Most of the PCT is beautiful and has a pristine and solitary feel to it. This area didn’t.
It was a spot, I guess to be somewhere near LA. It was South of Cajon Pass and north of Big Bear.
It was in the Deep Creek area. An odd over-used part of the trail that has a creepy feel. There was a string of prayer flags hanging across the trail in honor of a thru-hiker that fell off the trail and down the cliff.
Hiking past Deep Creek Hot springs at night, I thought about taking a break for a soak but the sound of dogs barking through the dark made me change my mind and keep hiking. Up in the cliffs there were lights; I guess people were living/camping up there. I kept hiking. The trail through there is a little ridge blasted into the side of a cliff. I didn’t want to camp on the trail as there seemed to be too much activity there. Finally, I found a plateau I could climb up to and sleep. It was a clear star filled night and I cowboy camped for a couple of hours.
For some reason I woke up a 2 am and decided to get a jump on the day and start hiking. I only hiked for an hour or two before I got sleepy again. I curled up in the flattest spot I could find and went back to sleep. A couple hours later, I was back hiking.
In the morning sun, I noticed I was really dirty; I think I may have curled up in someone’s old fire site.
The rocks were spray painted with graffiti. I smelled something decaying and because I was afraid it might be a human, I had a look. Buried under a pile of rocks was a huge dead dog. It was black and as big as a bear.
After getting off the cliffs, I walked to a road crossing where a woman pulled up and gave me a root beer float. She said something about passing the cup of Jesus.
After drinking the root beer float, I hiked on for a while and then sat down to take a break. I wasn’t there long, before a thru hiker and a reporter came along. The reporter started asking me questions and then took out his video/phone and told the other hiker and me to talk. After a while, they left.
I started hiking again, and then found some shade for yet another break. As I’m lying there, I see the thru-hiker and the reporter, again, only this time they were going south. They said they lost the car.
