Hello everyone, welcome back and hello from Los Angeles! You might be wondering if I mean the greater forested part of LA, but no, I am writing from UCLA. Dennis and I took a zero day in LA instead of Big Bear to support our friend’s musical debut. I’ll explain a bit more as you read on!
Like last time, I will begin with a hiking dictionary, and then continue with the day to day entries. Let’s dive in!
Backcountry Brooke’s Dictionary (cont.)
Flip flop (n): A method of completing a trail where the hiker typically begins in the middle of the trail and completes the trail in multiple sections, often returning to the beginning at a later point. This allows hikers to take longer on trail and hike in more moderate weather for all sections. Our friend Wesley may need to flip flop if he wants to finish the entire trail this year.
Dry meal (n): A meal cooked without boiling water. Often a bit depressing in my mind as many thru-hikers cold soak their meals in order to refrain from bringing fuel on trail. I eat many cold oatmeal packets to save time in the morning.
Day 13: 2/23/2025, 8 miles hiked, 0 PCT miles completed.
We left the library at 2pm after deciding to try to hitch a ride back to the trailhead with our friend Zoe. A kind man gifted us two grapefruit in the parking lot after randomly telling us that he wanted his ashes scattered at mile 900 of the PCT. It was honestly a super random interaction but we got fresh fruit out of it. Shortly after the encounter, a kind woman named Brenna rearranged her entire car to fit Zoe, Dennis, and I in the back. As Dennis would say, he had two riddle-brides to help out with getting this hitch. Once we reached the trailhead the man who gave me my trail name was there and excitedly asked if I kept it. I said yes!
Zoe and I hiked most of the way up to Mount San Jacinto together which was so fun because I finally had a chatty female to yap with. I certainly love my yapping!!!
We arrived right at sunset to the peak where Dennis surprised our friends with some watermelon. I’m not just talking about any old watermelon, but a 14 pound watermelon. Talk about not keeping our pack weight low!
We shared the melon with Pablo, Sam, Sky, Flo, and Zoe and took one of the most epic summit pictures ever recorded. I was so excited because this is the last LA “San” mountain I wanted to hike. I’ve already hiked San Gorgonio, San Bernardino, and San Antonio.
After watching a gorgeous sunset we cooked dinner back at camp. Pablo as you might recall is one of our French friends. I learned his mom is from Spain and we had such a nice conversation together in Spanish, it was so exciting because I could actually keep up! I told him he gets to be my tutor for the next 4.5 months, so I better be fluent soon.
We all camped together in a cool structure known as the summit hut and pretty much had one giant sleepover. I even painted everyone’s nails.
It was pretty windy that night so I spent much of the chilly night listening to the wind howl as I tried to stay warm. In hindsight I should have claimed a bunk bed
spot because the stone floor was so much chillier.
Day 14: 2/24/2025, mile 187.5 - 201.1
Today we all woke up at 5am for the sunrise. If I’m being honest I considered sleeping through the alarm, but I’m glad I didn’t. The sunrise was beautiful!
In the east there was a faint pink sky and to the west there was a blanket of clouds. It was extremely windy so I was grateful when Dennis grabbed my sleeping bag for me so we could huddle together while the sun peeked over the horizon.
After the sunrise we went back to the hut and everyone but Dennis and I packed up and left. We took another hour-long nap before breakfast and began our descent. I definitely scared a hiker who came to check out the summit hut because I heard the door open and sat up so startled that he looked at me and frantically said I’m sorry before shutting the door again.
We had to do a 20 mile water carry and ended up carrying so much water that my shoulders ached. We caught up to Flo and Pablo by dinner hooray! Pablo excitedly told me he wanted me to finish painting his nails since he liked them so much.
We also ended up reaching the 200 mile mark! It was so monumentos that there were 3 separate rock formations and a sign telling us that we made it that far. A hit excessive but I still took many photos.
Day 15 - 2/25/2025, mile 201.1 - 209.6
We hiked 8ish miles today, almost entirely downhill. I woke up to the sun shining on the tent and it already felt so hot at 6:30 am. I called my Nonie in the morning for a few miles and on the way downhill she suggested a fantastic idea, take your friends on one last day of rest in the desert! At the nearest water station I suggested to my friends that we could stay at my Nonie’s house in the desert. I said “it’s up to you but Dennis and I are going to take a half rest day.” The French guys put it best by looking at one another and without actually discussing my proposition Flo looked at me and said “we consulted and agreed we must come with you.” Zoe was so excited! She was having a rough morning and this gave her the push she needed to get through. On the next 4 miles of our hike we were met with not one but two trail angels!
One ice cold bucket full of Gatorade and a second angel hand delivered soda under the overpass of the I-10. We Ubered back to the house and all enjoyed such simple luxuries. Showers, soft towels, a washer and dryer, and a grocery store. Dennis and I grocery shopped for lasagna and grabbed any extra foods we might need for our hike. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating chips and guacamole by the pool, reading our books, and chatting.
