May 17 - Big Bear City

Start: wherever we camped last night
End: Hwy 18 near Big Bear Lake, CA (mile 266)
Daily: 4.2
Total: 266

I just wanted to put it out there that I type out my journal entries on my phone at night and then post them days later when I have service. And I'm too lazy to fix all the typos. And sometimes the iPhone gets a little crazy with the autocorrect. So sorry if you're reading a sentence and all of a sudden there's like some insane word you've never heard of before. (This is how I learned the word colophon. Useful, eh?)

Last night was a very windy night. Then we woke up at 5:30 to push to the highway because we knew that there would be a car dropping hikers off between 7 and 8 am, and we were 4 miles away. So we packed up really quickly (I didn't eat breakfast) and booked it. We actually kept up a faster than 3 mile an hour pace (which is amazing for me). The weather is AWEFUL today.  It's not raining so much as misting, but it's crazy windy. It's like being in a windy cloud that sends tiny wet needles into your skin at 40 miles per hour. Terrible. Only, there was a rainbow, so that was fun.

So we got to the highway at 7:18, pulled on our raingear anticipating a long wait (we didn't know if the car was coming or had already came) and started trying to hitch. The wind was magnified at the highway, and we were standing there in full rain gear being blown around looking really pathetic and cold, and about 6 cars drove by in the right direction, without stopping. Multiple cars were SUVs with only one person in the car. Really, y'all? We don't look like we're homeless.

Anyway, the car we were waiting for actually pulled up and took us into town. Thank GOD. Someone else waited for 1 1/2 hours for a ride. He got here soaked and unimpressed with Big Bear.

So, if you live anywhere near a trail, pick up hikers! If they're good hikers, they'll offer you money for gas! Especially in the rainy wind. You can tell them because they have backpacks and they don't wear cotton. Trekking poles are a dead giveaway, too.

Anyway, we checked into the hostel in Big Bear, took showers and did laundry, then headed over to the Grizzly Manor for brunch. The portions were HUGE. And delicious. I was amazed when I finished my plate and still wasn't full. So I ate my toast, and then I was comfortable. I can't imagine how much I'll be eating after the Sierras. Chris got something called "The Mess: Don't Ask." He liked it.