266 miles in! @ Bear Lake Hostel in Big Bear Lake

Mr. Green informed us as we were hiking the last few miles before town yesterday that once we reached the road (which we did this morning) we were 10% done with the trail....weird to think about it like that.  Tented with No. 2 last night about 2 miles before Highway 18, woke up super early to the sound of coyotes howling (which made my day) & as soon as the sun popped up, we packed up & headed to the road crossing.  It was pretty early in the morning so it took us a while to get a hitch but soon enough a woman who was familiar with the trail (& said she might someday do it herself) picked us up & took us all the way into Big Bear Hostel in Big Bear Lake.  Spotted some coyotes playing in the field on our drive into town as well...which was even more good medicine.  Ate the most deliciously filling breakfast at Grizzly Manor Cafe & when Keith asked where he might be able to purchase a bottle of the yummy garlicy hot sauce they gave with his meal, the waitress brought him out a bottle to take, on the house & said "have a good hike!"  So he's taking the whole bottle even though it probably weighs a good 2 lbs.  It's that good, it's totally worth it.

Our bodies are finally really feeling like they're in the groove...wouldn't say we exactly have our trail legs yet but by the end of the day, our feet aren't killing us, which is a good sign.  With the higher elevation & cooler hiking we've been able to hike all throughout the day instead of taking like a 3-4 hour siesta during the hot hot sun.  It's been so lovely.  We managed to avoid the snow/hail/rain storms that were going on up in the mountains although they were always looming around & hit people both in front of us & in back of us...we just happened to get lucky.  The last two nights were freezing, literally.  The hoses to our camelbacks froze & we learned our lesson - to sleep with our filter so that it does not freeze.  We have been grateful for a switch to the high desert with TREES & cooler air & water (a little more frequently) because the desert was really starting to wear on us.  But soon enough, we'll be going back to the desert...we have just been glad to have a little break.

Apparently there is still a huge bubble of hikers behind us - all coming up from Kick Off (which we did not go to).  We've kind of bursted through the bubble we were in but we keep hearing...they're right behind us!  There are still way more people out here hiking than we ever expected...although we've started hearing here & there where some people have gotten off the trail...

Going to spend the rest of the day in town, running some more errands & are waiting patiently for dinner (when our stomachs are fully ready to fill up) because we've heard such wonderful things about this Himalayan restaurant downtown.  Heading out first thing in the morning & our next stop for resupply will be Wrightwood.  We will be thinking of "No Way" Ray Echols & his beautiful PCT stories as we cross through the Deep Creek area.  We will also be coming up on the Highway 15 crossing - where we found the trail on our drive out here so it'll be cool to cross that spot again, this time on foot!

Sorry, still not able to post any pictures...but, just use your imaginations.  :)