Days 12 - 20 Amagalmation of Posts - part 2 — Walking People Out of Poverty

Days 12-20

Depart Cabazon - Arrive Wrightwood

I would apologize to all for the many problems with posting the blogs. I spent the best part of 3/4’s of a day, in Wrightwood, composing this blog only for all of the work not being printed or saved, so I’m hoping I can correct it now. The first part of the blog will remain the same but everything from the end of the opening paragraph of Day 16 will be new.

We had a wonderful Zero day in Palm Springs and I cannot thank Liz enough for her kindness. Unfortunately the blog took up most of my time and I regret that I was unable to give Liz more of my time. Fortunately for me Liz understands the importance of this blog and I want to acknowledge that fact.

Liz and I met Tina and Dave at a breakfast spot at 6:15am and afterwards Dave drove Tina and I to the trailhead at Cabazon where we started walking at 7:25am. Tina and I were pleasantly surprised when Dave threw on Tina’s backpack and said he was going to walk with us for the first hour. Unfortunately for Dave we lost the trail almost immediately and spent 20 minutes before we found it again. It was fun having Dave along though. The trail climbed gradually for several hours and we passed through one of the many windmill farms that populate the valley East of Palm Springs. On our way we were amazed to find a small turtle on the trail and were careful to step around him/her.

We crested the top of the valley and wound our way downhill and took a side trail to Whitewater Preserve where we stopped for lunch. The preserve is an amazing place and is reachable by vehicle, and there were a number of families present. After lunch we took off our shoes and socks and put our feet in the cool refreshing water. It was so cold but it felt wonderful. After a lovely break we hiked the half mile back to the trail to start our afternoon walk. We came across a sign warning of feral dogs in the area, but fortunately we didn’t see any. On January 3 Pit-bulls attacked and killed a young calf, so they are not to be trifled with.

The afternoon walk followed the same pattern as the morning with a steady climb before a stiff climb to finish. Needless to say we enjoyed great views again. Our day ended at Mission Creek Crossing after a distance of 16.7 miles.

Tina with her Sherpa, Dave.

Be careful of flying windmill blades!

Windmills

The little turtle that could!

The path that would eventually lead us to the Whitewater Preserve.

A really neat desert flower. If you look closely you will see that one flower grows out of the one below it.

The small river that leads to the Preserve.

Two different versions of the same sign.

BEWARE!!!

Small bridge leading to the Preserve.

Another view of the hot and dusty land we are traveling through.

Day 13 saw me wake up after arguably my best days sleep on the trail, and we were on our way by 7:15am.

We had a long, and I do mean a long gradual climb which involved numerous river crossings. Towards the end of the day the climbing got really steep and over the 13.7. miles we achieved over 4000 feet in elevation gain. Today’s walk has seen us reach Mile 240.

More beautiful desert flowers.

The trail never ceases to amaze. Here’s Tina navigating through the long grass. We actually walked through bull rushes over 10 feet tall!

Before and after!

Tina setting the pace.

Yet another Gecko.

Day 14 broke and I was never more pleased to be up and about. Last night was arguably the worst of the entire trip. It was really cold and I could not get warm. Through the night I had on my Merino wool long johns, socks, rain proof pants, thermal hoody, Patagonia jacket, toque and gloves and still I was frozen.

We left camp at 5:40am after deciding to have breakfast on the trail later in the morning. Our morning began with a steady uphill climb sand then we hit a nice downhill section. We enjoyed fantastic views early in the day but now we were walking through an area with beautiful big trees. Anyone who knows me well will know of my love of big trees, and this area appealed to me in so many ways. The walking was spectacular.

Today’s schedule had us walking 16 miles but we had heard the weather was due to change and that a storm was headed our way with snow and cold temperatures. We therefore decided to add an extra 10 miles to our day making it 26 miles in all. Because of the beautiful forest we walked through this was arguably my favourite day thus far. We met a young couple who were section hiking and they offered us a ride into Big Bear Lake, but unfortunately they were moving at a much quicker pace than we were. We were extremely fortunate that they would wait for us during the last few miles.

The following day we had arranged to meet Dave at a road that the trail crossed, and were able to reach him on the phone to get him to come up to Big Bear Lake. This was a bonus for both Tina and Dave as they could spend another night together in Big Bear Lake. Today’s walk was our longest yet at 26 miles and we have now walked 266 miles.

This PCT walking is downright dangerous!!

Cloud cover down in the valley.

Why I like hiking in high places!

Pine cone graveyard!!

The cloud cover is getting closer!

