Day 16- Jenn

So many days are not being documented in a timely manner, but without consistent service, being insanely tired, and all the days melding into one, it's surprisingly difficult to separate them and write about 'em. So today is day 16 and we are just about to cram into some sort of vehicle that will hold 7-9 hikers and our bags for a ride back up highway 18 to hop back on the trail at mile 266 out of Big Bear with Cajon Pass being the next "town" stop in 70 ish miles. Between there we have Deep Creek hot springs in about 40 miles which I am really looking forward to. We have spent the last 2 nights at an awesome hostel in Big Bear with a few other hikers just relaxing by a fire and bonding over our trail experiences. A few days ago when hiking through a super hot and forever stretching, mostly dry river bed we stumbled upon a large red bearded man with a tie dye head scarf layed out under a beautiful tree barely covered by an orange sleeping bag. As we walked by we quickly introduced ourselves and kept going since there was a creek nearby to rest in, and I thought he was naked. For the next 2 days Matt and I referred to this man who introduced himself as "Uke" as the Creek Keeper and kept replying the brief and entertaining interaction. He ended up being at the hostel with us and cooking wonderful pasta, pancakes, and supplying some ukulele action inbetween. We also had the pleasure of staying with Hot Foot, In The Weeds, Murt, Mike, Raging Bitch ( possibly the   sweetest person ever), Cliff, Darren, Tarzan, and a bunch of others I'm probably forgetting. We arrived in Big Bear early Friday afternoon and decided on a zero day based on our bodies pleading, in addition to the rumor of a few inches of snow Friday night. We immediately ate, drank coffee, showered, and ate some more before getting settled into the couch by the fire and relaxing. as the night went on a few more people arrived thankful to be out if the cold and getting colder night. We drifted to sleep in our lower bunk bed with Raging Bitch (or suasage toes, or flip flop, or just Caty) above us, and woke up to a winter wonderland of white powdery snow. Our minds immediately went to our hiker friends that we hadn't heard from since Idyllwild, but knew where nearby, hoping the made it into town before the snow. As the day unfolded we met up with people we hadn't seen in days and listened to their stories of the last 80 miles, got on a bus going in the wrong direction for an hour and a half ride back to the hostel, and ate and ate and ate. I made calls and heard voices from what seems like an eternity ago that made me homesick, nostalgic, comfortable, and more motivated than ever to keep going. Hearing those voices I love reminded me how lucky I am, and how lucky I have been. The end.