Mile 310 to 329.34

I woke up from my sandy cowboy campsite along the river. It was perhaps my best night’s sleep on trail, though i got some condensation on my quilt. The 80 foot scramble up sheer rocks to get back to the trail was a good wake up call.

I was excited to get in some miles since it would mean we would get out of the narrow valley we had been in for the last day and a half. The scenery had become repetative, and i have also gotten spoiled by having grand views everywhere I look so far on trail.

The miles have been coming easier each day and our group is making great time. We generally start by 5:45 and will get in about 11 miles by 10:00 and a total of 15 – 17 miles by noon. This makes our afternoons very easy and we can chill out at any cool spots along the way or push out some more miles if we feel like it.

By 10:00 we were finally out of the valley, passed the Mojave Dam, and were curling along some foothills with a basin between us and what looked like a plateau across the way. We entered and stayed in a burn area that had zero shade and were happy to be doing it before it got too hot. It always amazes me that we pass people at 9:00 who are just rolling out of their tents. I know everyone says HYOH (hike your own hike), but damn those people must like suffering in midday heat.

The talk of the trail was Silverwood Lake, which is a man made lake that has boating, picnicing, and camping. There was even the rumor that the local pizza place would deliver to the picnic grounds. We arrived at the lake and slowly started to circumnavigate it passing secluded beaches. We decided to stop around noon at a small picnic area with shaded tables and access to the water. We ate our lunch, washed our socks in the lake and laid them out to dry as we sun bathed. The hot springs yesterday and this lake today are making hiking almost too easy. Even so, I wish everyday could be like this. Other hikers passed by on the trail overhead. They had their sights set on the main picnic area 2 miles down the trail and we soon joined them.

As we rolled up, Evil Goat waved us over. He was just placing a pizza order! We put in an order and went to relax in the shade content to be horizontal until the pizza arrived. We didn’t know it, but if you ask, the pizza place will also buy you beer from the store and bring it with the pizza. What service!

After 3 hours of rest, relaxation, and scrounging leftover soda and food from hikers heading back to the trail, we picked up our packs and walked .5 miles to an abandoned campground to avoid having to pay the $5 fee for PCT hikers looking to camp near the lake.

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to gorging ourselves at McDonald’s, which is only 11 miles away and practically on trail.  From McDonald’s,  it is about 27 miles to Wrightwood or a day and a half’s walk. We haven’t committed, but we are considering doing the McDonald’s resupply, which means packing out enough McDonald’s to last you the entire way to Wrightwood.

Wildlife: Quail, lizards, butterflies, Turkey Vulture, some type of duck or greiss