Day 15-21 Mile 287 - 370
After a relaxing day in Big Bear. We stopped at Denny's for one last chance to replenish our calories from hiking and headed back out into the wilderness.
I'm not sure what happened today, but it was our easiest day so far. Even with packs full of food and a late start (8am) we busted out 21 miles. The trail was smooth and mostly downhill which helped.
Our day off at the town's hostel, which was ran more like a frat house opened an opportunity to meet more hikers than we have seen so far.
We climbed out of Big Bear and followed a ridge slowly descending through a burned area. Few trees survived with small new trees beginning to grow.
Boa, 6'2" and 155lbs, is doing his best to carry enough food for his string bean body. He lays his food out every night at dinner recalculating what he has left. Shadow and I are enjoying watching him discover new junk food to maximize his calories. He even bought TicTacs because they have 2 calories a piece.
I hope today reflects our hard work the last couple of weeks and just maybe we have found our hiking legs. Shadow's heel blister seems to be getting better, but he is considering reconstructive surgery on his shoes. I'm doing good keeping up even though every stride Shadow and Boa takes equal 1.5 of mine.
We once again were surprised by the trail. After a boring morning hiking through more burn areas, we crossed a footbridge above Deep Creek. Boa met up with us at lunch and we spent the rest of the day following the Deep Creek gorge. The Sun heated the gorge after near freezing temperatures the night before. We left the last few pine trees and by the afternoon we were spotting blooming cactuses and lizards.
Our 21 mile day ended at the hot springs. The guide book said the springs are a clothing optional hangout on the weekends. Being that it's Thursday we thought it would be empty and a perfect spot for the night. About a mile before we crossed paths with a gentlemen hiking in shorts and a backpack. Later we found out that after passing us, he took off his pants and continued hiking. Shadow joked that if he saw a naked guy hiking we would ask him "How's it hanging?"
We quickly realized that it didn't matter what day of the week it was and all agreed to just keep walking. Truth be told it was too hot for the hot springs. About a half mile down we found a great place to stop. Shadow and I rinsed our feet while Boa used his mosquito head net to catch minnows. He had planned to eat them for extra protein until I said that they were living down stream of naked people pee.
Coach, a guy we camped with the night before stopped and asked to stay. Our spot wasn't ideal for 3 tents. Boa likes to cowboy camp and Shadow thought we should try it. I gave in when Coach said he would too. Tonight will either be the best night of sleep or the worst.
With a little help from Benadryl (just in case) my first night of cowgirl camping was a success. It was so nice to open my eyes at night and see the stars. It did help that there were three other people with me. We followed the gorge out to the Mojave Reservoir Dam. I'm not sure why there's a dam. I guess at one point there was a need. I read last night that the Deep Creek gorge and hot springs were created by a fault line which explains the rock formation and hot water.
The trail meandered along a dry hillside most of the day. Just before lunch we meet 24 men on horses. It's always nice to see others using the trail. Unfortunately 24 horses tilled the firm sandy path into a sand pit which slowed our speed. With no shade or water insight, Shadow and I strung our piece of Tyvek across the trail to create a break from the Sun for lunch. About a mile past our spot was the Silverwood Dam and a nice shady spot with trail magic. A cooler was filled with bottled water, strawberries, grapes, and chocolate bunnies from Easter. It was the heat of the day so another break was just fine for me. Soon after we climbed up and over a hill to see Silverwood Lake full of water. Unlike most lakes around here, this one was full and also had sandy beaches. Our spirits were immediately lifted as we picked up speed. Like a moth to a flame, we picked a cove close to the trail, dropped our packs, kicked our shoes off and dove in. The water was so icy cold, it took my breath away. After a nice break on the beach we continued on.
One of the things I love about this trail is that you can wash your socks out at night (if you have water) and by morning they are dry. Something you don't get on the AT. Within 15 minutes after our swim our clothes were dry like our swim in the lake was a dream.
One of these days I'm going to have nothing to write about. The trail will go through a boring patch, but not today. A quick 12 miles into Cajon Pass, a basic interstate exit off "The 15" with a Mickey D's, 2 gas stations, and a Best Western. But for hikers today, Cajon Pass would be the best Trail Magic so far! Veg and Smother, Boa's parents, pulled their truck off the road and set up shade, a grill, chairs, and coolers. They dished tacos with all the fixings, soda, and Klondike bars. After an amazing lunch we all dispersed. Most went to the hotel while Shadow and I headed for McD's to wait out the heat. We sipped on sodas and people watched. At 3pm we began packing up to leave when Impala walks in. The last time we saw him we were in Queenstown, New Zealand! We knew he was behind us on the trail and going super fast.
We left so he could gorge himself alone and met up at "Hiker Midnight" 5 miles up the trail. Hiker Midnight is sunset by the way. Boa was waiting for us at camp and the 4 four of us had a great evening talking about the trail while snacking on left over burritos from lunch. I love the hiking community.
4:00am sharp the four of us left the San Andreas Fault, where we camped for the night, and headed up a dry and hot 5,000foot climb. By the time the Sun rose we were high enough that the heat didn't bother us. 8,300feet was our highest point today and that's where we ran into Impala, Boa, and a couple more hikers. The rain report that Veg gave us yesterday followed by what another hiker said worried me. It might be rain down low, but where we are it will be snow. I thought it was better if we push it the extra 3 miles and hitch to town. More details were needed because of our climb tomorrow. Boa and Impala were game too because that meant pizza for dinner. With Impala's magic thumb we proceed to complete the fastest resupply ever. The third car that passed pulled over and gave all 4 of us a ride into Wrightwood. First stop was the pizza place. I knew that if we went grocery shopping hungry, we would spend twice as much and twice the weight. Our goal is 2.5 lbs of food a day per hiker. We don't have a scale to weigh our food but we are probably heavier than that. With backpacks in our carts we strolled the isles looking for the lightest weight versus biggest calorie count we could find. Stuffed our bags the best we could and stuck our thumb out to get back on the trail. The best chance for rain/snow is 2 days from now so we have time to get to higher elevation and back down. As luck would have it a truck pulled over and once again the 4 of us jumped in the back. 2 hours after we left the trail we were North bound again. About a mile North was a closed forest service camping area with picnic tables and running water. What more could a hiker ask for. As the Sun sat we munched on left over pizza and extra snacks we bought from the store. Life is good!
Hummingbirds/ bats
Stink bug
Country Mouse & Shadow
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