Leaving Town

It was a little tough to leave the vortex of Cajon Pass this morning. There is nothing charming about the area, but the Best Western had amazing pillows, and the McDonalds was between the pillows and the trail. There were quite a few hikers at the Best Western enjoying first breakfast...only to visit McDonalds for second breakfast a short time later. There were those of us heading back out to the trail, and those just arriving. Sphinx and I got a ride from Aloha the short half mile to the trail. 

An interesting side note to the road we walked on to get to McDonalds is that it used to be part of Route 66, a historic roadway from LA to Chicago. At 2,448 miles, it was less than the length of the PCT. 

Something else I forgot to mention a couple days ago is that I met a gal hiking southbound on the trail. We talked briefly. Her trail name is Ravensong. To the best of her knowledge, she was the first female to solo thru-hike the PCT in 1976. It was a very cool chance encounter. I wish I would have asked her for advice.  

After the crazy wind coming in to Cajon Pass yesterday, I was pleased that it was calm this morning. It picked up before we started hiking, but never got as bad as yesterday. The trail went over one of the several train tracks in the area. Trains are a constant in the area. Soon we left them behind as the trail began to climb. That was another constant of the day. We have climbed about 3000 feet today in 12 miles and have another 2000+ to go tomorrow in our approach of Wrightwood. It was warm today, but nothing like the Deep Creek day--probably around 85-90. 

We had a 4-mile detour today to avoid a section with poodle dog bush. This plant is one of the first to grow in areas that have had a fire. It is dormant until after a fire. Supposedly the body's reaction to it is like that of poison oak but on steroids. Makes sense to avoid it! 

I'm camped tonite with seven other people. Very unusual. One of them "hangs" which means he sleeps in a hammock. He let me try it out. It's VERY comfortable. 

There is some concern about the upcoming endangered species detour. Apparently there are two options; one requires a poor trail with rocky, slippery footing and 20 extra miles, and the other involves a roadwalk on a busy freeway. Just who is the endangered species!

The last picture is at camp tonite. We heard there is a fire that is bringing smoke into the area. I smelled it earlier today, but can only see the result of the smoke tonite. 

It is customary for thru-hikers to earn trail names. Today I earned mine:  Soda Pop. I have a tendency to hike out of towns with a cold soda or two stashed in my backpack :)