5/24/2013
Miles: 21.5
9:45 PM
29 Palms, CA
This morning as we were leaving camp Dan announced that he did not want to hike any farther and wanted to go home. I was surprised but he did not have to say it twice. We started for 29 Palms and got here at about 1:00. Dan moved his stuff to his car and started home. I have put most of my stuff away and had a nap and am enjoying being home.
Dan hiked 302 miles in 13 days of walking and I drove several of hundred more than that in the 17 days we were away from home. It was a fun couple of weeks. I have no regrets.
The End.
Friday, May 24, 2013
2013-05-23 - Day 15 Chimney Creek/Canebrake Road to Kennedy Meadow
5/23/2013
Miles: 21.5
Chimney Creek Campground I stayed up until 11:45 then woke up at 6:40 this morning. I might have gone back to sleep but I was a bit paranoid about bear since I forgot to cover my food bags last night and I thought or dreamed I smelled one during the night. The bears here apparently are not quite as aggressive as the ones farther north in the more touristy areas. These ones will only tear the door off your car if they see food. Farther north the smell of food alone is enough to provoke a car destroying food fest. I am packed up and ready to go. Usually Dan is up first but he is no doubt tired and he knows he has a short day. Of course this is easy for me to say. If I knew I had to walk 20 miles today I would be severely depressed. Not to worry though, I feel fine about driving 20 or so today. I will be OK. He he. A little morning hiking humor. PS What kind of humor is it when you have to point out that it is humor? 11:00 AM
Kennedy Meadow Campground Dan got up at 8:40 and left at 9:30. I left a few minutes later. I climbed 1000 feet to get out of the Chimney Creek Valley to the paved road and another 1000 (to 7500 feet) to get into the basin Kennedy Meadow is in. I am at 6000' here. It is cool, the bike computer says 62 in the shade. The wind has died down of course after my fight with the tent. I picked a spot outside the formal campground next to the river. We have a path into a pool which will allow us a good if chilly bathing opportunity which we can both use (a bit of an understatement). We are also saving the $8.50 campground fee and getting a nicer flatter site in the bargain. The waterway is the South Fork of the Kern River which appears to originate in Mulkey Meadow, about 30 trail miles to the north, and finds its way from here south and west to Lake Isabela. Mulkey Meadow is over the Sierra Crest to the south from Horseshoe Meadow which is where Dan and I will meet tomorrow evening. He will take the Mulkey Pass trail north from the crest down to Horseshoe Meadow. I have been thinking it would take him two days to get to Horseshoe but I realize now it is one day away. Dan will arrive in the 3:30-4:00 range. I will pick him up at the trailhead at the bridge south of the store, about 3 miles from here. In the meantime I may take a brief bike ride. 6:40 PM Instead of a bike ride I read and napped until 3:30 then. Drove to the trail and read until Dan showed at 4:00. Between the store and the trail on Sherman Pass Road I passed the retired Air Force guy, Max, and the retired Coast Guard lady, Ann, from Walker Pass plugging up the hill to the store. It did not occur to me to offer them a ride. For one thing the front seat was full of Dan's stuff. After I got Dan we came here and I took a quick wash in the river while Dan sat and rested. He had mentioned ice cream at the store and it suddenly sounded very good to me so we went back and each had a $6.00 pint of Ben and Jerry's. The Walker Pass trio were there and were obviously miffed that I hadn't given them a ride. In the end I apologized for not offering but I do not feel too badly about it. After all, they are walking to Canada not riding. We returned here and I cooked the usual Spam and eggs while Dan sorted out and reorganizing his stuff for entry into the Sierra, partially for his purposes and partly to get his food all in one tub so I have decent chance of getting all the food and scented stuff out of the car into a bear box at various campgrounds. I was mistaken about the time to Horseshoe Meadow. It is a day and one half after all so I have all day tomorrow to goof off. Maybe I will find Internet service.