More beautiful big trees.

Water cache set up by a trail angel.

The beauty we encounter on a daily basis never ceases to amaze us.

View of the true desert.

Desert Cactus.

We saw this magnificent house about two miles from the trailhead. The views through the saddle of the mountain, of the desert, must have been superb. The house had both a windmill and a water mill providing power.

Day 15 saw us at Motel 6 in Big Bear Lake and after breakfast at Munchies, where Dave tried a fried Twinkie, we were driven to the trailhead and set off for another days adventure.

As seems to be the norm we were greeted with a steady climb, which our bodies are now used to, we came to a road where we had to detour due to a forest fire. This short road walk led us to a logging road where we had a 2.5 mile uphill slog before being diverted to another logging road for another 0.5 mile upward grind! Every step was up. The trail, when we finally reached it meandered up and down all day and after the beginning was most enjoyable. We came to a point on the trail that could have been confusing if you were not paying attention, and once we had picked the correct route I decided to take off a layer and put my pack down to do so. A quarter of a mile down the trail I realized I had left my sunglasses behind and alerted Tina. I dropped my pack and hared off back up the trail. Normally I would not have bothered but the glasses were prescription and so I needed to retrieve them.

We were now back among the big trees but unfortunately a lot had been destroyed by fire.

Our mileage is now sitting at 283.

Yet another view of the distant desert.

The trail ahead.

Are they storm clouds ahead?

More of the pretty flowers that grace the trail.

A close up of the same flowers.

I love the bark on these big trees!

During the night I woke up to hear something lightly hitting my tent, and so decided to go to the bathroom to investigate. I climbed out of my tent to find an inch of snow on the ground. I quickly retreated to my tent to snuggle down.

Day 16 dawned and Tina and I made the decision to stay in our tents, where it was warm, for a little longer. We had breakfast and finally departed at 8:20am.

Four hikers, who we had seen camping higher up the trail, arrived just as we were setting off and so it was decided that safety in numbers might be appropriate and off we went. The weather was miserable with poor visibility and it was snowing! Fortunately the trail led us down the mountain to a campground where several people were in various stages of getting organized ready to set out. As you can imagine it was not a day for photographs, although I took several early on to try and portray the conditions. As the morning wore on the weather began to clear and I found a terrific little spot among the rocks where we were able to have lunch. After a short break, and as we dropped further down the mountain, the snow began to clear and we came to a wide open meadow full of glorious sunshine. We took the decision to put up our tents, spread out out tent footprints and fly’s and to air out the sleeping bags again. It was a lovely relaxing break. After an hour or so, and because our fellow travelers had not arrived, we took the decision to pack up and move on as we still had some miles to go. We were making good time and finally made the water source where we replenished our precious liquid! At this point Tina and I made a miscalculation of where our next camp sight was located and the further we went the less favourable sights there were. The problem we had was the steep canyon we found ourselves in, as the land all slopes down to the river! On and on we trudged, and by now we had our headlamps on, until finally we made the decision to camp in an area that although not ideal was our best option. We made the decision that we would have to share a tent this night, as there was no room to pitch a second tent and ended up cooking on the PCT trail as it was the only safe place to do so. I should add that the late afternoon and early evening walk had been spectacular as the trail had taken us up high on the canyon wall and kept going around and along the rim for mile after mile and the views down of the river were superb.

Out campsite when I woke up.

Tina ready for the “off”.

Everest here I come!

A forlorn Tina during a break.

Tina displaying a huge cone we found by the trail. Notice the snow has all gone.

My turn with the cone!

Tina heading to the water source which was a short scramble from the approach to the bridge.

300 miles in the book!

A look down, at one of the many pools that form along the river, from our vantage point high up on the canyon wall.

Day 17 dawned and it was a beautiful day. We took advantage to spread out Tina’s tent and fly to dry whilst we made breakfast. Who should happen by but Slim, who we hadn’t seen for a few days, and it was agreed we would meet up again in several miles at The Oasis, a place with a number of natural hot springs. We finished breakfast and were soon on our way. We finally arrived at the Oasis around 11 am and it was interesting to say the least. I stripped down to my underwear, which could easily pass as swimming trunks, and climbed into the nearest pool I could find and the water was wonderfully warm, it was almost like getting into a bathtub! I noticed a young women a few feet away, who was on a floating device in the river. To my surprise she was topless, or so I thought, but a few minutes later she was out of the water and came to chat with me, and it was only then that I realized she was totally naked! A few minutes later an older guy went by and he to was naked. Yikes! Turns out the place is popular with Natutalists. After 45 minutes or so it was time to get going again, and our trail was very reminiscent of the previous afternoon and evening. Up and along the canyon wall our path took us and it was almost deja vu! After an hour or so we came to a small bridge where we decided to have lunch before jumping back on the carousel, make that trail. The walking was extremely pleasant but we were eventually dropped lower down the canyon and before you knew it we were enjoying completely different scenery.

