April 19 – day 11 – zero miles today
Stayed at my sister Lauri’s place. Enjoyed eating a lot of great food. My sister was good at fattening me up for the trail.
April 20 – day 12 – camped mile 185.8 – hiked 8.1 miles
My niece Nicole and her partner Jack dropped me off at Humber Park. It was a steep climb up to the PCT. The trail was closed South of here. There was a detour around this that involved a lot of highway and road walking that I decided to skip.
I continued walking along the trail and passed the first alternative route to San Jacinto but took the second. Eventually camped in Little Round Valley before the summit. It was cold here and nearly 10,000 feet.
April 21 – day 13 – camped mile 197.2 – hiked 17.5I miles
Climbed to the summit of San Jacinto (10,834 ft) first thing in the morning. There was a sea of clouds below me out toward the Pacific. I was there on my own and it was gorgeous. I backtracked to the PCT and continued on toward Fuller Ridge and then down and down. I camped about 6,000 feet below the peak.
April 22 – day 14 – got off trail mile 210.9 – hiked 13.7 miles
It was a cool and lovely morning. The descent to the first water since yesterday morning was steep and relentless. I tanked up and continued across the desert and under the 10 freeway to my final destination: the trail angels’ Ziggy and The Bear’s home. Met hiker Enduro along the way. I got there feeling great. Spent the afternoon there waiting for my friend Nick to pick me up for an evening in civilization. Back on the trail tomorrow.