Miles: 21.5
The Mount Whitney Area From Kennedy Meadow Road
7:30 AMChimney Creek Campground I stayed up until 11:45 then woke up at 6:40 this morning. I might have gone back to sleep but I was a bit paranoid about bear since I forgot to cover my food bags last night and I thought or dreamed I smelled one during the night. The bears here apparently are not quite as aggressive as the ones farther north in the more touristy areas. These ones will only tear the door off your car if they see food. Farther north the smell of food alone is enough to provoke a car destroying food fest. I am packed up and ready to go. Usually Dan is up first but he is no doubt tired and he knows he has a short day. Of course this is easy for me to say. If I knew I had to walk 20 miles today I would be severely depressed. Not to worry though, I feel fine about driving 20 or so today. I will be OK. He he. A little morning hiking humor. PS What kind of humor is it when you have to point out that it is humor? 11:00 AM
Kennedy Meadow Campground Dan got up at 8:40 and left at 9:30. I left a few minutes later. I climbed 1000 feet to get out of the Chimney Creek Valley to the paved road and another 1000 (to 7500 feet) to get into the basin Kennedy Meadow is in. I am at 6000' here. It is cool, the bike computer says 62 in the shade. The wind has died down of course after my fight with the tent. I picked a spot outside the formal campground next to the river. We have a path into a pool which will allow us a good if chilly bathing opportunity which we can both use (a bit of an understatement). We are also saving the $8.50 campground fee and getting a nicer flatter site in the bargain. The waterway is the South Fork of the Kern River which appears to originate in Mulkey Meadow, about 30 trail miles to the north, and finds its way from here south and west to Lake Isabela. Mulkey Meadow is over the Sierra Crest to the south from Horseshoe Meadow which is where Dan and I will meet tomorrow evening. He will take the Mulkey Pass trail north from the crest down to Horseshoe Meadow. I have been thinking it would take him two days to get to Horseshoe but I realize now it is one day away. Dan will arrive in the 3:30-4:00 range. I will pick him up at the trailhead at the bridge south of the store, about 3 miles from here. In the meantime I may take a brief bike ride. 6:40 PM Instead of a bike ride I read and napped until 3:30 then. Drove to the trail and read until Dan showed at 4:00. Between the store and the trail on Sherman Pass Road I passed the retired Air Force guy, Max, and the retired Coast Guard lady, Ann, from Walker Pass plugging up the hill to the store. It did not occur to me to offer them a ride. For one thing the front seat was full of Dan's stuff. After I got Dan we came here and I took a quick wash in the river while Dan sat and rested. He had mentioned ice cream at the store and it suddenly sounded very good to me so we went back and each had a $6.00 pint of Ben and Jerry's. The Walker Pass trio were there and were obviously miffed that I hadn't given them a ride. In the end I apologized for not offering but I do not feel too badly about it. After all, they are walking to Canada not riding. We returned here and I cooked the usual Spam and eggs while Dan sorted out and reorganizing his stuff for entry into the Sierra, partially for his purposes and partly to get his food all in one tub so I have decent chance of getting all the food and scented stuff out of the car into a bear box at various campgrounds. I was mistaken about the time to Horseshoe Meadow. It is a day and one half after all so I have all day tomorrow to goof off. Maybe I will find Internet service.
2013-05-22 - Day 14 Walker Pass to Chimney Creek Campground
5/22/2013
Miles: 29.3
Walker Pass Campground When I got out of the car to go to bed last night the wind had blown both of my sleeping bags, pillow and Thermarest pad off the cot into the dirt. The wind blew to one degree or another all night. About 4:30 I got cold enough to get up and put on my thermal zip neck shirt (the one I did not lose off the back of my bike in March). I also closed up the hood on my bag and was toasty until Dan asked me to unlock the car at 7:30. It is a cool and breezy morning, 57 in the car at 8:00. I will drive over to the Canebrake Road trail crossing soon and spend the day there. The campground is in a more sheltered location and will hopefully be wind free. I will decide soon if I will take the dirt Canebrake Road from Onyx 10 miles west on Highway 178 or drive around to the north end of Canebrake Road via 178, 14 and Kennedy Meadow Road. It is 20-25 miles vs 60-70. I looked at this end of Canebrake Road yesterday morning and it looks decent although it does traverse up the side of a very steep mountain. I can see the traverse from here and it is intimidating. 1:00 PM
Chimney Creek Campground near Canebrake Road I sat at the summit of Walker Pass for an hour. I had enough phone signal there to briefly answer an email and let the phone update some apps while I read. In the end I decided to use the dirt road. The road turned out to be well graded and plenty wide and safe. It was 10 miles from 178 for a total of about 20, a savings of 30-40 and quite a bit of gas as the climb up from 14 is very steep. It took about an hour to get here from the pass. I have been here long enough to have put up my tent and cook a delicious lunch of spicy Asian shrimp soup with a package of Top Ramen added for extra noodles. Noodles are very satisfying to me after a bike ride.
