Rich here ...
Jason and Cassandra found a great hostel in Big Bear.  Since they were the only ones there, they decided to stay 2 nights.  Now, it's back on the trail.  They expect to get to Campo somewhere around Nov. 11-13.
Cindy sent the last resupply boxes on Friday.  
Now, it's just figuring out how to get them back home?!!
 
Here is latest journal from Cassandra. 
This may be the last journal we will receive since getting to a mail spot may be difficult for them before they finish the hike .........
THEY  ARE  THAT  CLOSE!!!
 
Hi everyone!  Just wanted to write a quick post about our last resupply stop-
We made it to Wrightwood and were very blessed by getting rides to and from the trail and also by having a great place to stay at Ray's home-one of the many people in town who offer their homes for hikers to stay in...it's a really friendly town for hikers, which was so much appreciated.

We left Wrightwood Monday morning after a good breakfast, and then as we were walking, Jason made the observation that if we walked long enough, we could get to the Best Western at Cajon Pass-around 10 pm...crazy!  But why not? ;)  So we walked and walked, in and out and up and over...we were so sore last night!!  But it's so cool walking at night that we really enjoyed it and thought it was worth it...

We rested well and now we're off to Big Bear-our plan is to get there on Friday!  There's about 340 miles left and we're just lovin' this part of the journey...

Until Big Bear!
Cassandra
 
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Taking Donna and Jeff out for Mexican-my favorite!
Our time here at the Saufley's is going to go down in history!...because we're still here!!  And so the story goes that we decided that we would take two zero days and really just enjoy all that is Hiker Heaven.  We took the Saufley's out for Mexican food and really enjoyed their company, along with Donna's son and his girlfriend.  Afterwards back at "home", we enjoyed lounging on the couch, snuggled in blankets while watching more videos, drinking hot chocolate, getting some lovin' from Sir Buddington O'tay (Buddy the dog), and visiting with Donna as she came in to check in on us periodically...some good R & R, that's for sure! 

We had a good-morning chat with Cindy back at home and filled her in on the latest.  We certainly look forward to those check-in phone calls with the Crams!  (We just love you guys to pieces!) And so we were pretty much packed and ready to go and figured we would leave early that afternoon...

Now Donna and Jeff were heading out and she asked if we would stay until they returned so that we could all say goodbye and she could get our pictures, and that was no problem with us!  It was about two when they returned and they threw it out there that we could stay another night if we wanted to...oh man...tempting!  By that point in the afternoon, if we had left, we really would have only walked about 8-10 miles, and really admist the big picture, that's nothing compared to being able to relax another evening and sleep in a bed!  So there went day number three!  We jumped on some bikes and rode into town to get more pizza!  And on the way we saw a hiker named Ramzova (trail name) whom we hadn't seen since northern California, and he was to later join us in Hiker Heaven...And then there were three!

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Overnight, we awoke to it downpouring!  I snuggled into the blankets evenmore, so thankful we had decided to stay another night!  That morning, ofcourse we had thought that we would be leaving, but the weather had changed into massive dark clouds filling the sky, with the occasional dumping of rain-and we were like "OK!  Day number four!"  Jason took advantage of the time and made a phone call to our good friend Shane back at home.  They chatted for awhile and talked a little about the possibility of them coming all the way down here to come and get us!  That would be a full-circle journey for us because they brought us to the beginning...that would be so amazing.  I'm feeling the love from them just thinking about doing that!

Later on, we got a surprise phone call... 
Our friends from Washington, Eddie and Leeann, said they were on their way here to see us!  Our first visit from friends...so crazy!  We ended up going to Happy Hour :) at that same Mexcian restaurant and shared a good meal and some margaritas together, as well as updates from their lives and some from our journey-we thoroughly enjoyed our time together before they headed out on their road trip back home to Washington.  Thanks you guys for coming to visit us!  You're now a special part of our adventure!

The evening got even better...It began to really rain and thunder, and big, intricate bolts of lightning streaked across the sky-it made us feel really good about having stayed another day-you know, like a legitimate reason.  So we snuggled up on the couch and again watched some movies and just relaxed.  

