November 15 Distance: 0.7 miles | Ascent: 213′ | Descent: 7′ Mile marker: 2655.8 Lunch: J&A – Campo café sandwich spread (A+), black forest cherry cake (A++), fresh fruit strudel (A++) Dinner: J – linguine and clams (A+), A – yellowfin (A+) We dropped a big hint 1500 miles ago, on Day 60 (August 27).…

November 14 Distance: 10.6 miles | Ascent: 860′ | Descent: 1550′ Mile marker: 2655.1 Lunch: J&A – chicken burrito (A+) Dinner: J – L&L chicken katsu (A+), A – L&L kalua pork and cabbage (A+) At daybreak we woke with excitement in the air. Many of us were finishing today. It was a short walk…

November 13 Distance: 25.9 | Ascent: 2980′ | Descent: 4860′ Lunch: J – Thai peanut noodles (B), A – Peak butternut dal baht (A+) Dinner: J – cheesy orzo (C) , A – Thai red curry (B+) Probably not. It’s hard. Hiking is fun. It’s a great exercise. It is vastly more interesting than workouts at the gym.…

November 12 Distance: 26.4 miles | Ascent: 4360′ | Descent: 2980′ Mile marker: 2618.6 Lunch: J&A – potatoes with summer sausage (B+,?) Dinner: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (B+,?) Southern California is great! We’re celebrities. Everyone we meet now is in awe of how far we’ve come, and encouragingly cheers us on…

November 11 Distance: 13.5 | Ascent: 2740′ | Descent: 1110′ Mile marker: 2592.2 Lunch: J – burger with apple jelly and bleu cheese (A+), A – chicken and waffles (A+) Dinner: J&A – strawberry rhubarb pie (A+) It’s nice to have a bed to sleep in, maybe. Jason is so used to his camp pad and sleeping…

November 10 Distance: 19.6 miles | Ascent: 1180′ | Descent: 3250′ Mile marker: 2578.8 Lunch: J&A – chicken salad (A, B) Dinner: J – apple cherry pie with cinnamon ice cream (A+), A – apple pie with cinnamon ice cream (A+) It was really desert-y today. After the gentle meadows of yesterday evening, we could…

November 9 Distance: 28.3 miles | Ascent: 2980′ | Descent: 3820′ Mile marker: 2559.3 Lunch: J – Indian curry (A), A – chicken casserole (A+) Dinner: J – potato leek soup (B-), A – Indian curry (B) Siesta style hiking is a strategy for avoiding the worst of the desert heat. You start early, take…

November 8 Distance: 27.0 miles | Ascent: 3990′ | Descent: 3720′ Mile marker: 2530.9 Lunch: J – chicken and potatoes (A), A – sausage stuffing (B+) Dinner: J – Thai red curry (A), A – cheesy orzo (B) Despite how cheery and chipper we might appear through these blog posts, this hike  gives us a…

November 7 Distance: 26.3 miles | Ascent: 3340′ | Descent: 6710′ Mile marker: 2540 Lunch: J – oatmeal and tuna salad (B+, A-), A – sausage stuffing (B+) Dinner: J&A – burger (A+s galore) We’re starting to give in to temptation. Town luxuries and real food are on our minds a lot. The real world…

November 5 Distance: 25.5 | Ascent: 4670′ | Descent: 4180′ Mile marker: 2455.3 Lunch: J – beef stew (A), A – chicken taco (A) Lunch 2: J&A – cheeseburger (A+) Dinner: J&A – mac n cheese (A, B-) We were not swept away in the washout. It didn’t rain. It probably hasn’t rained in weeks. It never…

November 6 Distance: 23.3 miles | Ascent: 7740′ | Descent: 3190′ Mile marker: 2478.6 Lunch: J – chicken soup (A), A – chicken soup (B+) Dinner: J – chicken teriyaki (B-), A – potato leek soup (A-) Up at 4 am, on trail by 4:30, we were determined to make it up this mountain today.…

November 4 Distance: 25.0 miles | Ascent: 1830′ | Descent: 7120′ Mile marker: 2429.7 Lunch: J&A – chicken parm (B, B) Dinner: J – chicken taco (B-), A – oatmeal (B-) The first half of the day was great! The trail was cruisey and soft and present. In hindsight, we didn’t appreciate this part of…

November 3 Distance: 15.1 miles | Ascent: 2910′ | Descent: 1360′ Lunch: J – pastrami sammy (A+), A – club sammy (A+) Dinner: J&A – Shin noodles (A-, B) There isn’t a coffeeshop in the Village part of Big Bear Lake. At least, there wasn’t one that was open early enough. The nearest coffee shop…

November 2 Distance: 19.4 miles | Ascent: 2530′ | Descent: 2270′ Mile marker: 2389.7 Lunch: J – jambalaya (B‐), A – tuna salad (B) Dinner: J&A – pizza! (A+) %&#@ it’s cold! This was definitely the coldest morning. We had ice on our tent from our overnight breath. The ground was icy. Our fingers went…

November 1 Distance: 27.9 miles | Ascent: 5550′ | Descent: 1980′ Mile marker: 2370.2 Lunch: J – shepherd’s pie (B), A – jambalaya (A) Dinner J – mac n cheese (A) and chicken teriyaki (C+), A – mac n cheese (B+) With the disappointment of the non-trick-or-treaty Halloween behind us, we marched on. Right away,…