Dan left camp about 8:15. I will pick him up where the trail crosses the road 1/4 mile from here around 5:00. In the meantime I will play some Majhong and Freecell, read and perhaps even nap. Life is good!
5:00 PM
Canebrake Road PCT Crossing
Chimney Creek Campground Dan came at 6:30 as I was writing the above. It took him 10 hours to do the 30 miles. I am not sure how I got the idea he would come at 5:00 but all is well. We have had dinner and have been sitting in the car staying warm while listening to the radio. Tomorrow Dan has 20 miles into Kennedy Meadow. He will spend some time in the afternoon organizing his food hopefully in one tub so I will be able to put it in bear boxes at Horseshoe Meadow and Onion Valley with a minimum of hassle. At those places leaving food in the car is an invitation to have a window broken or a door destroyed or both.
Miles: 29.3
A View From Canebreak Road
8:15 AMWalker Pass Campground When I got out of the car to go to bed last night the wind had blown both of my sleeping bags, pillow and Thermarest pad off the cot into the dirt. The wind blew to one degree or another all night. About 4:30 I got cold enough to get up and put on my thermal zip neck shirt (the one I did not lose off the back of my bike in March). I also closed up the hood on my bag and was toasty until Dan asked me to unlock the car at 7:30. It is a cool and breezy morning, 57 in the car at 8:00. I will drive over to the Canebrake Road trail crossing soon and spend the day there. The campground is in a more sheltered location and will hopefully be wind free. I will decide soon if I will take the dirt Canebrake Road from Onyx 10 miles west on Highway 178 or drive around to the north end of Canebrake Road via 178, 14 and Kennedy Meadow Road. It is 20-25 miles vs 60-70. I looked at this end of Canebrake Road yesterday morning and it looks decent although it does traverse up the side of a very steep mountain. I can see the traverse from here and it is intimidating. 1:00 PM
Chimney Creek Campground near Canebrake Road I sat at the summit of Walker Pass for an hour. I had enough phone signal there to briefly answer an email and let the phone update some apps while I read. In the end I decided to use the dirt road. The road turned out to be well graded and plenty wide and safe. It was 10 miles from 178 for a total of about 20, a savings of 30-40 and quite a bit of gas as the climb up from 14 is very steep. It took about an hour to get here from the pass. I have been here long enough to have put up my tent and cook a delicious lunch of spicy Asian shrimp soup with a package of Top Ramen added for extra noodles. Noodles are very satisfying to me after a bike ride.
Dan left camp about 8:15. I will pick him up where the trail crosses the road 1/4 mile from here around 5:00. In the meantime I will play some Majhong and Freecell, read and perhaps even nap. Life is good!
5:00 PMCanebrake Road PCT Crossing
Looking South on the PCT from Canebrake Road
I had a nice nap from a bit after 3:00 until 4:30. I just got here and am waiting. It is cool. The wind is not as intense as it was at Walker Pass but it is chilly. The elevation, where I sit now, per the GPS app is 5462, almost 500 feet higher than Walker Pass. It may be a cold night. I may end up regretting that I didn't pack thermal long johns before this is over. I may purchase a pair in Lone Pine before going up to Horseshoe Meadow and Onion Valley, both of which are at 10,000 feet. In my defense I can say that we were not planning to go beyond Kennedy Meadows which means that this would be the last camp and it would be 2-3 weeks later and warmer.
The campground is in the trees at the north end of a pretty meadow/valley, Lamont Meadow. As soon as I topped the climb up from 178 I could see the high desert type sagebrush covered meadow. I was surprised to see how close it was. I remember seeing the road I came down into the valley on this morning when I drove to the campground from the north in 2009. I had no idea it was so close to Onyx and Highway 178. Live and learn.
6:15
Dan is running late which is unusual for him. I started to wonder if this segment is shorter than the 30 miles Dan suggested this morning. We have a PCT "Data Book" which lists mileage and so on for the significant points on the trail but the pages between Walker Pass and the Oregon Border were removed for use on another hike or hikes. I had noticed hikers sitting at a table in the campground when I came here so I drove back to ask them and see if perhaps Dan was lurking about already. The hikers are Charlie (he does walk like Chaplin) and Claire, a British couple. They confirmed that this is mile 680, 30 miles from Walker Pass, before they took to the trail again.
