Day 33 - San Gabriels, Check.

I'm very happy to report that I'm finished with the San Gabriels! That mountain range does not know the meaning of the word "moderation." Regardless of where I was on the trail in this section--from ascending Baden-Powell to descending Mattox Canyon--the trail always seemed to be going straight up or straight down. Combine that with the substandard weather I had for the last couple of days and it definitely was not easy.

Today I started out at 5200' then quickly climbed up over 6500', meeting another hiker named Daniel in the process. He's got a film crew along the way and is making a documentary. He's an ultralight hiker--his pack weighed only 20 lbs total! He's a marathon runner and has never done any hiking until now. I guess I should feel good that he started on May 10, only five days after me.

Anyway, the weather was still freezing and when I stopped for lunch at about 4200', it was 45 degrees and really windy. It was another case of me not wanting to stop because I'd just get so chilled. Today though, I had another reason to keep moving and that was because I was planning to end the day around 2200', or 3000' lower than when I started the day.

I arrived at a KOA camp on Soledad Canyon Road at about 6:30 this evening. After making camp, I was even able to further warm myself up (the lower elevation helped significantly) by taking a nice, hot shower.

Tomorrow should be a relatively easy day consisting of 10 miles of minor ups and downs into Agua Dulce, where I'll stay at a place called Hiker Heaven. It is the Saufley residence. They are probably the most well-known trail angels on the PCT and their hospitality is legendary if all the stories are true. So I'll resupply there with one of the boxes I mailed myself from Pasadena and be back on the trail on Monday. I'll also be able to do laundry and get (another) hot shower!

I think I'm getting soft! :)