Idyllwild, CA to Agua Dulce, CA

     Well, here we are sitting pretty at 450 miles.  We're in the tiny desert town of Agua Dulce, CA right on the edge of the Mojave Desert.  Fuller Ridge and San Jacinto turned out to be a lot of fun.  The trail was completely buried in snow so there was a lot of map-and-compass routefinding going on, but we made our way up and over.  It was a thrill to see that mountain rise up on the horizon then sink into the southern skies as we left it in the dust.  Another challenge down.  After Jacinto we hit some awesome trail magic down under I-15.  Some past hikers were cooking up grilled cheese sandwhiches and passing out beers so we had to stay to toast to our successful journey over the mountain, listening to the familiar sounds of cars passing on the bridge overhead and the occasional freight train. 
     We crossed a few desert ridges, did a lot of water crossing on Mission Creek, then up into the mountains towards the ski resort town of Big Bear, CA (mile 175). 
     Big Bear marked the end of our 'getting in shape' period.  Basically, at this point, the ridiculous charge towards Canada starts in a big way.  We bought food for 7 days, with a 25 mile per day schudele.  This stretch of hiking was refered to several times as the death march.  We cruised out of Big Bear and kept our momentum going strong, even though we ran into a few fire detours that had has walking down the highway for 3 days.  Oh well, you take what comes to you out here on the PCT, that's kind of the beauty of it.
     We've met a bunch of really great guys; a few from Portland, a couple from northern Cali.  We had a strong hiking crew of 7 going for awhile which was a nice change of pace.  Its amazing how much things change when there are a few new people to talk to while you're hiking hour after hour.  We left them behind at Wrightwood, which we decided to skip, but they should be catching back up to us soon.
     This section has been a lot of fun.  Adam and Aaron really seem to be getting into the thru-hiker groove and we're all just enjoying the miles and having the best time possible.  Things are changing; our bodies and minds are adapting and getting ready to knock out the next 2200 miles!  whooweee!