I climbed out of Bear Creek today, up onto Bear Ridge and followed that down to Lake Thomas A Edison. At the lake, I walked a mile up the road before getting a hitch the rest of the way to Vermillion Valley Resort. Today I walked 9.2 miles, 14.8 km before getting that ride for the last mile.

The morning was cold and damp from yesterday’s weather. Inside my tent, everything was perfectly warm and dry, but dew had settled outside all over the grass. The trail along the creek was also very wet, and I was glad to get a bit of sun through the trees after about 20 minutes hiking in the shade.

Only about half an hour after leaving camp, the climb to the ridge began. It started as a very gentle incline, and gradually became steeper until switchbacks began taking me up the side of the ridge. I climbed for about an hour before reaching the top.

After reaching Bear Ridge, the trail forks and hikers can either continue on the PCT towards the top of the lake, or head down the ridge to reach the lake on the south side, closer to VVR. There is a ferry which runs from the top of the lake to the resort, but it costs $20 each way and saves only 1.5 miles. The ferry would be a fun trip, but I took the ridge down instead. On the way down I got some views of the lake through the trees and I’m pretty sure I could see VVR too. The descent was actually quite fun, with a more sandy than rocky trail. Some parts were quite steep, and going down these sections was like a scree run rather than battling with rocks.

Once I got to the bottom, I started walking on the road to VVR. The road was very quiet and the walk from here wasn’t too far, so I didn’t try hitching, even when a couple of cars passed. After about 20 minutes walking, one car stopped next to me and offered a ride. Two hikers were already in the car, Ways and Rivet. I quickly tossed my stuff in the back and hopped in.

I found out that the person who picked me up was the owner of VVR, they were able to put in an order for me with the kitchen before it closed after lunch, and I had a burger on the way before I’d even arrived.

VVR is a nice spot, they have a big camping area for no charge, and a small shop with a kitchen attached. There are showers, laundry and WiFi available, but quite pricy and not really necessary to pay a lot for when living in the wilderness for weeks at a time, especially with this many creeks to jump into.

When I arrived at VVR, I got a free beer upon checking in, and enjoyed a good burger for lunch. I spent the afternoon hanging out and drying my gear, ready for sleep later tonight.