October 31 🎃 Distance: 27.6 miles | Ascent: 3390′ | Descent: 3540′ Lunch: J – blueberry oatmeal and chicken (B), A – Shepherd’s pie (A-) Dinner: J – orange chicken (C+), A – beef stew (B+) We’re really, really glad that we didn’t hike in costume today. Jason searched all over Wrightwood for anything, even…

October 30 Distance: 26.5 | Ascent: 2740′ | Descent: 6330′ Mile marker: 2314.7 Lunch: J – Mountain House chicken and potatoes (A), A – Shin ramen (B+) Dinner: J&A – Maccas (A), McFlurries (A+) The hike out of Wrightwood wasn’t too bad (Alex here: my legs respectfully disagree). Once we were out of the town,…

October 29 Distance: zero! Lunch: J – turkey sandwich (A+), A – meatball sub (10/10, realized a dream!) Dinner: J&A – mashed potatoes and goldfish crackers (A) Looking at the next section, we thought doing it in five days would be too easy. It would only be 20 miles a day! Plus, we have to…

October 28 Distance: 23.9 miles | Ascent: 5340′ | Descent: 6930′ Mile marker: 2292.4 Lunch: J&A – grapes and chips and a muffin (A+) Dinner: J – enchiladas (A+), A – chimichanga (A+) What started as a normal day ended up being a strange and wonderful day. We climbed Mount Baden-Powell straight from camp. The…

October 27 Distance: 27.9 miles | Ascent: 5920′ | Descent: 5120′ Mile marker: 2271.9 Lunch: J&A – rice and beans with summer sausage (B+) Dinner: J&A – potato with summer sausage (A-) We use an app called FarOut as our main map and day planning tool. It has elevation profiles, distances, and user comments about…

October 26 Distance: 24.2 miles | Ascent: 5440′ | Descent: 2950′ Mile marker: 2244 Lunch: J&A – chicken salad (B+) Dinner: J&A – magic! (A+) The trail crew wasn’t lying! A rugged old man they called Captain Jim cooked us pancakes and bacon and eggs inside a custom kitchen trailer he had built. Breakfast was…

October 25 Distance: 18.7 miles | Ascent: 4120′ | Descent; 2500′ Mile marker: 2219.7 Lunch: J&A – soft serve ice cream with sprinkles (A+) Dinner: J – beef stew (A), A – orange chicken (A) Serenity’s Oasis is the best hiker hangout spot on the whole trail. Farmer John, who drives laps around his property…

October 24 Distance: 19.5 miles | Ascent: 2610′ | Descent: 3840′ Mile marker: 2201.1 Lunch: J – apple cinnamon oatmeal (A), A – beef stroganof (A) Dinner: J&A – hot dogs (A+s) To beat as much of the heat as possible, we got up early, relatively. With the short days, getting up at 5:30 is…

October 23 Distance: 24.2 miles | Ascent: 3290′ | Descent: 4700′ Mile marker: 2181.6 Lunch: J – chicken parm (A), A – chili and rice (B) Dinner: J – spinach couscous (B), A – curry couscous (B) We both got good sleep last night and woke up to a very autumny campsite. We’re trying to…

October 22 Distance: 18.1 miles | Ascent: 4010′ | Descent: 2370′ Mile marker: 2157.6 Lunch: J – tomato pasta (B), A – beef stew (A) Dinner: J – curry couscous (B-), A – couscous (B+) After our big and foolish day – or is it days? – we woke up groggy and not feeling superb.…

October 20 & 21 Distance: 50.2 miles | Ascent: 6020′ | Descent: 6490′ Mile marker: 2139.5 Lunch 1: J – strawberry cheesecake (A+), A – cherry cheesecake (A+) Dinner 1: J&A – a collection of bars and trailmix (C) Lunch 2: J – chicken casserole (A-), A – tomato pasta (B-) Dinner 2: J&A –…

October 19 Distance: zero! Mile marker: same as yesterday Lunch: J – pineapple curry (A+), A – drunken noodles (A+) Dinner: J&A – popcorn, cheesecake, salad (A+s) The vibe on trail has relaxed a lot. Since everyone is out of the Sierras and safe from snowstorms, we don’t feel pressured or rushed. Pretty much everyone…

October 18 Distance: 6.4 miles | Ascent: 230′ | Descent: 2400′ Mile marker: 2089.3 Lunch: A – turkey sandwich (A+), A – reuben sandwich (A+) Dinner: A&J – Chinese buffet (A+,A+) We were up and out before dawn. We’ll never see last night’s campsite in the daylight, but it was nice in the dark anyway.…

October 17 Distance: 27.1 miles | Ascent: 4840′ | Descent: 4650′ Mile marker: 2082.9 Lunch: J&A – chili and rice (B+,?) Dinner: J – chili and rice (A), A – Korean Beef (?) The morning clouds in the valley were quite spooky. It looked like the ocean with the mountains poking through like islands. When…

October 16 Distance: 25.6 miles | Ascent: 4080′ | Descent: 3830′ Mile marker: 2055.9 Lunch: J – Korean beef (A), A – tomato pasta (B-) Dinner: J – beef stroganof (A-), A – mac n cheese (A-) It was cold last night. It might’ve been one of the coldest nights yet. When we woke up,…