Day 18 - big bear to little bear springs camp
April 14 | Miles 266 – 285.6
Today started off the best possible way any post-town day can: with two cups of coffee and a giant plate of hot breakfast, namely French toast and cheesy scrambled eggs.
Once we’d said our goodbyes to the awesome Carol, Joe drove us back to the trailhead and even gave another hiker a ride into town on his return. What a guy.
The trail resumed with a giant burn area that, while it provided great views of Big Bear Lake, made navigation tricky and shade sparse. It was, however, perfect hiking weather.
The miles came quickly as we hiked through forested rolling hills, eventually coming upon some Grade A trail magic. We discovered a fresh 12-pack of Coors and some salty snacks, all of which were gone in a matter of an hour after a few groups came by. We got to meet the trail angels, who were day hiking, and give them our profuse thanks (after dishing the stories behind our trail names). Another day hiker came by with his German Shepherd, which was arguably an even bigger highlight for me.
The afternoon consisted of some light snow travel, with the trail eventually depositing us into another widespread burn area. With the dudes navigating and picking the camp spot, I barely had any work to do besides walking. Camp was a huge group of flat plots featuring a fire ring and solar outhouse as well as a gated corral (which no one opted to sleep in when all was said and done).
Another group, funnily enough consisting of 4 girls and one dude (they call themselves Gilligan and the Gals) shared dinner with us and were nice enough to start a campfire, which we all enjoyed as we gooned around for a few hours. Their dynamic is funny...pretty much the complete opposite of our schtick. We all passed around my peanut butter M&M’s as the sun went down.
On another funny side note, they had run into Philip/Neil the other day as well. I guess I came up in conversation and when he asked if they’d met me he told them, “oh yeah Birthday Girl, she radiates gold, like that’s her aura, her energy.” Lol. All told, a good way to end the day.
