Day 22 Ziggy and the Bear

Miles hiked: 23.20 + .19 (OT)

Camped at: Ziggy and the Bears, mile 210.80

Hikers I camped with: 20 ish

Total up/down: 1,250' / 8,299'

Steps: 69,763

It was a cold night and I didn't sleep well. I'm pretty sure my sleeping bag is not really a 15 degree bag! I put on all my layers and draped my down jacket over my butt and shoulders inside my bag. I also kept doing what I try not to do and kept burrowing in, making it humid inside the bag, not good, bad habit.
I wake up and everyone is eating breakfast. It's cold, just above freezing I think and still windy. All I want to do is get off this mountain. Luxury is the first one to leave camp, she was cold all night and didn't sleep much and just wants to get warm. I follow suit.

The problem with being cold in the morning is wearing lots of layers. As soon as you start hiking you need to start shedding them. I have to stop, take off my pack and take off my pants, put on shorts. Take off buff, put on hat. Take off rain coat. Take off base layer... it's a pain. But at least I'm warm. I see others hike off in shorts and their top and well, I just can't do that.

Today's hike is talked about alot. It is around 20 miles of switchbacks to get down jacinto. For some reason I always pictured it differently, much more bare. But the top of jacinto is a beautiful pine forest. A lot of the hiking is on great trail with little rocks, nice pine bedding.. perfect. Too bad the whole way down wasn't like this. Soon some of the others from camp pass me (everyone always passes me). One of the guys says to me "I don't know why everyone complains about this climb down, it's been really great hiking"  and I agree with him. Ha.

Soon the perfect pine forest turns back to desert, but the valley floor is still so far down. Well, I'm back to familiar landscape so I continue on. And on. And on. I begin to wonder if this really is the PCT or just some crap trail that is trying to impersonate the PCT. It is overgrown and the trail is washed out and hard to follow. At one point, there is holly bushes on both sides for about 5 feet, they have grown together and I have not choice but to walk through. In my shorts. So I carefully and slowly squeeze through. I guy comes up behind me and just breezes right through the yells and explative. I ask what's wrong and he says "there was a rattle snake in the bushes" ummm what? I told him it didn't rattle at me and he tells me probably because I went through slowly. Every overgrown bush after that makes me nervous. I have thoughts about how it feels like I am actually not decending this mountain at all. Seriously, for 3 Miles (197,198 and 199) I feel like I am just getting a tour of the mountain. It's frustrating and I'm getting crabby. I start thinking a lot about the person who cut this section of trail and am convinced that they were paid by the mile. This is the thoughts that entertained me. I pictured John smith being offered $1000 /mile and him getting this devilish smile on his face.

I'm on my way to hit another milestone. 200 hundred miles. I have hiked 200 miles! I'm not that excited. I take the pics and move on quickly. Wait what happened? Did the trail finally decided to be the PCT again? I'm going downhill and making progress! Then the wind starts. Not just any wind. The kind of wind that wants to blow you off the mountain! I use my hiking poles to stay standing now. I guess there is a reason for the wind farms in the valley! I am getting close now and I see the other hikers from today down at the trail head. I have never been so happy to be done with mountain.

It's 6:45 pm and I have 4 more miles to walk across the valley to ziggy and the bears. I know I will have to night hike, but I'm determined, so I set out. The first part is a bit of a paved trail, then it turns to sand. Not a compressed sandy trail like I am use to. This is more like walking at the beach. In running shoes. I walk with a lot of determination and speed. The trail is hard to follow, but there are posts along the way, so if you lose the trail you can just head to the next post. It's getting dark and I'm not thrilled with the idea of doing this in the dark. I aim for the freeway overpass and walk as fast as I can. I get the and put on my headlamp. I expect to see hikers under the freeway but instead it's just a whole lot of creepy. 1 more mile. Now the trail walks along a small neighborhood, I'm night hiking for the first time, but feel the comfort of civilization.  I notice something in the middle of the trail. It's about 3 inches long and looks like a lizard, but without legs. I stare at it, it doesn't move. I take my hiking stick to move it and it slither away. A baby snake! Omg. I must be tired.

I finally see my destination. The last house. I walk in the gate to the back yard and see a few hikers. Then I see Andrea! I can't believe she is here! She tells me lights out in 15 mins and gets one of the houses, volunteers to give me the tour/talk. I quickly find a spot in the yard, next to andrea and make a quick dinner quietly in the dark. I crawl into bed and wonder if the wind will ever stop. The 6 foot fence does little to slow it down. I set a daily record of miles hiked and I can feel it.