We had such a yummy dinner thanks to Dennis’s secret recipe and hard work! It felt like sitting down with a family with us eating our big lasagna pieces and sipping on red wine.
We reserved an uber for 6:30am for the next day and were off to bed. What a short but sweet mini vacation!
Day 16: 2/26/2025, mile 209.6 - 226.2
Today we were back on trail by 7am and it was almost as if we didn’t ever leave. There was a cool breeze so even though we were under a blazing sun, the heat wasn’t so bad.
We walked through a wind turbine farm today for a few miles. Most of today was hot and deserty. It was quite dry and brown tbh.
In my food resupply Zoe convinced me to buy baby food pouches and OH MY GOODNESS they are actually so good. I’ve been trying to figure out what foods to buy that can help me get some daily multivitamins and baby food is it!!
Dennis and I got so excited when we made it to our lunch spot, the Whitewater Preserve. Here we ate lunch, read our books, and took such a nice trail nap.
I felt so well rested after that! On the walk to our final stop of the day my pole must have nearly missed a rattlesnake in a bush because one angrily shook its tail at me.
We ended up rolling into camp pretty late and setting up camp with Zoe right before it got dark. We also took a night stroll and saw a cool toad.
Day 17: 2/27/2025, mile 226.2 - 239.9
Today we walked our first section that required route finding. The PCT has about 10 miles of trail that got damaged in a flood at Mission Creek which meant we spent most of today trekking through a creek bed.
I enjoyed a nice cool morning by the tent site and left a bit later than I wanted to once the sun had fully risen. Since the beating sun felt hot, I decided to walk through any creek section I had to cross instead of avoiding it. This made me so much cooler throughout the day!
Today was pretty long and hard all around. We only went 13.8 miles and still feel pretty exhausted.
I was beyond excited when I ran into Zoe at the campsite. At this point Dennis and I still had planned to go another 7 miles or so, but I took one look at Zoe cooking dinner and I hoped Dennis would also be ready to rest for the day. He had been soaking his feet in the nearest creek and didn’t come into camp for about an hour. I hung out with Zoe and a Swedish couple while waiting for Dennis to arrive and decide if we should continue. Thankfully he wanted to set up camp too and we had our first early dinner at 6 pm.
Day 18: 5/28/2025, mile 239.9 - 265.7
After many conversations with my friend Zoe, I have concluded that I in fact am a sauce girly. The day that someone mails me an assortment of sauce packets from mustard to Cholula to Soysauce I will probably hit my highest moment on trail. Last night I was eating some mashed potatoes and chicken and they do have flavor, but all I could think was that some barbecue sauce would have been sooooooooo nice. I used my last Cholula packet and that helped for about six bites but then the next 40 bites or so made me feel like I was drowning in potatoes.
Today you will not believe this, but I actually managed to leave before 6am! I feel like a true PCT hiker now that I was able to leave camp at 5:30 am. Even though the sun was rising when I left camp, the temperature stayed pretty cool for the first 5 miles. It was actually so exciting to realize I had already hiked 5 miles by 8 am.
At 8 Zoe caught up to me and we decided to have a yap-a-thon. We were both trying to hike a marathon today and honestly the miles flew by as we yapped. We hiked another 10 miles until we stopped for lunch.
I was a bit disappointed to realize that my salami had molded. I was about to take a bite when I realized there was a ton of white fuzz on my food. Yuck! Dennis and I stayed back to filter water and Zoe continued on. I figured I would catch her, but she accidentally got lost and I spent the rest of the day listening to my audiobook, calling my sister when service permitted, and chatting with Dennis. I also hugged a few Jeffrey pines. If you want to learn how to identify this tree try this: look for a tree with a tall trunk and branches clustered near the top, locate pine cones that don’t have outward facing spikes (if you roll the pine one in your hand it won’t poke you), and smell the bark and if it smells like butterscotch or vanilla you’ve found Jeff!
When we finally reached our marathon distance I practically collapsed, exhausted from walking all day. We camped at mile 265, the 10% done mark on the trail.
We have finally reached Big Bear where my coworker left a note for me in the hiker registration, thanks Mugshot!
Dennis wanted to hike out to the road to see if there was any trail magic and lucky for us there was! We celebrated our marathon with fresh raspberries, strawberries, and cold ginger ale!
Day 19: 5/29/2025, mile 265.7 - 274
Today I woke early again and left camp by 6am. We had town to get to! I hiked most of the morning alone, called my dad to wish him a happy last day of the school year and listened to an audiobook for the rest of the morning. There were so many tiny flowers ranging from pink, purple, white, and yellow and they seemed to be coming out of the crumbly rocks. By 9:15 am I had made it to the section of trail at mile 274 where I would meet Dennis. I read my book up in a tree for a half hour until he arrived. Then we set off at a super speedy pace to town. We had plans to catch the bus from Big Bear to San Bernardino where our friend would pick us up and take us to UCLA. Most people take a zero day in Big Bear, and we decided to take one at UCLA to support Dennis’s roommate’s musical debut.