I decided to pop onto Facebook, and here, within seconds, I receive a message from our friend, Mikey Lang, that he's trying to get a hold of us.  So here comes Donna, telephone in hand, and she gives it to us saying that it's our friend Mikey!  Completely excited, we went into "our" bedroom and put him and Bonnie on speaker phone and proceeded to have such an amazing chat, catching up on what life has been like and what we've seen God doing in our lives...we were thrilled to have talked with them!  So many amazing things have been happening and it felt so encouraging and uplifting to receive such good news.  We love those two so much!...and miss them dearly.  Now if we had left, all of our surpise interactions with five different people would not have happened!  Don't you just love that?!  I do!
We slept well in our cozy bed again...and here came day five!  The weather was supposed to continue to be stormy all day, so we were convinced, along with Ramzova, to stay one more day until it worked itself out.  So funny!  I mean, FIVE days?!  Yep!  And now we feel like we sort of completed one segment of the journey, and by the time we get back out there, it will be like the start of a whole new adventure!

We walked into town today to get some exercise...a whole two miles! :)  Ofcourse we bought more pizza and icecream!  (We've definitely been able to put on a couple of pounds while here!)  Now we're ready to get back out there...it's been incredible to be able to rest for so long...really, really rest.  And getting the chance to experience Donna (L-rod) the way we have has been so great!  We've been so cared for and loved on by her and Jeff-they're such a memorable part of our adventure...

We're heading out tomorrow (I think!  That's what we've said the past three days!)  And it's supposed to be windy, but atleast partly cloudy and not really warm (which it can be and makes hiking miserable), so we'll deal with what we have to and will be in Wrightwood in about four days! 

Cheers!
 
Journal entries for Kennedy Meadows to Mojave, CA
Pictures to come soon!
 
Cassandra's journal entries for Vermillion Valley Resort to Kennedy Meadows:
DAY ONE:  Bear Creek, Selden Pass (10,900 ft)
DAY TWO:  Blaney Hot Springs, Evolution Creek
DAY THREE:  Muir Pass (11,950 ft.)
DAY FOUR:  Mather Pass (12,100 ft.),  Pinchot Pass (12,150 ft.)
DAY FIVE:  Glen Pass (12,000 ft.), Forester Pass (13,200 ft.)
DAY SIX:  Bighorn Plateau, Crabtree Meadow
DAY SEVEN:
DAY EIGHT:
 
Here is Casandra's Journal for The Sierra Nevadas!
Post Trail Comments:

Jason and I had never hiked in the Sierra Nevada's before our PCT hike, but knew that it was
the highlight of the trail for many hikers...We weren't sure if we would agree, but after hiking through it, we hold a similar opinion...It truly is a highlight!  

Enjoy our Southbounder-view of the  Sierra's...it's much different than what Northbounders see!
 
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The Southbound Herd! Jason, 'Giraffe', Cassandra, Shirley, and Yannick
On the 15th, we awoke at The Anderson's home called "Casa de Luna".  Besides the infamous moon from Terrie that we got when we had our picture taken, the name Casa de Luna comes from the idea that it takes Northbounders about one month to get to their home.  I rested so well on their sofa with a beautiful down blanket to rest my sore legs on!  Another slice of heaven-I tell ya, we'll have seen many glimpses of heaven by the time this trip is done!  :)  Joe made us some very yummy pancakes for breakfast and then we headed out to the trail around 9:20, which is so late for us!  The temperature was already high and we had several climbs to do plus very exposed terrain to cross-I was walking in a daze...It was so hot I just wanted to lay down in the shade and stare into the atmosphere.  We had our sights on getting to the Saufley's though, and all of the stories and laughter from the Anderson's gave us enough mental stimulation to occupy the time!

Several hours later, I was walking down the trail and saw a white van down by one of the roads we were crossing.  I thought it might be Heidi's van (other hikers we've been traveling with) but then when I looked closer, I noticed it was Terrie and Joe!  I was in tears at the sight of them, because I was just feeling miserable in the heat (not to mention some diarrhea issues I've been having for the last couple of days...forgive me for the maybe not so "civilized" picture, but that's just how it is!) and felt like we had such a long way to go-they were a sign of normalcy, comfort, humor...I guess more so it was the love I felt...They took time out of their day to drive all the way around to come and meet us, and bring us such a simple thing as a bag of ice.  Let me tell you, ice on a HOT day...Heaven! :)  And hugs and more "Anderson-ness", it was a well-need rest and dose of hiker-love...

