Day 25
Start: Cleghorn Mountain
Finish: Sworthout Canyon
Daily Mileage: 11.6
PCT Mile: 347.2
We were swimming in condensation this morning. Even the top of my sleeping bag was soaked inside my tent. It got everyone around us too so it was pretty side spread. Packed up our sopping wet gear to dry later and headed out.
Cookie Monster and I had 6 miles to town, so I expected the trail to be relatively uninteresting and just a grind for the miles, especially given the uninspiring trail yesterday. The first half of the trail was just that, and I was settling into my just do it mode, but then I was surprised.
The land we were travelling over is old sea floor, and is relatively loose and subject to erosion. We got to an area where the sides of the hills had fallen away to reveal sharp cliffs and buttresses and other formations in the soft sediment.
Then the backdrop came into view. Against the San Gabriel Mountains we are hiking towards, there was a jagged landscape of many different formations. Some hills, some eroded and sculpted rocks, and many different layers of it between us and the mountains. It kept unfolding itself before us as we continued towards it. The smog from yesterday was still in the air, but this softened the view, and if anything made it appear more dramatic.
Then we were dumped into a narrow canyon with the trail following an old road carved into the side of it. It was tighter than most of the canyons we have seen out here, and more reminiscent of the canyons of the southwest. All of this gave me enjoyment of my surroundings at a time when my sole focus is typically getting to town and food, being so close.
The canyon ended on the remains of the original Route 66, and we took a short side trip to the golden arches of McDonalds. Upon arriving, it was clear that the hikers had taken over an entire section of the restaurant. Very easy to distinguish us from the rest of the interstate travelers by the packs, smell, and functional clothing. There were many hikers there that I knew, and some I hadn’t seen for a while. But first priority was obviously food.
I ordered 2 egg McMuffins, ate them, and ordered 2 more. The hunger is setting in.
We had plenty of time to kill since we only planned on doing 5 miles out of town to set us up well for the next couple days of trail. So we caught up with the other hikers and our phones. When the lunch menu came up, I ordered 2 chicken sandwiches and fries, and 2 McDoubles and a double quarter pounder for the road.
I did consider following in the now legendary footsteps of 2016 PCT hiker Pretty Boy who did 90 miles solely on McDoubles with no ill effects. His video is entertaining and well worth a watch, linked here. His feat has been completed by many other hikers since using various other fast food chains such as Arby’s as well, but I decided that wagering my health against the unknown quantity of preservatives in the highly processed fast food was not worth it, so I was only willing to pack out dinner. Besides some crackers and oatmeal I had in the morning, I managed likely a few thousand calories in greasy fast food for my intake today. After I purchased all of the food, I remembered there was a fresh fruit vendor nearby, but it was already too late to go that route. Oh well.
I only needed a couple more breakfasts and a dinner to get me to the next town, so I headed to the gas station store next door. It was pretty trying to make something work from there as they didn’t have any oatmeal or even ramen, so I’ll be eating junk for the next couple days. It will make due.
Though we only had 5 miles left for the day, we opted to take off at 1 to finish it off. We passed under our third interstate, I-15 in a long tunnel/culvert, and passed under railroads a couple times. Then part 2 of the amazement came.
The trail wound its way through the sedimentary formations we saw from a distance in the morning. They were sharp and angled and incredibly dramatic. The railroad lines cut through them as well. As before, the smog still added a depth to the scene that was incredibly moving and unreal. If you removed the highway, you could have told me that I was in a National Park and I would have believed you. I think the whole area is an unsung spectacle. Being so close to town and major civilization is completely unexpected as well.
After dealing with McDonald’s revenge, I strolled at my leisure through this area with my head on a swivel snapping pictures and just enjoying its uniqueness. It was windy and the trail crossed over several knife edge ridges to add yet another awesome dimension to the traverse.
I did just have a short 5 miles left in the day though, and the terrain became more normal over a ridge, so I finished out the day.
We camped at a water cache since there are no water sources until the next town which we will make in 2 days. Might as well just make it one dry night instead of 2, though there will be snow we can melt and maybe some trickles along the way.
Today really blew me away in ways I was not at all expecting with the unique and dramatic terrain, and with the trains winding their way through it. I can just imagine swapping the trains for steam locomotives and having scenes like you see of the old west in movies and video games. What a great day.
