Saturday, April 20, 2019 – 14.70 miles

I began walking early this morning, though not with the intention of going far. To avoid tricky snow on Mt. Baden-Powell and rising temperatures further north, I’m planning to hitch from Cajon Junction to Mojave, then hike southwards back to Cajon Junction. The post office in Mojave will be closed on Monday for the Easter holiday, so I want to arrive at Cajon Pass/Mojave on Monday and resupply on Tuesday.

My plan for a short day was foiled by a dismal lack of camping options in what has probably been my least favourite stretch of the PCT so far, with its road views and infrastructure and an artificial lake (which was at least sparkly, despite its rim of trash and tourists) and smog that I suspect the wind blew in from Los Angeles.

The spring at 316.2 was just a trickle and I couldn’t find the piped spring at 317.4 at all, though small streams were flowing before and after 317.4. Some other hikers were planning to order pizza and beer at the Cleghorn Picnic Area on Silverwood Lake – don’t ask me where they were planning to order it from – but by the time I got there, to which I hadn’t been planning to walk today but had been forced to by scarcity of campsites, I was in a bad mood and just wanted to continue along the trail and find somewhere to camp. I’m so over this area! Drop me in the wilderness somewhere! 

I collected water from a spigot at the picnic area and left. Continuing along the trail past maddening roads, I found a decently sheltered campsite in a clearing below the trail. One set of footsteps led down the slope. There’s often one set of footsteps when I investigate somewhere to stealth camp, which makes me feel like my mental double exists somewhere out there. This area shows no evidence of recent camping but there is some old trash, which of course there is in this gross location. Drop me in. Wilderness somewhere.