We finally entered the town Agua Dulce by way of road-walking, and while doing this, a car pulled up slowly and then asked our friends Yannick and Shirley quickly where we were coming from and if he could buy us all dinner!  You bet! :)  Another example of "Trail Magic"...hopefully you're getting a good picture of what that term means! :)  So there we were, sitting on the patio of this cafe, ordering fish n' chips, burgers, meatloaf, lemonade...And our new friend Scott kept us entertained by his many stories and we couldn't have felt more blessed to be treated in such a great way!  We departed fairly late into the night with full stomachs and more mental stimulation to chew on, and made our way to the infamous Saufley's home, a.k.a. Hiker Heaven.  They are THE trail angels of the PCT! 

We decided to stay for three nights-two zero-mile days!  It's just THAT awesome here!  :)  Donna and Jeff have a separate mobile home equipped with everything that we might possibly need-and I mean it.  So we've been treated to our own bedroom, movies-galore, coffee, bathroom with bathtub, pizza place that delivers, internet access, Donna doing our laundry (best laundry service on the trail!)...the list could go on...

W e said goodbye to Yannick and Shirley-they're off to make it to planned meetings with family, and we're on the "walk-as-you-please" plan!  We're hopeful that we'll see them again sometime in the future...not necessarily on the trail anymore, but maybe in our "normal" lives.  We have so many good memories with these two-how awesome it was to have met them and to have had their presence in our lives.  And especially on a journey like this, it's such a bond that you make and we hold that really dearly.  They have great pictures of this last section with us all together on their website, so if you'd like, check it out for their visuals!
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/hobos/1/1287189601/tpod.html#_


The pictures from the Sierra's are still to come...those are going to be amazing!  It was just sooooo beautiful!  I called it a novice photographer's playground because you really could just hold your camera above your head and press the button and have an amazing shot-it's that beautiful.  

We're going to take the Saufley's out for dinner tonight at a Mexican restaurant...I'm so excited for mexican food, my favorite!  And then tomorrow we'll head out on the trail again.  We have a long road walk to do due to a fire closure of the trail, but we'll be in Wrightwood soon-then there are only four more stops until we reach the Mexican border!  Now that we're so close, it's all starting to feel really surreal-as if "did we really do it!?"  We've been watching some PCT videos the last couple of days, and seeing the trail from an entertainment perspective is really crazy...It's like "Wow!  That looks amazing!  We should do that!"  But we have done that!...but it feels like we haven't...as if we didn't experience all that we could have...Maybe that's why some people do it over and over again!   Hmmmmm....

not sure we're included in that "some", but we're closer to understanding ;)


 
Rich here ...
We talked with Cassandra Sunday night.
They got inot Mojave on Saturday and pretty much just stayed in the motel room for a day to rest up. 
They have been eating as many calories as possible while in Mohave.
They found dessert hiking to be hot and dry.  They only had 2 water opportunities in 5 days.  At each one they reconstituted food ahead, and filled water bottles.  They did just fine, but were glad to get to unlimited water for a couple of days.
They promised that pictures are on the way.  Hopefully, I'll get them posted right away?
This morning they will have breakfast with Yannick and Shirley, and another SOBO couple.  Then all 6 plan to start hiking together.
They are in good spirits
 
Rich here ...
We tlaked for a long time to Jason and Cassandra last nigth, Sunday, Oct. 3rd.
They were at Kennedy Meadows General Store.  They didi not plan to spend the night there, since it is camping only.  Since they have to camp, they thought they might as well do that on the trail.  However, since we tlaked until dark, they may have decided to stay the night there!
The resupply box was waiting for them, and they needed it.  They were pretty much out of food.  And, here I thought it looked like overkill on the last resupply box.  But, that one had to last them 8 days.
They were in very good spirits.  Their bodies are holding up well, and they have seen some spectacular scenery.  It was pretty warm days, and cool nights.  Only once did they have to deal with a snow squall.
Cassandra downed 2 double cheeseburgers upon arrival.  Jason was in disbelief!!

On a side note, on Thursday Cindy got the missing package, a bear cannister, that never showed up previously.  It appears the delivery address had gotten wet and became unreadable.  They are glad at this point just to get the cannister back.

Well ... it's on to Mojave in hopefully 5 days.  The next resupply is at Motel 6!  There they hope to find a comfortable bed.  I think they might even get a swimming pool!!