Parked at the Trail Crossing
9:00 PMChimney Creek Campground Dan came at 6:30 as I was writing the above. It took him 10 hours to do the 30 miles. I am not sure how I got the idea he would come at 5:00 but all is well. We have had dinner and have been sitting in the car staying warm while listening to the radio. Tomorrow Dan has 20 miles into Kennedy Meadow. He will spend some time in the afternoon organizing his food hopefully in one tub so I will be able to put it in bear boxes at Horseshoe Meadow and Onion Valley with a minimum of hassle. At those places leaving food in the car is an invitation to have a window broken or a door destroyed or both.
PCT Crossing of Chimney Creek, Nearly Dry
2013-05-21 - Day 13 Walker Pass and Kelso Valley Road
5/21/2013
Miles: 00
When I got back to the car about 4:00 a couple from Oregon were resting at the water cache which is well stocked with at least 100 gallons of Costco brand spring water. I offered them a cold Diet Coke and the man accepted. We had a good conversation. He is 75. I cannot recall his trail name. He and his wife, trail name Uber Bitch, finished section hiking the trail at the Canadian Border last year and are attempting a though hike this year. They started at the Mexican Border on April 14 and are making a pace that will allow them to finish this by October 15 (Kelso Valley Road is at mile 614), the generally accepted end of hiking season in Washington State, if they can keep it up. While we were talking Daniel came in, about 5:00. He had come 52 miles since 10:00 AM the day before and was tried and hungry. He sat down and started snacking. The couple left to hike another 2 miles to their night's camp spot.
As there is no really good camping site in the area accessible by my car I suggested that perhaps Dan would like to skip the next 38 miles and go ahead to Walker Pass. He agreed and we drove back to the pass. I cooked us dinner of bacon, Potatoes O'Brien, and for Dan 6 eggs, in a gale. The wind died down a some after sunset but it blew all night. I slept out again. It was cooler but we both did OK.
Miles: 00
Kelso Valley, Very Remote and Very Empty
I accidentely deleted my Txt file for this day while trying to free up space on my tablet so I will reconstruct the day's events to the best of my recollection.
Kelso Valley Road PCT Trail Crossing, Onyx, CA
After a waking from a good sleep and a nice visit with last night's hiker trio who were eating and resupplying at the site next to mine courtesy of Ann's husband Joe I packed up and drove the 40 miles to the Kelso Valley trail crossing. After sitting and writing some Blog material I left for a bike ride about 2:00. As the paved road coming up from the north was much steeper than I remembered I decided to ride to the south. The pavement ends at the PCT trail crossing so I rode down the hill to the south. After a few hundred yards of moderate grade the road got very steep for about a mile and was hard packed clay with a cover of sand which I equate with slipping and sliding and falling and getting skinned up so I kept it slow and sane most of the 5.5 miles to the turnaround point at Jawbone Canyon Road. I passed the Kelso Valley Airport, a grass affair perhaps maintained for use by aerial firefighters. At Jawbone Canyon Road is a sign for a "Family Resort" which is probably defunct.
Kelso Valley Airport
Kelso Valley Family Resort Sign
The return was a reasonable uphill grind until the last mile and one half when it got pretty steep. I rode up the first very steep pitch in the last 1/2 mile. My heart rate went off the chart so I walked the last 2 very steep sections then rode the last few hundred yards to the top and the car.
The Steep Part. The Car is at the Left Most Notch
On the way back I was surprised to see a large green meadow I had not noticed on the way down. It is populated by quite a large herd of cattle (the cows are barely visible in the photo).
When I got back to the car about 4:00 a couple from Oregon were resting at the water cache which is well stocked with at least 100 gallons of Costco brand spring water. I offered them a cold Diet Coke and the man accepted. We had a good conversation. He is 75. I cannot recall his trail name. He and his wife, trail name Uber Bitch, finished section hiking the trail at the Canadian Border last year and are attempting a though hike this year. They started at the Mexican Border on April 14 and are making a pace that will allow them to finish this by October 15 (Kelso Valley Road is at mile 614), the generally accepted end of hiking season in Washington State, if they can keep it up. While we were talking Daniel came in, about 5:00. He had come 52 miles since 10:00 AM the day before and was tried and hungry. He sat down and started snacking. The couple left to hike another 2 miles to their night's camp spot.
