I wasn’t trying to outdo or even replicate Trauma and Pepper who had done a winter traverse of the PCT the year before. I was just early.
And I had nowhere else to go.
Last night was the coldest I have ever had with this sleep system. This 40 degree F summer bag. All in all not too bad. Not fun, but I managed to sleep.
My water bottle, with black chunks of mold from the soda nozzles at McDonald’s that hadn’t been cleaned where I’d refilled had frozen solid. I had frost on the inside of my tent.
My toes were beyond numb.
So I decided against hiking towards higher elevations despite the slight warming trend my weather app was claiming. I’ll hike the trail north, which will get me closer to San Bernardino, then hike to the Metrolink station the next day.
The other option was to hitchhike out 318 to 18 to 247, I think… Any missed connection though and I’d be stuck up near Big Bear Lake, pretty much what I was trying to avoid in the first place.
Great views, good hiking, I can feel it in my legs this morning.
Hiker Lunch: The McOcalypse
A burger for the end of the world, or hikers who just need a lot of calories.
Order a McDouble, (Extra onions, no pickles, my personal preference) and a Sausage McMuffin, now available all day on the Value Menu. Or the same with the 2 for $2.
When your order is up ask for a couple of packets of mayonnaise and some pats of butter, the McDonald’s at Cajon Pass I noticed seems to carry only Light Mayonnaise, which is odd for a location with a regular supply of calorie hungry hikers.
Add sausage patty from the Sausage Biscuit to the McDouble and add a packet or two of Mayonnaise. Add Butter to the biscuit and eat separately or stack them all together.
Out of McDonald’s back to the PCT.
North this time through the drainage under I-15, past the one person cave and across the wooden hiker bridge.
At the dirt road I go right. Diagonally across the road and sit in a clearing next to a stream to work on my tan. It feels good to be warm again and I watch trains roll by.
That’s it.
If you know this section of the PCT you’ll know exactly where I’m at. Much further and the trail will start to climb. I don’t want that, I’m good at 3,000 feet.
That’s almost 1,000 feet lower than last night. If no one comes by I’ll sleep here tonight and walk to the Metrolink station tomorrow.
Shouldn’t be too hard to find.