Day 25: Arrastre trail camp - Hwy 18/Big Bear (mi 256-266)

As usual, we were the last ones to wake up. It was a chilly, chilly morning which only delayed our rousing, as we were not in any particular hurry since the walk into town was probably in the woods anyhow.  It was a long camp departure, as my feet joined in the repair party. I had forgotten the burning sensation that follows lancing a good blister, though I quickly remembered how much I disliked it. I was hungry and angry on account of the low blood sugar, and hastily rolled up my tent and cursed the pine needles that had clung to the groundsheet. I greedily shoved my crumbled pop tarts into my face to ameliorate my hanger and warmth problems, but they were not quick fixes. 

We finally jammed down the trail towards the distant rays of sunlight that were filtering through the lofty pine canopy. It took a good while for me to warm up, and as soon as I did, we marched right out of decent pine forest and into the high desert.

Smiles walks next to Pinyon pine and Joshua trees growing side-by-side above the Mojave desert floor going into Big Bear.

Stunted pinyon pine and Joshua trees grew side by side, with ocotillo and various chaparral-type scrub dominating the ground cover. Like all deserts, it was hot. The only relief was that we weren't in  the Mojave, which was only a few miles north and a few thousand feet down. 

Smiles and I both staggered uncomfortably for the last seven of the ten miles with thoughts of pack-less walking and real food on the mind. I spotted some green-tailed towhees, but did not see the much-sought after red crossbill. As we rounded the last bend, we saw what we thought were trail angels giving rides to hikers, so we sprinted down to the turnabout on Highway 18 only to find that the car was dropping PCTers off rather than picking up. Rats. Sour Cream and a couple southerners were picked up by a trail angel by the name of Papa Smurf, and as the last ones to arrive at the highway, smiles and I hitchhiked for the first times in our lives. 

Smiles felt a touch self conscious about sticking the 'ol thumb out and dealing with the large amounts of rejection, but I was comfortably OK with the negative feelings after my experience in the construction industry. I ran back up the trail to retrieve some sodas from the box of trail magic, only to come to the sad discovery that the box was full of empty cans. A nice lady hauling a bed full of hat in her 2500 Chevy pickup pulled over for us, and we hopped in. She was a long-time resident of Big Bear (not Big Bear Lake - huge difference, we were told) and most certainly a horse enthusiast. She deposited us at a shopping center, where we hopped on the local mini-bus for a scenic tour of Big Bear Lake en route to our hostel. Several local, rural, mountain women offered to pray for us on our journey. Not wanting to cause a scene and anger the natives, we obliged. 

Sarge, the mysterious propeitor of the hostel, greeted us at the front desk with a lit cigarette and a half-comsumed Coors. After checking into the hostel, we proceeded posthaste to the nearby pub for a burger. They also had the Giants on. A couple locals found out we were hikers and pressed us for information, and finally offered us lodging at their house. Had we not just paid up at the hostel (and had the energy to move) it would have been wonderful. 

Later that night, we had dinner with a sizable group of hikers, including Gummi Bear, Uncle Famous & Miss Maggie, Ian, Vertigo and others. 

The ravenous horde about to descend on the pizza joint

Gummi bear's face says it all!

Getting medieval on some slices.

Out with Team Tingo (Running Commentary and Haggis) at Murphy's in Big Bear Lake.

Big Bear Lake and grabber vending machines: not where I usually go to procure seafood.

Smiles greets a delicious beer at Murphy's

We met with Team Tingo for beers at a local bar afterwards, and made a hasty exit once my short neon green shorts were decidedly too out of place for the atmosphere. I finished the night tying a few on with hikers outside the hostel, and all was good.