Tag: Wrightwood

Wrightwood to Auga Dulce

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85 miles – 4/29/18 – 5/7/18

The morning of the 29th I said goodbye to my friend Strawberry (Sisse), who I had been hiking with since the beginning. She decided to stay in Wrightwood a couple of days and I wanted to move on and get ahead of the strom that was going through the following day.

I hiked back up to the trail the same way I came in, the noticably steep Acorn trail, it was quite the way to start the day.

Once I hit the top I saw a couple day hikers but no other through hikers. As I hiked by a couple ski areas the clouds began rolled in like a fog.

I continued on, still not seeing any other hikers. Everytime I would pass under a group of trees I would get rained on by the water that had collected on them. I stopped at a visitors center which was closed but seemed abandoned, the fog made everything seem a little creepy.

I made my way to Vincent Gap, the base of Mt. Baden Powell. The wind was picking up, the fog was thick and I was alone. I thought about the fact I could be back in Wrightwood splitting a room with Sisse to wait out the storm. I knew I could push on and would be ok but I wouldn’t enjoy it. While I know I’ll will have to endure days of bad weather I won’t always have the option to go stay in a warm motel room. I stood there and debated what to do. I told myself that I’d hitchhike for 15 minutes and if I couldn’t get a ride I’d push on. After 5 minutes of standing in the cold, being passed by cars that may not have even seen me in the fog, I decided I wanted to go back into town.

Luckily there were a few cars parked at the trail and two women and their dogs were just finishing up their day hike. Feeling slightly defeated I asked them if they were heading back to Wrightwood and luckily they were. As soon as we drove over the mountian I just hiked the sky became clear and sunny, I didn’t know if anyone would believe me about the weather on the other side.

I spent the next two days eating and being lazy as I waited out the weather. I ended up spending a lot of time at the Racoon Saloon talking with other hikers, which was a nice break for hiking. I also had an amazing cinnamon roll at Cinnamon’s Bakery. While taking a few days off put me behind schedule it was worth it, I’m sure I can make up the miles further along on the trail, plus there’s no reason to rush into the Sierras since there is still plenty of snow that needs to melt.

After my break I caught a ride back to where I left off and made it over Mt. Baden Powell and was slightly frustrated to see that the forecasted 6″ of snow that made me take the extra days off didn’t come to fruition. The top of the mountain was amazing. Next was Mt. Williamson which wasn’t as tall as Baden Powell but still a good amount of elevation. On my way down my left foot felt loose in my shoe so I stopped and tightened it up, apparently a little too tight. After a bit my ankle started to ache, it felt like the shoelaces was cutting into one of the tendons on my foot. I loosened my laces and continued on with my ankle still hurting. I reached a portion of the trail that was closed to protect the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog and proceeded to take the detour along highway 2 to the buckhorn campground.

The next morning my ankle was still sore when I headed out, so much so that I missed a junction and actually headed south on the PCT towards the portion that was closed. The trail was fairly eroded which wasn’t fun with my sore ankle. When I figured out I was going southbound I turned around headed back to another junction and proceeded to head up a trail that wasn’t the PCT at all. After I while, and 5 miles of being lost, I made my way back to the PCT.

Even with my bum ankle and my goal was to hike past mile 400, which would have been just 12 miles if I hadn’t gotten lost.

Took a lunch break at the 400 mark and then pushed on. I passed a parking lot where two ultrarunners and their huskies we’re handing out oranges and homemade brownies, I had two of each and they were amazing, especially the oranges. They helped me and my angry ankle make it to the sulphur springs campground and set up for the night even though it was early in the day, I wanted to take it easy on my ankle. A good amount of other hikers showed up which was nice since most of the time I don’t give myself enough time to hang out before going to bed. There was even a campfire.

The following day I made my way over the hill and down to a fire station, which was the last water source for over hot 20 miles. When I arrived there was a guy that stopped by with a convertible BMW stuffed with trail magic. He was on his way to set up a ways back on the trail but he gave me some grapes, strawberries, a Coke and a beer. After a little while I found my way to a shady spot under a tree next to a parking lot next to the trail and stretched out on my ground sheet. A little while later two very exited guys showed up after finishing up a 100 mile stretch. They gave a bunch of random advice for the upcoming stretch, most of which wasn’t that helpful. They did give me my 2nd beer of the day though.

I left the shade of the tree and proceeded to climb up a hill in the heat. The goal was to go about 18-20 miles from where I had camped the night before but there wasn’t much in the way of established tent sites until 24 miles, and I wasn’t interested in going that far. As I hiked I kept my eye out for a spot to camp but didn’t have any luck. Just as I thought I would have to make it the full 24 miles I saw a spot up on a ridge 21 miles in. I decided to cowboy camp first time which was a fun change. A bunch of hikers from the night before also set up camp there as well.

It was a short 17 mile hike the following day with a stop at a ranger station that had water and ice cold soda for $1 which was nice. It gave me a boost to make the push to my destination, a KOA campground near Acton, CA. I was exited about a shower, pool, hot tub and ice cream. However, when I arrived it wasn’t that appealing. There were a bunch of non-hikers and the pool and hot tub looked heavily used so I skipped using them. Apparently that was a good call because I heard that the health department shut down the hot tub the day after I left. I didn’t like the vibe of the place so I just hung out until it was time to sleep.

