Thursday, April 18, 2019 – 11.30 miles

I was caught within the glut of Little Bear Springs campers this morning and it took ages for enough people to pass for the trail to settle down. Please go on mates, I need to apply Body Glide. Despite the persistent drone of human conversation the day turned out great, beginning with nice scenery in the Holcomb Creek area. The wide creek surrounded by pines reminded me of northern Saskatchewan which, while not my favourite place in the world, has the advantage of nostalgia. There were even beaver dams. The fords were easy with mid-calf deep water.

As the temperature rose, the trail continued into a pretty bouldery area with views of the distant San Gabriel mountains. 

Camping isn’t permitted in the upcoming Deep Creek canyon, which the PCT traverses for fourteen miles, so I decided to camp just before the no-camping area and hike through tomorrow. A camping ban is at least what eTrails and the paper maps indicate; it doesn’t seem like any of the other hikers hereabouts have trepidation about camping in the Deep Creek area, but there would be no point in consulting other hikers (because they cannot be believed). Anyway, I found a suitable place for camping in the bouldery area. While brushing my teeth, I saw a fox! That was my first time seeing a fox on trail, and my first time seeing a grey fox. It was looking at me, then turned away. Just after it moved, I saw a bunny hopping further up the slope. Can I cheer for both the fox and the bunny…?

The full or full-ish moon rose in a warm, windless, quiet evening, and I saw an owl silhouetted against the darkening sky at one of the few remaining trees in this fire-scorched area. It was hooting and I saw it waddle down a branch. A wonderful day for wildlife, and a wonderful day.