Young squirrel at the Oasis looking for a handout.

Our trail took us high up the canyon wall and just kept going.

A view down at one of the retaining walls that had been constructed.

The bridge where we had lunch.

The view back across the bridge from our lunch perch.

Our path.

One of the many stunning views we get to enjoy on a daily basis.

The end of another stunning day!

Yesterdays hike had taken us high up into a mountain range where there had been a lot of graffiti, something that would have been done by locals. Hikers, and especially those folks attempting long distance trails, are not the type to become involved in wanton vandalism, so it was pretty distressing to see. On my way through these same mountains I came a disposed 2 liter milk container that I decided to pack out as it needed to be removed.

Todays walk started out from our campsite that was high on a hill with spectacular views across prime cattle country that reached out to an escarpment that had a lot of electrical pylons, it was an impressive sight.The trail delivered us down to a road where we walked a few hundred yards before being put back into a more normal surroundings. We got our first glimpse of a man made lake called Silverwood and within 45 minutes we had landed on the beach where we enjoyed breakfast. Unfortunately neither Tina or myself remembered to take a picture of one another enjoying the good life. After a lovely break it was back to the task at hand and we were soon climbing back into the hills. Approximately 90 minutes later we were at a recreational spot called the Cleghorn Picnic Area, where a young lady Mary, accompanied by her dog Max were serving “trail magic”. Mary had arrived at 7 am, and the first hikers through had been provided with McDonalds breakfast sandwiches. Mary gave us a soft drink, banana’s and if we had stayed longer we could have had hot dogs but we still had a ways to go, so we thanked her and left. The afternoon involved a long climb with a hot sun burning down on us but we kept at it and before we knew it we were on our way down the hill. Although going down is tough, as you are using different muscle groups, it was a lot more agreeable than climbing in the full heat of the day. We were headed to Cajon Pass which has McDonald’s restaurant and almost every PCT’er that makes it this far ends up there. As always the last 2-3 miles are always the longest, and right where the trail dives under the freeway there is the turn that takes you to McDonald’s. It was at this point that we bumped into Slim, who advised he was going to get a few more miles in before attempting the big climb up Cajon Pass the next morning. Slim really does not enjoy the sun! We made it up to McDonald’s where I ordered 2 double cheeseburgers, a large Fanta orange drink and large chocolate milkshake. Imagine my surprise when I received my order as it also included 2 single cheeseburgers. Upon getting back to my table I passed one of the single burgers to one of the South Korean hikers who was sat at the next table. This South Korean couple were married in 2016, but were now taking a late honeymoon and hiking the PCT. I should add that normally I would never venture into McDonalds but needs must, and the craving to put fat into the body is over powering.

Tina finishing up breakfast.

The PCT runs by the road for a short while

Image 1 of Silverwood Lake.

Image 2 of Silverwood Lake.

Tina chatting to Mary who is keeping a firm grip on Max!

Another display of the remarkably diverse range of flowers we pass by daily.

One last view of Silverwood Lake in the distance.

Our trail is out there somewhere.

You can see our path leading us down.

More of the deserts wild flowers.

Climbing Cajon Pass was our goal today, and just like every day we have had a plan. During the planning phase of this incredible journey we have been meticulous on how to approach the more difficult phases of the task at hand. We had planned the work and it was now time to work the plan. We were on the trail at 5 past 5 in the morning, and so with headlamps on we set off. We had difficulty initially in finding the trail due to the darkness, but we managed to find our way, and as day started to break the route finding became easier. For the past two days we have heard continual blasts of the trains horn and it soon became apparent why. There are two separate train lines in close proximity and one of these has to be crossed by the hikers as they head towards Cajon Pass. No sooner had we crossed than we heard the horn sound, and shortly thereafter appeared the train, The trail took us up to the shaded side of the valley, but on the opposite side it was a different story. We could see the switchbacks all the way up the Pass bathed in sunshine. Eventually we dropped down to cross the valley floor and so began the big climb. Tina, as she has done from Day One, set the pace and we gradually grinded our way up the pass. The higher we climbed the more impressive were the views, and we stopped a number of times to both take in the splendid scenery but also to take our treasured pictures. Finally we came to a road where we were greeted with trail magic. Tom and Jonah, two friends decided that today would be a good day to initiate themselves as Trail Angels, and both Tina and I enjoyed a cool soft drink. After a few minutes we were on our way again, and we felt so good we added an extra 4 miles to our day. We had slain the dragon that was Cajon Pass!! Our campsite for the night enjoyed spectacular views down into Wrightwood and we were really looking forward to getting there in the morning.