As there is no really good camping site in the area accessible by my car I suggested that perhaps Dan would like to skip the next 38 miles and go ahead to Walker Pass. He agreed and we drove back to the pass. I cooked us dinner of bacon, Potatoes O'Brien, and for Dan 6 eggs, in a gale. The wind died down a some after sunset but it blew all night. I slept out again. It was cooler but we both did OK.
2013-05-20 - Day 12 Tehachappi to Walker pass
5/20/2013
Miles: 00
Walker Pass Campground, Highway 178, Onyx, CA It was nice to have a shower, a good meal, TV and good WIFI last night. We both were ready to go this morning. We left the room about 8:30 and drove directly to the trailhead. I left Dan at the trail (Cameron Road and 58) at about 10:00. I took a leisurely ride down to 14 then north and east through Inyokern to Ridgecrest. I found cheap gas there ($3.85 vs $4.19) then went to Walmart. I got myself more Coke, the granola bars Dan is short and even though he said not to, a pair of reasonable sunglasses. I think it is a bad plan for him to go through the snow in the Sierra with the Dollar Store pair he is currently using. If he balks and will not use them I will keep them myself. They are Polarized and work well for driving on a sunny day (I tried them). I had considered taking a bike ride in town and looked up one of the local parks. It was quite warm there and did not seem like a good place to leave the car unattended so I decided to come up here to escape the heat. Although the highway is twisty, steep and without shoulder I thought I would ride here. When I pulled into the campground there was a couple eating at the table of the only decent site. I pulled in and asked if they intended to occupy the site. They said I was welcome to it and we started talking. They are hikers from Washington bound for Canada. They arrived here this morning and are expecting a friend to bring them a resupply box today. They have no phone signal here and were anxious about their rendezvous and food supply and decided to hitchhike into Lake Isabela, the closest significant town. They have commissioned me to intercept their friend and direct her to town. It is fine. I will be much safer and have more fun riding on Kelso Valley Road tomorrow. You can see I am still lazy. I am sitting here in the car at about 5,000 feet with a hot sun shining on the front window and a respectable breeze wafting through the open windows. There is not really a good spot for my tent where I am so I may sleep on my cot next to the picnic table. The couple said it was warm where they slept last night 500-1000 feet higher than this place. 8:45 PM
Miles: 00
Leaving Highway 58
2:00 PMWalker Pass Campground, Highway 178, Onyx, CA It was nice to have a shower, a good meal, TV and good WIFI last night. We both were ready to go this morning. We left the room about 8:30 and drove directly to the trailhead. I left Dan at the trail (Cameron Road and 58) at about 10:00. I took a leisurely ride down to 14 then north and east through Inyokern to Ridgecrest. I found cheap gas there ($3.85 vs $4.19) then went to Walmart. I got myself more Coke, the granola bars Dan is short and even though he said not to, a pair of reasonable sunglasses. I think it is a bad plan for him to go through the snow in the Sierra with the Dollar Store pair he is currently using. If he balks and will not use them I will keep them myself. They are Polarized and work well for driving on a sunny day (I tried them). I had considered taking a bike ride in town and looked up one of the local parks. It was quite warm there and did not seem like a good place to leave the car unattended so I decided to come up here to escape the heat. Although the highway is twisty, steep and without shoulder I thought I would ride here. When I pulled into the campground there was a couple eating at the table of the only decent site. I pulled in and asked if they intended to occupy the site. They said I was welcome to it and we started talking. They are hikers from Washington bound for Canada. They arrived here this morning and are expecting a friend to bring them a resupply box today. They have no phone signal here and were anxious about their rendezvous and food supply and decided to hitchhike into Lake Isabela, the closest significant town. They have commissioned me to intercept their friend and direct her to town. It is fine. I will be much safer and have more fun riding on Kelso Valley Road tomorrow. You can see I am still lazy. I am sitting here in the car at about 5,000 feet with a hot sun shining on the front window and a respectable breeze wafting through the open windows. There is not really a good spot for my tent where I am so I may sleep on my cot next to the picnic table. The couple said it was warm where they slept last night 500-1000 feet higher than this place. 8:45 PM
Sleeping Out
It is almost bedtime. It is quiet and peaceful here. I could put the tent up on the paved drive but it is a warm and calm evening so I will sleep "cowboy style", on my cot next to the picnic table. "Real" cowboy camping involves sleeping on the ground but I am willing to cheat.
