No worries, it was in a cage. There's a film stunt animal company with cages ~50ft E of the trail. There was a cute tuxedo-colored kitty on guard.

Saw our first grizzly bear today!

Day 27: 12 mi before 12:30 and no one feels like death/dying. Progress, I say! Views of the snow-covered San Gorgonios. Also, there's tequila at this H2O cache.

Day 26: Spent the morning climbing into pine forest and will be sleeping at 8000 ft near the source spring of the creek we've been following.

Day 25: Taking a siesta by the creek we'll be following for the next 15 mi. It appears damselfly mating season is in full swing; I can see 6 pairs from my seat.

So, re: lost phone issue ... if you have my phone number, please shoot me a text and identify yourself so I can get your number.

Lost my phone during longest-mile day thus far. Rescued by great-aunt in Palm Desert, staying for a couple days in her beautiful house.

We met a guy with a 5 lb base weight. Base weight=weight of all gear minus food, water, and fuel. Ultralight=10-15 lb. Most have 15-25 lb.

Different priorities: Honey-Badger dropped all his 1st aid gear, extra socks, and battery pack in Idyllwild. We picked up 3 books.

Hiker gathering seem to consist almost entirely of comparing packweight/hiking speed/distance per day. We usually lose these battles.

# books read/carried during first 15 days: 0. # books Nia read during two zero days in Idyllwild: 2. # books carried out of Idyllwild: 3.

Had to hitchhike ~17 miles to Idyllwild. Were picked up within 90 seconds by two plucky octogenarians in a Prius. Best hitch ever?

Day 16: Up at dawn (though we youngsters missed the Senior Shuttle by 20 min) and lunched at Paradise Valley Cafe. Real food is too real.

Third day with Andrew and Nancy, third night of cowboy camping. It's been fabulous. I'll be sad to part company tomorrow.

Day 15: Took a siesta from 12-2 today. Of course we can't know how it would have gone without that, but the afternoon was pretty brutal.

Day 14: Longest mi yet. Cowboy camping with yesterday's peeps on a ridge with clear views to the NW, N, NE and SE. Sunrise should be epic!

Cowboy camping (without a tent) for the first time tonight. It's Nancy's first night as a cowboy, too. Wish us luck!

Day 13: Met up with Andrew and Nancy.
Finally! We meet peeps the night before and spend the night at the same place. Thanks for sharing!

Day 12: Gorgeous day. Hiked through chaparral & grazeland & are tenting on sand next to a small creek under beautiful gnarled trees.

If you've ever put on sunscreen, not just for the SPF, but also b/c it smells waaaaay better than you, you might be a long-distance hiker.

Breakfast of champions: coconut moose goo burritos. PB, masa, honey & coconut oil mixed together and spread on tortillas.

Things you don't expect to hear while rescuing your tent which has collapsed due to heavy, wet snow: frogs. You are a strange place, CA.

Hit mile 101 today. Only 2562 to go!

Day 10: The Chaparral Show hosted by Heavy Rain. Today's guest Babywipe-Smelling Flowers with 'Didn't Think the Desert Would Be Like This'

A Rusty moment: when all you want to do is wail " but I don't want to live in a fabric house with no couch!" (in honor of Jo's dog Rusty)

If you answered D, congratulations, you might enjoy the PCT. If not, perhaps you should try something more predictable, like sky-diving.

a) I hate it, b) I try to avoid it whenever possible, c) I like it, but only if there are safe words and leather involved, or d) FUN!!!

Pain, how do you feel about it?

Is this: a) a disaster, b) I'm going home. Now. c) I'm going to devote my life to teaching the world re: the trail's hazards, or d) FUN!!!

You wake up having survived an all-night wind/rain storm, which collapsed your tent and soaked you & that gear which it didn't blow away.

Is this: a) lunacy, b) sheer lunacy, c) what on earth was I thinking? or d) FUN!!!

You wake up bruised, badly blistered, and everything hurts. There's a 14-mile hike between you & the next water.

How to tell if the PCT is for you: a multiple-choice quiz.

Vertigo from video games: debilitating. Vertigo from actual mountains? so far nonexistent. I'll keep my fingers crossed until the Sierras.

Day 8: narrow path, steep mountainside, heavy mist & high winds. Wait ... are we in the highlands of Scotland?

Day 7: encountered my first rattlesnake. Looked at least 4.5 feet long. No one got hurt, but I think I lost about 2 years off my life.

We're not allowed to say this until we're actually IN town "And they found their bodies the very next day." Some things are just too real.

As a (former?) polar bear, it's disconcerting to go from being v. hot to COLD in the space of 30 sec, depending on the presence of sun.

Day 5: taking a zero day (0 trail miles) in Mt Laguna as we gear up for the next week, which includes a 30-mi portion of H2O-less desert.

Day 3: +1LCK, -1 AGL, -1 PER, -2 CHR

Day 2: a self-proclaimed (and much touted by other hikers) 'Malt Shop' has not served malts for "like, two years, man". Boo.

+1 INT (also, must try not to hit the send button when trying to hit the down arrow button)

Day 1: twisted my ankle, but suffered no lasting injury (-1 AGL, +1 LCK); decided to stay near water rather than try for 20 mi (-1 END, +1

Have discovered that I need to send these updates during the day, when we're at higher elevations, rather than at night in the valleys.

Safely in San Diego. We have an appointment with a monument at O dark hundred tomorrow.

Finally done packing (and almost done with other preparations). Off celebrate with Chinese food! And possibly malts.