The train is coming!

Behind You!!!!

The train snakes through the mountains.

One of many spectacular views we enjoyed.

The view up Cajon Pass. We are on the opposite side of the valley and would soon cross the valley floor to the sunny side of the pass.

Tina striding out.

Two determined hikers silhouetted against the mountain.

Another spectacular view.

Breakfast in the meager shade that was available!

Still a long long way to go.

The hills were popping with beautiful spring flowers.

Looking back down the valley.

And another shot down the valley from higher up the pass.

This picture was taken at an even higher level than the one previous, but it perfectly illustrates just how far back the switchbacks go, as the prominent landmark (upside down U) appears closer.

We are getting closer!

We are now looking down into a completely new valley.

The top end of the new valley.

View from the forest we were now in.

Beautiful big old trees, my kind of country!

This was typical of the trees that populated the area we were now in.

I couldn’t resist!!

More trees!

We camped in a beautiful old forest and it was my favorite camping spot to date. We had the most amazing view down to Wrightwood which was our goal for the following day.

The next morning we were up relatively early but were in no rush after the grueling climb that we experienced the day before. After a warm breakfast we packed up and were on the trail by around 7-30 or thereabouts. The route took us up the mountain a little higher before dropping down at the side of a ski hill. It was a very pretty walk. On our way down the trail crossed a dirt road where a fellow was riding a bike followed by his two black labs. This proved significant as a little while later we saw the same man, this time heading back down the road and he offered us a ride to Wrightwood. We still had about a quarter of a mile to go but the man said he would meet us by the road. We arrived in Wrightwood and were dropped off by the hardware store which we were told was the place to go to to arrange accommodation. Once inside a lady handed me a binder and showed me the section for hotels and motels, and another section for Trail Angel’s who accommodate hikers. I called 3-4 motels and texted several of the TA’s but to no avail. I noticed a sticky note on the counter and it, and my phone, to Tina and asked her to try, hoping it would change our luck. Within a couple of minutes Tina announced we were getting picked up outside in 10 minutes. Right on cue Laura and her friend Glen arrived. As we were still pretty hungry we persuaded Laura to let us buy them breakfast and so we headed to one of the cafes. This gave us the opportunity to get acquainted with our hosts. After breakfast Laura ran us to the grocery store and advised she would wait while Tina and I picked up our lunches for the next few days on the trail. When we came out Laura had rounded up 3 other hikers to take home, Moses from Switzerland, Bastian from Holland and Dominic from Germany. Upon arrival Laura told us to put our packs on the big table in the garage and to put our shoes underneath. We were then shown where we could do our laundry, our bedroom’s and then given robes to change into so we could get out of our dirty clothes. I pulled Tina aside and suggested she have the shower first whilst I sorted out my laundry. Every time you walk into the laundry room you trigger a “singing fish” hanging on the wall. It was cute the first couple of times but quickly became monotonous after a while. That evening Laura insisted on feeding us all, and she dished up salad, vegetarian chili and corn beef and grilled cheese sandwiches. The following morning breakfast consisted of coffee, tea, fruit, waffles and maple syrup. We had certainly landed in God’s pocket as Laura would not accept any money from us even through we pleaded. I did obtain one concession insomuch as Laura did agree to me taking her and Glen to dinner that night. We ended up going to a Mexican place where I enjoyed Chicken Fajitas. We invited the 3 boys to join us but forewarned then they would be paying their own way, which to be fair to them was acceptable. We had a fun night. The following morning breakfast consisted of tea or coffee, fruit, a big pan of scrambled eggs and mushrooms. Trail Angels are the most amazing people and can never do enough for you. In this day and age it is incredible to find this kind of generosity and I cannot praise them enough. TA’s are the glue that binds everything together.

After breakfast we each stripped our beds and remade them with clean sheets ready to welcome the next group in. Once this was done Laura and Glen delivered us back to the trailhead to resume our journey after the most amazing Zero in Wrightwood. Speaking of Wrightwood, it is far and away the most eagerly anticipated town on the trail thus far, and proudly lives up to its reputation of the friendliest trail town on the PCT.