Day 24 — May 11th in Big Bear

Joy here. I finally heard from Ron and Kendra. They made it to Big Bear area, where a Motel 6 was waiting for them! The first thing they did was head for breakfast. Ron said ‘hiker hunger’ is setting in, for both of them LOL. He sent me this picture and he later said that they ate ALL of the food.

They are both doing well. Ron’s body is feeling good. Kendra has a knee that has been bothering her the last two days, after a hard climb up and a 20 mile day and a heavy pack. So, she was ready for a rest in town. (but they are hardly resting — when you get into a town, you eat, do laundry, go grocery shopping, shower, eat again, and go to bed!) But last night, Kendra said her knee felt fine. (I suggested ice, but not sure she got around to that.) Both have said that they can tell they are getting stronger!

Backpack weight has been a struggle for both of them. It’s mostly water and food that is causing the issue (5L of water and 6 days of food). So,, they are trying something new today. They will be leaving Big Bear with only 3 days of food (even though they are 6 days away from a town) and they plan on getting off at a roadway and restocking at a gas station. Not sure what food options a gas station will offer, but they are willing to try this to see if they can get more miles in with a lighter pack. I sure hope this works out — for those who don’t know, Ron is a very big eater. You’d never know it by looking at him, but he does eat a lot!

Another thing they just started doing, which is more of a mental game (but a long distance hike is a MENTAL GAME), is they have been getting up earlier in the morning and start hiking by 6:30am. The goal is to get 10 miles in by 10am. They both said they like this challenge and it’s been working for them. Anything to get in more miles, lol!!

After 3 weeks, they both said they can tell they’ve lost weight. Ron’s been tightening his belt. Kendra said she’ll be safety-pinning her pants at the waist today. I’m not sure if their next big town will have an outfitter store, or if they will need to wait until they get to Kennedy Meadows, which is at mile 700, but it sounds like they both will have some shopping to do for new clothes.

Lastly, I want to mention the many good people in this world that go out of their way to help long distance hikers. As soon as they stepped off of the trail yesterday, onto a roadway, there was a mother/daughter who were sitting in a car and offered to take them into town. It was a 10 minute drive, so getting a ride in is a huge help! Once in town, there are lists or postings of ‘trail angels’ who publish their contact information, offering assistance to hikers in need. So last night, Kendra was going to text a few of them to see if they could get them back to the trailhead this morning. (These places are remote so no Uber or Lyft are available.) Some of these people do charge money (which is perfectly fine), but some won’t take any money at all for their time and gas. Most hikers just hitch, but Ron prefers to try to arrange a ride. They’ll hitch when they have to. But a big shout-out to these kind and thoughtful ‘trail angels’!!

That’s all for today, and thanks to everyone who follows this blog and sends encouraging words to them both. They greatly appreciate it!