New Valley Hills

Leaving Big Bear after the somewhat comforts of a zero there was tough. You quickly loose the ability to suck-up the challenges of hiking uphill with a heavy bag.

I got my first hitch on this trail within 10 minutes of waiting. 20 vehicles before didn’t stop for me, but John who did was an enthusiastic father who was pleased most of his college age kids had continued hiking and camping now they’ve left home.

The ITH Hostel was cheap at $45 a night in a good location for good food and a Post Office, though the mysteries of the free trolley (bus) service to the supermarket 2 miles away eluded me for some of my journeys. A hostel is a good place to share trail knowledge and relax, though the 4 person bunk room was a bit too cosy for me. Next time I have a town stop I’ll do either the town campground or a motel/hotel for a bit of quiet.

My first experience of a dive bar was rather nice. The patio at the rear was calm and noise free full of dining families unlike the inside which was charged with music and drinkers. Their food was excellent – my first fried chicken sandwich with yummy fries and side salad. Craft and draft beers were non-existent, but I was surprised to be offered Stella Artois, which I have a taste for back home.

Next town is Wrightwood 100 miles ahead across rolling mountains – we don’t dip below 3000ft so hopefully we won’t get desert floor heat. I’m carrying 6 days of food and despite posting off a couple of pounds of stuff my bag feels weighty on my shoulders.

For 2 days into Big Bear I’d been leap frogging three hikers, who I ended up sharing the 4 berth bunk room with. Erik was living his best life, hiking, doing a job he loved, and loving his wife while 20 years of cancers gradually ate away at him; Sean was still processing the death of her father in recent years and made the brave decision to come off trail to confront her grief at her mother’s; while Courtney was tearful her grandmother’s dementia wasn’t being handled by the rest of her family while she was away.

My grief was marginal in comparison but it gave me a stressful day. Somehow my phone had lost access to my UK number. Fortunately my USA number still worked plus the hostel had WiFi. My provider’s app had a feature to request a new eSIM, but lo and behold it needed to authenticate me using SMS codes sent to my number, which I couldn’t access. I had to upgrade my US contract for international calling then ring the UK call centre who could authenticate me via pass phrase and codes to my email. 24 hours later I’d regained access, which is essential for some of my banking access.