4/21/20, mile: 330, elevation: 3,465 ft.
Firsts: Food delivered to me at camp.
Temps were low enough overnight to cause condensation….again. The winds abated overnight, so ventilation was low and blah blah blah, you get the idea.
Two cups of coffee and no oatmeal again. I’m starting to think that stuff isn’t worth the weight, time and stove fuel. I get hungry within 30 minutes of hiking. Anyway, up into the hills of San Bernadino County I went. It was a cool start, and I was shaded by the hillsides, so it was easy to move fast and often. Until the flowers! My Dog were they amazing. And it seemed they got better and better. One canyon/wash I looked down and the whole place was filled with flowers. Now I’m not a flower guy, I swear, but this was impressive. The desert is an unforgiving place, you have to really want to be here, let alone survive. And yet, here were these beautiful flowers. I even had to video call Sarah and give her a panoram as I spun around talking to her.
That fun ended sure enough as the sun rose and I approached two dams for Silverwood Lake. There were two upsides to this little detour down to the highway around State Property (State Water Project to be more accurate). First, I passed through the materials yard. HUGE pieces of pipe were lying about, and funny enough it’s material I’m familiar with from my former job. Yeah, I still geek out on stuff like this. A couple of pieces look like they had been cut out and removed from service, so it was cool to see how they did that. The second upside was the little oasis I sat and took a break in. I knew that the trail around the lake was kind of exposed, and that the weather was changing for the warmer, so I took the opportunity to chill in this moist, shaded spot. I can’t understand where these little cupped plants got their water from. Simply fascinating.
This lake is normally a hot spot for PCT hikers because of the day use facilities right off of the trail. You can use the shaded picnic areas, bathrooms, water fountains and even go swimming. At least you can on a “normal” year. Covid-19 has this park closed to vehicular traffic (but the grounds are still open for use). It’s a weird feeling to walk around a big public park and be the only human in sight. The flush bathrooms were closed, but there was a porta-potty available. Kinda spooky walking around there.
Since this is day-use only, there are nearby ‘closed’ picnic areas that the management of the park allows PCT hikers to camp within. Again, the flush toilets (and coin showers!) were closed, but the water was on and there is even an electrical outlet. And surprising enough, there are lights on timers for post-sunset activities. But the best part? Roadhouse Pizza from Crestline will deliver. Beer included! So I was a highly motivated hiker to make this date.
When I arrived, I found one other person, Elise. And she’s not even a thru-hiker. She’s on the road to get away from allergy season at home while working remotely via her laptop. We had some good conversations about the virus, work shituations (intentional) and such. While she got back to work, I got to ordering my dinner. I can’t say I was shocked, (it’s about a 17 minute drive one-way for delivery), but close to $70 (including tip) for pizza, salad and four IPA’s (granted, they were 16 oz. cans) IS pricey…unless you’re a thru hiker sick of ramen or Knorr rice sides with a packet of tuna. I further justified it by using the food for a full three meals, so there.
I considered cowboy camping, but it was still getting cooler, so I pitched the tent under some trees to help eliminate the external condensation. I typed up some more blogs and finally hit the hay. Crickets and frogs and the gentle murmur of the nearby creek lulled me to sleep. Three beers sure did their work on me, too.
Hey Ron,
This is Tom Martian, City of Fairfield. I just learned of your departure from FSSD and your PCT adventure. AWESOME!!
As with you, I am an avid adventurer. Often with a backpack heading to the high country or scuba diving into a shipwreck. I know of only one other that did the entire PCT and I will be following you through your trek.
It takes a big step to follow your dream but knowing you will walk out of this with an accomplishment that a few have done.
Keep on trekking,
Tom