The final day before Auga Dulce was just a 10 mile hike with a slight climb and decent before hitting Vasquez Rocks which was a very welcome change in scenery. A good amount of movies and TV shows were filmed in this area including the original Star Trek, blazing saddles, The Flintstones Movie and even a scene from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

After Vasquez Rocks it was a short road walk into Agua Dulce and then a short hitch to the amazing Hiker Heaven, the perfect place to stay, but more akbout that in my next post.

Big Bear City to Wrightwood

Toby 5 Comments

103 miles – 4/25/18 – 4/29/18

Woke up in the morning and Mountain Mama was making breakfast, even though she said she wasn’t a breakfast person herself. After eating breakfast I gathered everything up and she gave me a ride back to the trailhead, even turning around and going back after I realized I had forgotten my phone. I ended up getting back on trail around 9am which is 3 or 4 hours later than usual, so it would be a shorter day.

The hike north of I-18 started with a fire detour a little ways in. I noticed that some hikers ignored the large sign that read “Closed to the public” and kept on hiking. I like to call these people jerks. The detour was short and provided a good view of the fire damage the jerks were hiking through.

The trail was mostly flat and wooded after the detour. I stopped and had lunch near a barely moving stream where I refilled my water. The rest of the day was hiking with minimal elevation and amazing views of Big Bear Lake and the valley on the other side of the mountain. For once the temperature was perfect and with all pine trees I felt like I was hiking on a summer afternoon back home. It was my favorite day of hiking on the PCT so far.

In the morning I slept in a little and got up with the sunrise. The trail bounced between wooded and rocky with little shade until it dropped into a valley with a healthy stream where I stopped for lunch, it was nice to soak my feet in the cool water.

Some miles later made it to a a creek with some nice banks to relax on. I was so busy relaxing I forgot to take a picture.

From there the trail raised up and hugged against the side of the hill, nicely shaded. I passed the 300 mile mark, which was my goal of the day. I crossed a wooden bridge and continued along the hillside fallowing the creek below. I started looking for any breaks where I could set up my tent. Finally after 23 miles of hiking, my daily distance so far, I found a place to camp for the night.

It was easy to get up in the morning because 4 miles ahead were hot springs! I quickly made my way further into the canyon and was soaking my bones before I knew it. After a few cycles between the hot spring and cold creek I forced myself to move on, even though I could have stayed all day.

I

followed the trail through the canyon at one point crossing a cool bridge where I saw 3 young boys and a tiny dog out for a day hike, I assumed they were going to see if they could spot any topples girls at the hot springs. At one point I came across a big rattlesnake sprawled across the trail like he owned the place. After waiting f for him to move it was clear he didn’t have anywhere better to be, so I threw a rock at him. He didn’t like this. He made a lot of noise as he retreated into the bushes. I passed quickly once he had moved far enough away.

I then came out of the canyon and made my way to a dam that was completely dry, it seemed strange as the creek before it was pretty unsubstantial.

As I reached the bottom I saw a woman sat in a chair covered up and hunched with some stuff around her, I assumed she was homeless. However, to my surprise as I walked by she announced that she had some trail magic and she did. She gave me a cold apple, tangerine and a sandwich! After talking to her a bit she mentioned that the three boys we passed on the trail were her son’s and the oldest wants to hike the PCT when he graduates next year and she agreed to spread some trail magic while they went to hike.

I continued on and maybe just a mile or so came another mom handing out trail magic, this time it was soft drinks and chips. She was waiting for her son, who was hiking the PCT to come by. I don’t know how but I managed to drink a can of cherry coke in under 5 seconds, at least it felt that way.

I continued on climbing back into the hills. At times the trail joined dirt roads and at one point a highway. The trail climbed over a hill exposing a lovely lake which the trail winded around. After 24 miles of hiking I hit a substantial picnic area where I promptly ordered a pizza and after eating set up my tent and passed out.

The next day I made my way back into the hills before starting the long decent to Cajon Pass. The trail followed the ridge line which exposed some smoggy mountains in the distance. I could see highways and busy railroads as I got closer. Once I reached Cajon Pass I made my way to a gas station to buy some yogurt and kombucha for a dose of probiotics, as I finished my antibiotics, before I grabbed lunch… at McDonald’s. While it’s not somewhere I’d normally eat McDonald’s was the only “restaurant” and I was hungry. Not surprisingly the McDonald’s was full of smelly hikers. I actually saw a woman hold her nose and gag as she walked by.

After lunch, with 3 Mc Doubles for the road, I continued on back into the hills before stopping to camp 6 miles later next to a very empty water cache. As I was setting up a trail angel showed up to refill the water cache. I gave him a hand and talked to him a bit. He mentioned that a storm would be pushing through in a few days and was forecasted to dump up to6 inches of snow in the mountains, something I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with until the Sierras. Trying to figure out if I could make it over the mountains that would get the snow before the storm I decided to not worry about it until I arrive in Wrightwood the next day and could better understand what the storm was going to bring and when.

I woke up in a literal fog but all the cloud cover kept it from getting too cold overnight. It was kind of eerie hiking up into the mountainsin the fog and not being able to see the top let alone too far in front of you. Then to add to the creepiness I heard some random screaming. I was prepared to find an injured hiker but never came across one.

Eventually I pushed up above the clouds which provided an amazing view. I continued up, up and up. Luckily the grade was pretty tame for the most part but it still gave my legs a workout.

I eventually came to the junction with a trail that lead down to Wrightwood, which is where I was staying for the night. I got checked in at the Pine Cabins, got something to eat and drink, got some more food for the next stretch and then ate some more. It will be interesting to see what this storm will bring, hopefully I can make it through the tricky parts before it hits.