This is part 29 of the “Why We Hike” Series
Tuesday, June 23rd / 15.6 miles / 2,019′ gain
Silverwood Lake Campground to Wrightwood
Yesterday was such a LONG day that we slept in, waking up at 5am and not hiking out until 6:30am.
The climb out of Silverwood Lake was none too pleasant; it was typical desert scrub with very few trees. It looked like there had been a fire here maybe 10 years ago, not quite barren but not much larger than bushes. At least the view back to the lake was nice.
We encountered our first rattlesnake of the trip, a little guy curled up in the middle of the trail. He was so sound asleep it took me tapping him with my trekking pole to roust him up.
As we looked back one last time at the lake where we were so disappointed the night before, I asked Kelly how she felt about taking a short day and staying at the Best Western in Cajon Pass. Her instantaneous answer was YES!
The temperatures once again climbed into the mid-90s and we had to carry extra water (4.5 liters each) and douse Zach every half mile – a task that has unfortunately become a common practice for us every time the thermometer goes above 85 – which has been quite a lot. Then of course we had to stop for almost an hour while we filtered 8 more liters at a small stream.
Once we topped over the first hilltop, we got a good look at the Cajon Pass and the miserable climb up the other side into the San Gabriel Mountains. My knees were both bothering me, (casualties of all the long mileage days) Kelly’s toes were screaming and the heat was brutal on Zach. Even though we were planning on staying in a hotel room tonight, the prospect of spending tomorrow morning climbing up a burned out, desert slope in the scorching heat was a little depressing. So I ventured yet another proposal to Kelly; I asked her “if” I could find us a ride to Wrightwood, would she mind skipping the 18 miles of the PCT coming out of Cajon Pass? I’m not sure if I finished the question before she answered with a resounding “Let’s do that”!
We ended up at the McDonalds in Cajon Pass sometime about 2pm. – Neither of us ever thought we’d be so happy to see the Golden Arches! For anyone who knows us, they would know we have not set foot into a McDonalds for more than a soft drink for over a decade. Anyhow, after our feast (which actually was quite good – or maybe we were just THAT hungry!), our plan was to have me yogi a ride into Wrightwood, but my first couple of attempts proved unsuccessful. After soaking up the air conditioning for an hour, we started walking the half mile up the road to the Best Western Hotel as our “Plan B”.
As we turned onto Highway 138 I asked Kelly to stick out her thumb and see if you can get us a ride to Wrightwood. To which she replied that she definitely was not comfortable with that, apparently having never hitchhiked. I assured her that since she was traveling with Zach and myself that nothing bad would happen. She reluctantly sticks out her thumb and within 20 seconds we had a ride! A pickup truck slammed on his brakes in front of us and almost got rear-ended by the car in back of him! He motioned to us to meet him on the other side of the overpass where he could pull over without killing anybody, and we started running with our heavy packs so we could catch the ride. Kelly asked the driver if he was going anywhere near Wrightwood and he said, “I’ll take you guys wherever you need to go”. It ends up that the driver is Moe – a trail angel who “never passes up an opportunity to help PCT hikers” Wow! Aren’t Trail Angels amazing?! Their generosity never ceases to amaze me!
Moe took us to this great hiker-friendly motel in Wrightwood that was very reasonably priced. We were so grateful! We forgot to get a picture of him, but I guess we were too tired, because the thought didn’t cross our minds until after he drove off. So wherever you are Moe, know that we are very grateful! Moe is a graphic designer and self proclaimed web guru who wants to thruhike the PCT himself someday.
As soon as Moe drove off we were greeted by a teenage boy who said, “Welcome to Wrightwood”. Then two younger boys greeted us and asked if we were hiking to Canada. Kelly told the boy we weren’t going that far but we were taking the same trail. He said his mom takes in Thruhikers to give them a chance to rest for a night and shower. Wow is Wrightwood a hiker-friendly town! A teenager saying “welcome” to us? Amazing! When we do hike the PCT, we will definitely have to plan a zero day in Wrightwood – we were so impressed with how hiker-friendly everyone we met was.
The Pines Motel Moe where dropped us off by is run by the sweetest Oriental couple. Kelly asked if they had any laundry facilities on the premises and he offered to do all of our laundry for $5 – “$5?” – I don’t even know if I could have bought the soap for that! She also asked if he had a phone charger and he let her borrow his personal one. When she asked for ice for my knee, his wife brought her ice from their personal freezer – just amazing generosity!
After we were showered and our laundry came back, I talked Kelly into going out to Mile High Pizza for a bite. That was exceptionally good pizza! And the guys working at the pizza joint even let Kelly bring in wine she bought from the local grocery store!
Continues here: Vincent’s Gap