PCT Day 30 - 22 Miles

The Big One did not go off last night, we did not have a front row view for the destruction of Southern California, and we will not be the famous first casualties of the biggest earthquake in modern human history. Instead as the sun rose on the San Andreas Fault it was evident it was to be a foggy, cool, cloudy morning and we were happy for all three. We will incline most of the day, mile after mile for thousands of feet elevation gained. There is only one water source between our doomsday campsite and the town of Wrightwood which is 22 miles away, the source is three miles from Wrightwood so it does not help us much and we must carry enough water to sustain us for the entire day. The fact the sun is not blaring now means we will hike hard and fast with hope it lasts, stopping only for pictures as steep inclines means high peaks and many photo ops. 

The day did not disappoint and after we had hiked for 5 miles and inclined 4000 feet we saw an old friend and foe standing off in the distance. Mt Jacinto was almost completely blue, blue comes after gray on the distance scale, with the exception of her snow-covered peak. The snow reflected bright as she stood above all the clouds this morning. As the day continued we could see desert floors, distant mountains, Cajon Pass, and interstate I-15 on the valley floor. 

We ran up ridge after ridge and eventually rounded a corner to see Baden Powell which will be our next largest peak. Rumor has it the mountain has snow covered trail and maybe treacherous as well, although a repeat of Jacinto I think unlikely. As we got closer the clouds lowered and the winds picked up from a slight breeze to a speedy gust. The gust tore through the tall ponderosa pines which create an eerie, loud, uncomfortable sound as it intensifies before finally backing off again. The gust are powerful and judging by the thousands of fallen trees all around us it’s certain the wind eventually has the last laugh. 

We wanted to camp two miles before Wrightwood but the gust were too intense and we were forced to hike the few remaining miles. As the days hike concluded the temp had dropped to the upper 30s and the wind was driving us mad. Baden Powell may not be a Jacinto but we will not take her lately when we see her in a few days.