Cougar Crest Trailhead to Holcomb Crossing Trail Camp (PCT mile 294.1)
(19 miles, +1,700/-3,000 feet).

So here’s the thing.

My pal Barnfinder loves the PCT so much that he has a personal goal not just to section hike it, but to travel each section both northbound and southbound.  Meanwhile, I have been trying to thru-hike as much as possible (north or south makes no difference) so I can see new trail all the time.

So what are two hiking friends to do?

We hatched a plan to meet both our goals.  Barnfinder would drop me off at the Cougar Crest trailhead so I could pick up where we left off last June, and then drive to Splinters Cabin and hike towards me.  He would hike far enough so that he could return some time and do a there-and-back day hike to fill in the part he is missing from Cougar Crest.

We would then hike together until a similar point halfway between Splinters Cabin and the Mojave River Forks Dam, where he would turn south and I would keep heading north.  When he got back to the car, he would drive around to pick me up at the finish.

Confused yet?

I know it sounds crazy, but it seemed really perfect for both of us, and today it was really nice to spend half the day on a solo hike and the rest with a friend.

Although we were expecting temperatures near 30, they were closer to 20 when Barnfinder dropped me off at Cougar Crest.  I hiked fast to try and regain the feeling in my fingertips!

It only took about half an hour to make the ridge, where there were amazing views of Big Bear Lake and San Gorgonio Wilderness in the distance.

A short bit before the PCT, the Cougar Crest Trail bends around to a north facing slope, and that’s where the real fun started.

At the intersection with the PCT there was a short break in the snow, but soon enough I was on north facing slopes again with no footsteps to follow.

By about 9am I got on a south slope where I could, shall we say, take care of business.  I pulled out my trusty trowel to dig a hole, and in the first huge chunk of duff and dirt came a hibernating lizard!

It hardly moved at all, and it didn’t seem right to put it back, so I left it in a sunny spot and hoped it would warm enough to find a new hiding place….

After my break I headed back into the snow.

The snow was pretty easy to walk on until about 10am or so.  Crunchy on top with about an inch of give most of the time allowed me to walk in just my trail runners with a little help from my trekking poles.

And then came the traverses.

I put on my microspikes and took my time.

Slowly dry trail started to return now and then and I got my first views of Mount Baldy and its neighbors to the west.

After a brief respite I headed back to my last north facing slope of the day, which I could see for quite some time.

Alas, just before I was done with the challenging part, I stepped on and snapped one of my carbon fiber poles.  An expensive mistake!

At about 6600 feet near Little Bear Springs I lost the snow.

I stopped to get water at the first Holcomb Creek crossing, where icicles clung to overhanging bushes.

Further on, the creek became more still and had some beautiful sections where algae flowed below a tree-reflecting surface.

Along the creek there were A LOT of blowdowns from the recent 20 year storm that swept through Southern California.

And then, from nowhere, Barnfinder appeared.

Barnfinder originally wanted to get a little closer to Cougar Crest Trailhead so he left me to rest while he picked up some miles to the south.  But he was tired and the blowdowns were pretty annoying so he turned back after just a short time.

After another short break, we continued north along Holcomb Creek where there were beautiful views of snow-covered Butler Peak and Crafts Peak.

Barnfinder warned me that there were several challenging river crossings ahead.

Our shadows grew long as we approached the final ford and our home for the evening, Holcomb Crossing Trail Camp.