O… is for On the Trail

This month I’m doing the A-Z Blogging challenge and today’s letter is O, as in On the Trail.

    It has crossed my mind recently that it would be fun to sign up to do Trail Angel stuff along the Pacific Crest Trail.
  Note I did not say it would be fun to hike the Pacific Crest Trail for over two thousand miles.
   Every spring a couple hundred ultra hikers try to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mexico border to Canada. That is one intense hike. This adventure brings these hikers through our local San Bernardino Mountains on the PCT.
   Last spring I was thinking in my head, as I’m sure many hikers do, oh hiking the whole PCT sounds like a good time, camping, sleeping under the stars…
   Than I started researching hiking the PCT and read a few books from people who have done the hike.
   You pretty much have to live like a homeless person for three to four months of your life and carry with you on your back a pack that weighs about ten pounds, before water.
   Yes you need to carry something like twenty pounds worth of water back packing up some days six thousand feet in a day.
   I quickly changed my mind about wanting to thru hike the PCT, but this April before the weather gets to warm, I have been trying to section run as much of the PCT as I can.
   This time of year when I do my trail runs on the PCT I see huge jugs of water hanging from all the PCT signs at the dirt road crossings offering fresh water for the thru hikers.
   Think about how crazy water is to carry all the water you need for a days hike when you are hiking up a mountain all day long.
   I have been following the PCT blog online and yesterday one of the hikers hiked from the 10 freeway near Morongo Valley to Onxy Summit outside of Big Bear where I went running yesterday morning. That is over 8,000 feet of altitude gain in one days hike!
   I have never noticed before these huge jugs of water left for the PCT hikers, after running into some people from Big Bear Search and Rescue the other day, it seems like they are some of the ones leaving the water out for the hikers.
   That is so awesome for the people out here hiking these trails!
   Last winter my ex boyfriend and I were talking about how awesome it would be to sign up to be Trail Angels and help people out who are doing this massive hike.
   Trail Angels do things like pick up hikers in their cars, drive them into town for food, let them camp on their property and use their showers (Think about it, most of the hikers have not had a shower in days, if not weeks)
   I don’t know if I would want to go as far as being that helpful, being a single woman living by myself I’m not going to open up my home to strangers (Especially smelly strangers) but there are drop boxes along the PCT in places I have heard and last year we were talking about driving out to some of the PCT drop boxes and leaving home made treats, or beer or just a clean sweaters or socks for some one who might be on the trail for months at a time.

This morning some one hiked from way down there in the desert to where I am now.