The first thing we did when we got to town was go to the post office! I got my package that my sister had lovingly mailed me containing my headphones, a different sleeping pad, and my mace.
My old mace fell off my backpack and it just feels nice to have once in case I come across some creeps on trail. At the post office I convinced a very nice grandma named Patricia (shoutout to my own grandma Patricia) to give us a ride to the Grizzly Manor Cafe three miles away. She was so nice and asked Dennis and I about our backpacking adventures. Patricia told us that the bus we planned to take only operated MWF and that we would not have luck getting off the mountain by bus, but never fear for we are hitchhikers! She also tipped us off that the food portions at Grizzly Manor were HUGE. Thanks to Patricia, Dennis and I split a meal and I still couldn’t finish my pancakes.
After that we took the bus around Big Bear Lake and found a spot to try to catch a hitch. After maybe 20 cars a lovely boy in his 20s named Aldo stopped and said he was heading to San Bernardino for a dentist appointment and would happily give us a ride. As grateful as I was to get a ride down the mountain, that man took turns way too fast and I’m probably not hitching that far ever again. Unfortunately LA traffic was so bad that our friend could not pick us up, so Dennis and I took the long train from San Bernardino to Union Station, and then a bus to UCLA. T-30 minutes until I have some yummy coop food in my belly!
Thank you Tomás for grabbing us such a yummy meal! I spent the rest of the evening visiting my old roommates and observing one of Dennis’s blokus nights. Since we have been going to bed with the sun it was so difficult for me to stay awake until 11 pm.
Day 20: 5/30/2025, 0 miles hiked
Today we started off with a classic coop breakfast of eggs, beans, rice, potatoes, and coffee. WOW! I love eggs and I’ve missed them on the trail. We ate with Lise and Sanketh before getting ready for our day of chores. It was a town day so I had to do laundry and grocery shop. I folded our laundry and found a bag to shop with before heading out to meet my college housemate Kaitlyn. We had some yummy coffee and caught up in the botanical gardens.
I had such a fun time walking around Westwood and since I was in town I decided to cosplay as a real human by borrowing any clothes from Finlay’s closet that fit. I ended up with his other roommate Vieri’s swim trunks and a shirt that said hi haters.
Westwood definitely is more chaotic than the PCT, but it was still quite the adventure. I also stopped in to in n out where a friend was working to raid the mustard packets. Go sauce!!
After getting groceries I finished writing this blog and relaxed with my Chipotle before heading to B plate for dinner. Shoutout to Annabel for swiping me in, I have never been disappointed by a B plate dinner.
Then after dinner we had our coop musical to watch! The entire reason we are in LA was to support this show and it was incredible. Our faces hurt so much from smiling and laughing so much. With a minimal budget Finlay managed to write an incredibly hilarious show and had so many fun props that highlighted the essence of the coop perfectly.
We walked to in n out after for a classic milkshake double date with my triathlon little sister AiLan and her boyfriend Jack. I accidentally drank 99% of the vanilla shake (sorry Dennis) and when Dennis went to have his half he found the cup empty. Idk I must have been hungry! After returning to the coop at 11 pm I was ready to go to bed. I accidentally got locked out of Finlay’s room twice, so I had to get boosted through the window by Charlotte and Lise.
I was about to go to bed when Tomás convinced me to stop by a party real quick. We won’t stay long he promised. I was so so so tired, but this was my friend Beatrice’s las party at the Hut so I had to attend! It was invite only and the only people invited were those on her epic Polaroid wall.
When I showed up at the party Beatrice was so excited to see me that she cried. I was laughing because it was so cute, but I was crying in spirit Bea.
I am so glad I stopped by because I finally got to dance at a Hut party and was so excited to give all my senior friends big hugs before they graduate in two weeks. I’m so proud of you all! I’m especially excited for Beatrice who will be going to grad school at UCSF. Smartie alert!!
As always, if you send me mail I’ll send you a postcard from the trail! Here’s the next post office we’ll be at in about 9 days.
PCT Hiker - Brooke Giorgi
USPS
3631 Smith Ave
Action CA 93510-9998
This has been an incredibly long update, so thanks for tuning in! As always, if there are grammatical errors, so be it! I’m a thru-hiker not a blogger after all. Also, please leave any questions about the trail or happy thoughts in the comment section, I really would love to hear from my readers <3
Happy trails,
Backcountry Brooke
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Yay Brooke! Excited to read your updates and glad to see you at the hut last night. Keep trudging onward and upward.
Brooke is a badass stud!! Love the updates and pics :) keep enjoying the little things too!