Chapter 2: Idyllwild to Wrightwood
Idyllwild gave us our first zero, a day hiking zero miles, where we met the mayor - a gorgeous dog named Max. He has unfortunately since passed; may he rest in peace.
On our way out, a man spotted us as he drove to the dump and apologized that he was busy. Once he was done, however, he came back to drive us about an hour out of his way back to the trailhead we got off at.
We climbed up towards the peak of San Jacinto as blowdowns hindered our every movement. Water, which was already tough to come by in the desert, had the unfortunate property of being near the bottom of the mountain. This meant that each time we needed to resupply on water, we scrambled down steep side trails to reach it, causing an onerous return trip.
This Sisyphean task took us to the top of San Jacinto, where we met some tourists from Palm Springs who rode the tram up. On the other side, the rapid descent back to the desert floor punished my knees, but we also received incredible food and drinks from a large Filipino family who was camping near the trail.
The hike from the base of San Jacinto to the I-10 underpass was short, but brutal, with incessant heat and unending winds hampering the slog through sand in sapping our strength. Once we reached the underpass, we stretched out and slept until Elleen and her mother drove from LA with groceries and food for the next leg of our journey. As the sun set, we made our way to the Mesa Wind Farm under the flower moon.
Briefly, we hung out at Whitewater Preserve, a paradise in the otherwise bone dry desert and met Rich and Ben, two Englishmen who were also hiking the trail. At Mission Creek, we attempted to get through the worst of it during the heat of the day. I diverged from the group and let them know I would wait it out until it got dark to catch up to them. This had me route finding through a narrow and confusing canyon in near pitch black conditions, which ended up worrying everyone.
The evening before we reached Big Bear, I was once again behind my group as the sun set. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure flash quickly down the trail, about to overtake me. As I stepped to the side to let them pass, I realized it was Jupiter, a Youtuber whose videos I had thoroughly enjoyed over the years. We chatted for a while before he raced ahead. When I caught up to my trail family, who had set up camp right outside a private zoo, they let me know he had mentioned our encounter and that I was about to catch up.
Right before Big Bear, we received some wonderful trail magic, as well as an easy ride into town. Once at Big Bear Lake, I accepted Elleen’s offer to bring me a stove and food that I could more reliably stomach, as my inability to eat was still causing me major stomach pains and fatigue.
We took another zero in Big Bear Lake, with some fantastic bagel sandwiches, before heading westwards towards San Bernardino National Forest. Our first night out had us camping with a clear view of the upcoming valleys.
The trail followed Holcomb and Deep Creeks, giving us our first taste of truly reliable water. This was very much a luxury I did not take for granted. We crossed many high clearance dirt roads that were unfortunately packed with trash.
This trend continued with an early wake up to reach Deep Creek hot springs, which was right on the trail, but unfortunately had quite a few illegal campsites and trash strewn everywhere. We did our best to enjoy it and some nudists buoyed our spirits by coming with trash bags and spending most of the morning cleaning up, as their cars were only a few miles away.
A few miles into the day, we received ice cold beverages, fruits, and medical supplies from Corgi Legs, who set up at a road crossing, and met Floss. A bit after that, our group had our first argument, as a camping ban around Silverwood Lake complicated our camping plans in a few miles. We either would need to go well short of our mileage goals for the day, or well past. With the heat of the day pounding on everyone’s nerves, we eventually agreed to find a campsite just before the camping ban boundary.
After Silverwood Lake, our next goal was the hilly Cajon Pass, where you descend from the desert hills to cross I-15. At Cajon Pass, we had our fill at the under renovation McDonald’s and spent the night at the local inn before we made the steepest climb of the desert to the mountains overlooking Wrightwood.
Despite carrying 7 liters of water, I found myself running out of water alarmingly fast. There was also no reliable water for this entire section, and worry set in. Thankfully, an overlanding vehicle offered us each a bottle of water and a few miles past that we found a water cache that likely should not have been there, but we were excessively thankful for.
After a day that dragged on, we reached the top of the climb as the sun began to set and the temperature finally started to cool. Below us, the lights of Wrightwood twinkled and I made the decision to not spend the following night in town, meaning I’d be leaving my group behind for some solo hiking.
