Category: PCT 2018

Miles 313-328 Silverwood Picnic Area

Today was a good day. The terrain wasn’t terrible. The sun wasn’t scorching hot (altho I did get a little sunburned). And the wind wasn’t blowing us over.

We were slow to start. It was a bit cold and I decided to make a “mocha” to get the day going. Haven’t made a cup of coffee since I’ve been out here, but today was the day and man do I miss my quiet mornings at home, sitting with my cup of coffee in bed. Since we had stealth camped by the water, our sleeping bags were wet from the morning dew. Our laziness in packing up allowed them to partially dry before getting shoved back into our packs. Our first order of business was to cross Deep Creek one more time. It was kinda gross. Last night, we had crossed it twice trying to find camp space and at least once I got my feet wet. Once across the creek, the day was planned for at least 15 miles, possibly 16. We also had a good plan which eventually railroaded our night, but it was totally worth it and I’ll get to that later.

We stopped twice today to eat, the first time was after 8 miles… the 2nd time I just know it was after 1pm. We had a pretty good pace going even with our delayed departure. After the 2nd stop we had a short road walk that took us on the front side of the Cedar Spring Dam. We climbed after the road walk and practically fell into Silverwood Lake. It was beautiful!!! And from the looks of things, there were 4 who had the lake all to themselves. The trail eventually passes a near by day picnic area. We had read up on our mapping app that a pizza company delivers out here for the hikers. So we placed our order as soon as we could. Cleaned up in the restroom facilities as best as we could and soaked up a little rest time. We chatted with a few hikers who had been eating pizza as well. When our pizza arrived tho, we had quiet the laugh. Evidently when Justin ordered drinks, he was under the impression we’d get cans of sodas. Clearly not the case when the driver showed up with SIX 2 liter bottles. He swears he’s packing out one of them tomorrow. The others will remain for the next hikers to enjoy when they roll through tomorrow. The pizza company even brought us cups and ice. Super nice of them!!!

So we decided to stay here because we were hoping to let the other hikers get ahead of us. Trying to spread the herd, but what we later found out was that the hikers who we thought we leaving just camped on the other side of the restrooms. Our plan to get away was foiled, so I’ll guess we will try again tomorrow.

I’m sure we will all end up at McDonalds (Cajon Pass) at the same time tomorrow. Looks like it’s 13.5 miles there and we will have to camp a few miles thereafter.

All in all, a good day. Justin’s birthday today made the day fun. I did call my dad. He’s fine, just some other family matters but all is best as it can be, so thanks for the concern, sorry to cause any alarm. And also, for my SWA family, my thoughts are with you as we all get through the next few days. Heartbreaking news as well.

I leave you tonight with a stunning view of the crescent moon and Venus and the wagon wheel tent circle we have tonight. Big hugs. 24 days on the books.

Yet another day of ups and downs out here. Overall, the terrain was beautiful. We followed Deep Creek pretty much all day long. Such a sight as we hiked along the canyon walls. The wind that we had through last night remained with us through the day. For the first half of the day though, it seemed as if it were at our backs. The trail being on the side of the canyon wasn’t favorable for a fast pace today.

We had maybe 5 miles in before 11 and we were all starving (I think we were hiking by 8am). So we stopped for early lunch and planned the next stop for the 2ish miles down trail to the Hot Springs. I couldn’t wait to soak my feet in the hot pool of water but there were too many people when we arrived. We soaked in the cool water and gathered water upstream from the hot spring area. When the crowd dispersed we had a few minutes of solitude.

After the hot springs we kinda bottle necked with a few other hikers. We wanted to hike as fast as possible but wind had other plans for us. This time the wind was at our faces and almost dangerous in some spots as it was so strong it could have blown us over. But alas, we survived another day.

There’s not much for camping spots for the next 50ish miles so we had to be creative tonight and with the wind crazy again this evening, the chance of finding a sheltered spot was even less. There are 5 guys near us braving the elements cowboy style. I found the largest rock I could find to hold down the stake where my trekking pole is attached. I never pitch this thing perfectly but let’s hope tonight it’s a good one again!!! 🙂

All in all, another good day. We ended up hiking 15 miles today. Tomorrow we are going to shoot for another 16 miles. There’s a picnic area where we can cha the devices and possible order a pizza. Pretty random, but hey we will take it.

I did get a message from my dad that was concerning. So to the family as home, my thought are with you and I will call home tomorrow when I get a chance. Hugs goodnight.

This morning was another cold start. Although the water bottles didn’t freeze, we were pretty slow to start. I don’t think anyone of us spoke a word until we knew everyone was packed up and ready to go.

The plan for the day was Splinter’s Cabin which was just under a 20 mile day. We stopped for lunch at a tent sight half way through the day. I ate and quickly fell into a slumber. Not sure how long I was out but I know I missed an entire conversation with a hiker who joined us at the same spot. Whoops!

Anyway, 20 miles is a long day. As my knee had been feeling better these past few days, I’ve gone without wearing my compression sleeves and brace. Today it felt a little sore as the miles kept ticking off. I’ll see how it feels again tomorrow and maybe go back to the sleeves. The creams and salves I have received seem to be doing wonders as well, so thank you for those!!!

We went through a lot of burn areas again. It’s sad to see devastation of a forest fire up close. it was probably around mile 15 or so a younger hiker passed by us headed southbound. I’m pretty sure I was hiking uphill and out of breath and didn’t say much to him, but he commented on my Idaho hat and said he was going to be going to school in Montana this year. As Laura and I were slowing down, he caught back up to us a few miles later. We said “hello again” and he kept about his way. When we crossed the bridge here near Splinters Cabin, he showed up once again. This time he asked us if we liked beer. Of course we said yes. His name is Nathan, he grew up near Lake Arrowhead and hikes the trails all around here. He is hoping to thru hike next year. Nathan gave us beers and we thanked him profusely. I wasn’t quite sure he was old enough to purchase them, but he said he just turn 21. He hopes that he receives the same kind of trail magic when he hikes the PCT. Nathan went down to deliver a few more beers to hikers that were camped near the river. We opted to camp up top near the cabin–that is more like a picnic awning area. It’s a tad windy up here, but we met some other hikers that are cowboy camping in the shelter. Cowboy camping is when you don’t set up a tent. We chatted with the other hikers in the shelter and made our dinners there too. They were are a fun group; Mike, John, Wiley and Drag. Wiley has a ukulele with him so he played while we ate dinner. Some of these guys started hiking on March 14!!!! They’ve been through some of the bad weather and have been having a lot of fun in every town. That’s what they call getting stuck in the vortex. It could be another night of my house blowing down but I’m committed to making it work. It’s definitely warmer tonight though so if it blows down, I’ll just get back up and fix it 🙂 it’s all part of the adventure.

I can’t believe I’ve been out here for 3 full weeks already. Everyday had been so different. Every turn in the trail provides a different view. Every mistake turns into a lesson. And every hello turns into a story. I feel so fortunate that so many people have helped me get where I am today! All those here and all those at home. Thank you. Tomorrow we will pass the 300 mile mark. It still seems surreal. We’ll probably spend some time at the hot springs tomorrow at mile 307 and we should be at Cajon pass (I-15) by Wednesday morning. Wrightwood still by Friday.