4/27 – Day 20 – Silverwood Lake
I slept last night in a small stealth site next to a creek high above the main canyon. Got up before 6 am and was on the trail by 7. I ate my breakfast on the trail. It consisted of nuts, dried fruit, freeze dried berries, and chocolate. Very tasty. It was very warm starting out and soon got hot. The first few miles were very pretty but most of the hike was in hot scrub brush, along roadsides, semi-industrial areas, until I made it to the big reservoir, Silverwood Lake, where I watched people from high above water ski, fish, and have fun in the sun.
It was a hard 23 miles and I often had a headache from the heat. At one point trail angels left a water cache but most of the plastic jugs had been chewed on by some wild animal. I did find one unopened container and filled my water bottles. Later on in the day, another trail angel had left soft drinks; my goodness that orange soda tasted good. I hiked about 23 miles and am now sleeping in an empty group campground behind some bushes. It is not legal, and there are a lot of state park police patrolling, as it is a Saturday. The boy scouts probably thought I looked scary. I will get up early tomorrow to avoid a ticket. The group campground below me is occupied by loud kids, I can hear the highway, and there are animals in the bushes making noise, and I must be near a main train line, but I don’t think any of that will keep me from sleeping well. Tomorrow I have 14 miles to the highway 15 where I may eat in a restaurant for lunch. If I push it I could reach my second resupply town of Wrightwood on Monday but that will be pushing it. Good night.
Click the link to see where I am:
http://fms.ws/BsP9u/34.28735N/117.36694W