PCT Day 21-25

Hello and welcome back! This post is a wee bit late, it’s been two weeks since my last update. Another update is coming soon, so stay tuned.

Day 21 5/31/2025: mile 275-294.7

Yesterday we left UCLA at 8am and caught a ride to Big Bear with our friend Hudson. I finished writing my blog in the back seat and before we knew it we were back in a cute mountain town. We decided to play one of Dennis’s famous games of Blokus in the mountains before setting off. I came in second, shoutout to Hudson for winning.

Before starting the hike for the day, I noticed there was an aid station for a race to raise money for the Make-A-Wish foundation. I took a walk in the opposite section of the trail where big signs were posted highlighting wishes that have been granted. It reminded me of my sister’s wish granting and made me tear up. 

Within the first half mile of walking with Hudson and Dennis, Dennis expressed wanting to go back to UCLA for a few days to get a little more closure with graduating. I was a damsel in distress for all of 10 minutes before I decided to embrace the opportunity to walk alone.

I called my family, listened to a podcast and after a bit of time I ran into a trail angel named Band-Aid. He offered me a chair, a beer, and took all the trash I had!

It was really nice to take a little break as I chased my goal, 20 miles of walking towards where my friend Zoe camped. I walked with a man named Stoke who was genuinely such a happy guy and as you can imagine, he was pretty stoked all of the time.

We walked about 14 miles until we reached Zoe and the Swedes, Sandra and Jonatan. They all wondered where Dennis had gone and adopted me for the week to keep me company! I was so excited to have caught up, but I was pissed at a bunch of mosquitoes who set out to attack me. I have never set up my tent so fast to get some mosquito relief. Since I am walking alone, Dennis gave me the tent and the stove, so I had quite the queenly experience living it up in my 3 person tent with so much extra space!

Day 22 6/1/2025 mile 294.7-314.3

Today I made it out of camp by 6:45 and thankfully it was quite breezy and cool. I hiked alone for about 10 miles and enjoyed many river crossings over fun bridges. I saw 4 different snakes today and at least three different types - one rattlesnake, one garter snake, and two gopher snakes. I also passed the 300 mile mark.

I had some cell service today so I on and off called my friend Sarah until my phone read SOS only. Then, I ran into my friend Zoe right before our lunch spot and we hiked down to the river to enjoy a dip in the water. There was also a hot springs we decided not to go in because a ranger said it had a brain eating amoeba that can enter the body through the nasal canal. No thank you!

All of the nearby hikers made a game plan to hike 6 more miles to a friendly campsite at a dive bar. There were sketchy reviews of camping along the canal, so we all opted to pay $5 to camp at a campsite at the bar. We had so much fun with our friends at the campsite by the dive bar, we each got a beer and I convinced more people to let me paint their nails! 

It was crazy windy today so Zoe decided to have a sleepover with me because I had so much extra space in the tent.

Earlier in the day I told her that if she didn’t want to set up her tent at all for the next few days she was welcome to camp with me since I had to set up my tent regardless. She politely declined until later in the evening when it was so windy that she didn’t want to set up her tent. We had fun at our sleepover and acted like little kids giggling into the night. 

Day 23: 6/2/2025, mile 314.3 - 335.7

Today we got a hitch to the trailhead as a group of four - me, Theo, Sandra, and Jonatan. We were a bit frightened and confused because two dogs started chasing us for nearly a half mile up the trail. One was potentially rabid and foaming at the mouth and it was so scary! Both dogs had collars but we didn’t see any owner with them. 

We hiked 12 miles from the trailhead to the lunch spot on Silverwood lake picnic area. I took a swim and finally could dunk my head! No brain eating amoebas to worry about today.

We wanted to wait for Zoe to catch up so we took a long rest in the sun. I read my book for about and hour. On our hike out of the lake we saw a bald eagle and everyone was mesmerized! We hiked the entire day as a group of four and set up our tent in a nice flat area with space for everyone including Zoe. I really appreciated using her hot sauce on my mashed potatoes!

Today I told everyone about Dennis’s plan to catch up to me in Wrightwood. He would have to cover 90 miles in 3 days (I was doing it in 5) and so we all made bets on who would win! 

Sandra: Wednesday, 7 pm

Brooke: Wednesday, 7:45 pm

Johnathan: Wednesday, 8pm

Zoe: Wednesday, 9:15 pm 

Theo: Thursday, 11:30 am 

*spoiler* none of us would come close

Day 24: 6/3/2025, mile 335.7 - 354

Today we were on a mission to make it to McDonald’s. Today’s section is famous along the PCT because there is a trail sign that says how far McDonalds is from us from the PCT. We hiked 6 miles and then I got a yummy Oreo McFlurry. I also walked across the street to get a subway sandwich filled with veggies. I really have been missing vegetables on the trail and it hasn’t even been a month of hiking!

I hiked on my own out of town because I wanted to get as close to Wrightwood as possible before our town day tomorrow. The whole group was planning on staying at McD’s a while longer, so I took the opportunity for some solitude. I almost got lost walking through the tunnel under the I-15, but thanks to FarOut I found my way back on trail quickly. I saw so many trains pass by and they were choo-chooing so loud. 

It was oddly humid today and I was hoping for rain to make the temperature more pleasant. I got my wish and there was so much thunder and lightning that I was a bit nervous because I was ascending a mountain. I took multiple sitting breaks to assess the lightning strikes and decide if I should continue or not. I also found a cute little lizard at a water cache!

Eventually the storm died down and I was able to hike up to the top and found a great group campsite. I wasn’t sure if my group would catch up but they did and I had another sleepover with zeagle (Zoe Eagle = zeagle)! Today she looked at me and said “there’s not enough space for all of us to set up our tents, so can we have another sleepover?” We giggled into the night yet again and had to shush ourselves because it was hiker midnight and I didn’t want to be rude. 

Day 25: 6/4/2025, mile 354 - 356.2

This morning we woke up to the most beautiful cloudy sunrise. Even though today was a town day, we wanted to get into town as early as possible so we were hiking by 6am. We hiked 5 miles today, 2 miles along the PCT and 3 down a side trail to a road where we could hitch into town. Typically when people hike into Wrightwood they take a side trail called the acorn trail, but due to a fire from last year, a section of the PCT is closed due to all of the ash and potential dangers due to trees about to fall. So, we hiked to the road and had a trail angel pick us up to take us into town.

Wrightwood is a very cute town! First order of business was to get a free coffee from the Village Grind.

I spent the morning there with my friends, caught up with some other hikers I hadn’t seen in about a week, and ate a delicious omelette. I also picked up my first care package from the post office!

My nail painting service was requested by Sam and Sky, and it’s almost time for me to bring a new polish color! 

I found a dress in a hiker box and spent the day pretending to be a “normal” person.

I visited my friends’ Airbnb, set out my clothes to be washed, and wandered around Wrightwood waiting for Dennis to arrive.

When he did arrive, I grabbed our free giant hot dogs that the gas station gave out and headed back to our cabin to feed him! Dennis blew all of us out of the water by showing up to Wrightwood by 3pm. He had hiked a 50 mile day yesterday, 50 MILES! What a stud. And he didn’t even look that exhausted! Dennis and I ordered some delicious pizza and spent the rest of the evening watching a movie. We left grocery shopping for us to figure out tomorrow :)

That’s all for now,

Happy trails!

Backcountry Brooke

🌈🥕