I had a lazy afternoon of sitting around. I opened a can of Dennison Hot Chili and a can of sliced peaches for dinner. After dinner I saw a person up the hill. I walked up and had a nice chat with 3 hikers who are camped there, 2 Texans, George and Max, and another Washingtonian, a lady named Ann. They started at the border April 5 so have been on the trail 45 days. They plan or hope to reach the Canadian Border by October 1st.
I look forward to having a good night's sleep.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
2013-05-19 - Day 11 Wrightwood, CA, to Tehachappi, CA
5/19/2013
Miles: 00
Tehachappi, CA We got up this morning and went to the trailhead at Vincent Gap. Dan said he was thinking about the possibility of skipping to Highway 58 and spending even more time in the Sierra. Since I am not doing the walking it does not matter that much to me so we got back in the car and drove to Lancaster where we got lunch and visited Walmart and Costco so Dan could get together the food he needs for the remainder of the time he plans to hike. We then drove to our motel here, showered, napped and went to dinner. Tomorrow Dan Starts walking at Highway 58 and will have about 150 miles to Kennedy Meadows where he will enter the Sierra Nevada. I will meet him next on Tuesday evening at the Kelso Valley Road water cache which is south of Onyx, CA, and about 35 trail miles from Walker Pass on Highway 178. Tomorrow night I will most probably camp at the Walker Pass Campground.
Miles: 00
Mt. Baldy (10,068) in the Right Distance
8:00 PMTehachappi, CA We got up this morning and went to the trailhead at Vincent Gap. Dan said he was thinking about the possibility of skipping to Highway 58 and spending even more time in the Sierra. Since I am not doing the walking it does not matter that much to me so we got back in the car and drove to Lancaster where we got lunch and visited Walmart and Costco so Dan could get together the food he needs for the remainder of the time he plans to hike. We then drove to our motel here, showered, napped and went to dinner. Tomorrow Dan Starts walking at Highway 58 and will have about 150 miles to Kennedy Meadows where he will enter the Sierra Nevada. I will meet him next on Tuesday evening at the Kelso Valley Road water cache which is south of Onyx, CA, and about 35 trail miles from Walker Pass on Highway 178. Tomorrow night I will most probably camp at the Walker Pass Campground.
The Happy Hiker
2013-05-18 - Day 10 Bigbear, CA, to Lake Arrowhead, CA
5/18/2013
Miles: 23
1:15 PM
Splinter Cabin Trailhead, near Lake Arrowhead, CA
My new bike computer showed a temperature of 35 degrees at 4:45 this morning so it did cool off more than it felt like it would. I was toasty in my down mummy bag inside my cheap warm weather Walmart bag.
Dan apparently left camp about 8:15 this morning. I say apparently because as far as I know he said nothing. He unzipped my tent door enough to slip my keys in then apparently took off. When I got up a few minutes later he was not to be seen. I thought he might be in the bathroom but after a time I realized that was probably not the case.
I packed up and the campground host came by and we chatted awhile. About 10:00 I decided to come here and wait. If he does not show by 3:00 or 4:00 I will really start to second guess myself although I cannot imagine where else he might be.
I think there is a good chance he told me that he was leaving and I slept through it. His pack appears to be gone so it seems safe to assume he is on the way here. Since this is our agreed upon meeting place for today I will just wait here until he appears.
On the drive here I got good views of Mt. San Gorgonio, Southern California's highest peak at 11,500 feet (again the camera does not do the peak justice):
I have not been to this trailhead before. It is quite a beautiful area. The PCT crosses Deep Creek about 200 yards north of the parking lot. Dan and I both crossed the bridge in 2005 at different times in the spring. During the winter a large pine tree had fallen into the east side and about 1/2 of the deck was gone along with the north handrail. We had to crab walk across on the south deck support beam while hanging on to the handrail. The bridge below appears to be completely new:
I spoke with a ranger type a bit ago and he said no one will bother me if I sleep here tonight even though all the signs say no camping. I will if Dan is here.
I got a good laugh on myself this morning while talking with the host. I said something about Po-lee-gue Canyon Road. He said, "Yes, Polique........." For years I have called it Po-lee-gue. I need to train myself to look at the letters in the middle of words. I am an excellent example of the point made by the Internet thing that comes by from time to time which demonstrates that if we see the first and last letters of a word our brain will fill in the rest. Sadly my brain is often very creative in filling in the blanks. I know, who cares, BOORING!
