitch into town but I wasn’t sure which one. Dan thought I was ahead, would he just continue walking until he found me? I had no signal, and we hadn’t prepared for this. 

I began half running, half power walking up the trail which isn’t an easy feat with a backpack on. I kept powering through the pain in my shins and feet, my poor fatiguing muscles; this came as a shock to them as I suddenly sprung into action. I passed a hiker we knew and asked “have you see Dan?”. He replied “Yes but he overtook me some time ago”. Nothing for it but to keep going. 

I arrived 3 miles later at the crossing in just over 30 minutes (I know this because I played the All Too Well 10 minute version three times!) and arrived just as Dan got there himself. Gasping I explained the situation to a very confused Dan. 

We headed the mile down the road and took an easy hitch in to Big Bear Lake via the post office to pick up our resupply. The kind local who had stopped for us recommended a Mexican restaurant in town and dropped us off at our accommodation. Once showered, the town chores began starting with the contents of our bags being tipped out and sorted. This was followed by laundry at the laundromat across the road.

While waiting for our clothes we walked to town and enjoyed a grilled cheese and a latte from The Copper Q. We met a couple in the laundromat, Celia and Jensen, who would end up joining us for dinner at El Jacalito as recommended. Heavyweight, Laststrap and Ranger joined us and we washed down large meals with equally large margaritas. 

A post-meal Ben and Jerry’s was a no brainer and Drizzle and I sat happily at the Karaoke bar eating ice cream while everyone else drank beers. Laststrap outshone us all singing a particularly spectacular rendition of My Heart Will Go On. We got back to the lodge, sorted out our resupply box, flushed filters and washed up our utensils. To end the evening Heavyweight came back to our cabin to crash in the spare bed. Finally we were able to repay him for Julian.