Day 23: Leaving Big Bear

Date: May 2, 2017
Miles: 266 – 279.2

This morning we hitched a ride to a restaurant (we’re starting to get good at this) to meet John for breakfast, and then we hitched again to get back to the trailhead.

It’s always nice to come in to a town with little water and near empty food bags – our backpacks feel like day packs. It’s another thing to leave a town with five days worth of food and sometimes several liters of water. It can feel like you’re carrying rocks. And the way out of town is usually uphill.

We hiked up and up and up and came around corners to find views of Big Bear Lake and snow covered mountains that made us all stop to take pictures only to continually find better spots for pictures as we walked. We passed some trail runners who stopped to enjoy the view as well before sprinting off and the few of us there collectively decided that those people are a little crazy.