Many of the homes in Hook Creek Canyon which runs down from Lake Arrowhead/Cedar Glen to the trailhead burned in a big fire perhqaps in 2008. Below is one of the many new replacement houses I thought was interesting:
8:40 PM
Table Mountain Campground, Wrightwood, CA Dan showed up at Splinter Cabin at 3:40. He noticed right away that it was a very much less than a good place to stay the night. We discussed it and decided to skip ahead to Swarthout Canyon Road at the base of the climb up to Wrightwood. Dan rested awhile then washed off in Deep Creek then we started for Swarthout. On the way we decided to detour through Hesperia for a visit to In-n-Out Burger. After a tasty meal we again started for Swarthout. As we started up Highway 138 I suggested the possibility of going to Wrightwood where we could stay in a campground instead of the bushes at Swarthout. We agreed it was a good idea so here we are. Dan will start tomorrow at Vincent Gap, the base of the climb over Mt. Baden-Powell. This will save another day for hiking in the Sierras. Incidentally, Dan did not tell me he was leaving this AM. I will asked him to please not do that to again. I do not need the stress of wondering if I guessed right about his actions and identifying, sorting and prioritizing the available options in case I did guess wrong. It is too easy to avoid.
Miles: 23
1:15 PMSplinter Cabin Trailhead, near Lake Arrowhead, CA
My new bike computer showed a temperature of 35 degrees at 4:45 this morning so it did cool off more than it felt like it would. I was toasty in my down mummy bag inside my cheap warm weather Walmart bag.
Dan apparently left camp about 8:15 this morning. I say apparently because as far as I know he said nothing. He unzipped my tent door enough to slip my keys in then apparently took off. When I got up a few minutes later he was not to be seen. I thought he might be in the bathroom but after a time I realized that was probably not the case.
I packed up and the campground host came by and we chatted awhile. About 10:00 I decided to come here and wait. If he does not show by 3:00 or 4:00 I will really start to second guess myself although I cannot imagine where else he might be.
I think there is a good chance he told me that he was leaving and I slept through it. His pack appears to be gone so it seems safe to assume he is on the way here. Since this is our agreed upon meeting place for today I will just wait here until he appears.
On the drive here I got good views of Mt. San Gorgonio, Southern California's highest peak at 11,500 feet (again the camera does not do the peak justice):
I have not been to this trailhead before. It is quite a beautiful area. The PCT crosses Deep Creek about 200 yards north of the parking lot. Dan and I both crossed the bridge in 2005 at different times in the spring. During the winter a large pine tree had fallen into the east side and about 1/2 of the deck was gone along with the north handrail. We had to crab walk across on the south deck support beam while hanging on to the handrail. The bridge below appears to be completely new:
I spoke with a ranger type a bit ago and he said no one will bother me if I sleep here tonight even though all the signs say no camping. I will if Dan is here.
I got a good laugh on myself this morning while talking with the host. I said something about Po-lee-gue Canyon Road. He said, "Yes, Polique........." For years I have called it Po-lee-gue. I need to train myself to look at the letters in the middle of words. I am an excellent example of the point made by the Internet thing that comes by from time to time which demonstrates that if we see the first and last letters of a word our brain will fill in the rest. Sadly my brain is often very creative in filling in the blanks. I know, who cares, BOORING!
Many of the homes in Hook Creek Canyon which runs down from Lake Arrowhead/Cedar Glen to the trailhead burned in a big fire perhqaps in 2008. Below is one of the many new replacement houses I thought was interesting:
8:40 PM Table Mountain Campground, Wrightwood, CA Dan showed up at Splinter Cabin at 3:40. He noticed right away that it was a very much less than a good place to stay the night. We discussed it and decided to skip ahead to Swarthout Canyon Road at the base of the climb up to Wrightwood. Dan rested awhile then washed off in Deep Creek then we started for Swarthout. On the way we decided to detour through Hesperia for a visit to In-n-Out Burger. After a tasty meal we again started for Swarthout. As we started up Highway 138 I suggested the possibility of going to Wrightwood where we could stay in a campground instead of the bushes at Swarthout. We agreed it was a good idea so here we are. Dan will start tomorrow at Vincent Gap, the base of the climb over Mt. Baden-Powell. This will save another day for hiking in the Sierras. Incidentally, Dan did not tell me he was leaving this AM. I will asked him to please not do that to again. I do not need the stress of wondering if I guessed right about his actions and identifying, sorting and prioritizing the available options in case I did guess wrong. It is too easy to avoid.
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