332.4 to 341.9 Cajon Pass

I woke up today and wasn’t really sure of where I would end up... I was still way ahead on my mileage schedule for vaccine pickup point on Wednesday (and I couldn’t really go any further than that point because there would be no way to get off trail).... Scout had sent a message to our group text that the heat/lack of water situation out of Cajon Pass was a doozy.... I knew the famous McDonald’s on the PCT was about 8 miles ahead... but having not eaten McDonald’s since moving to California a few years ago - I decided as I set out for the day, I would just skip it and hike 5 miles past and camp at a water cache at the base of the climb...setting myself up for the best scenario given Scout’s report and how slow I am on climbs...

The 8 miles were for the most part a steep descent.... and passed pretty quickly... I made a game of giving names and making up stories for the giant rock shapes that I began to pass... as I approached the sign for the side walk to McDonalds...and the sun was beating down... my feelings towards making the side trip began to waiver... a cold drink would be nice.... some iced coffee sounds good... maybe a few salty fries.... I sat at the sign for about 15 minutes weighing my options... and ultimately gave into the temptation... I mean for goodness sake it was a landmark with its own PCT mileage sign... how could I pass it up???

(Sidebar vent: I received some yucky comments from strangers on a previous post regarding my chick-fil-a pack out choice and basically telling me to give up now - I don’t understand people’s need to be ugly to others online... I don’t understand strangers feeling they have the right to tell me what I can and can’t do- especially in terms of what I choose to eat- this is a journal of my experience- mainly for my friends and family - it is public and I guess that opens it up to comments from people who know nothing about me... if I chose to “eat more chicken” or “have a burger” after arriving in a town from being in the backcountry for a few days hiking 15-20 miles a day... so f’n be it)

I arrived at the McDonalds ... ordered fries, a soda, a quarter pounder and iced coffee.... inside and outside dining still closed from Covid... my only choice was to sit basically street side and eat... this was the first time I had someone ask me if I needed money... I was a little confused and then realized how I must look ... explaining I was a hiker, I realized I probably needed a good shower... and changed my plans to camp at the water cache to “camp” in the roadside hotel room down the street...(which apparently didn’t work in fixing the homeless angle because I was offered services again the next day!!) Nathan arrived and joined me on the street corner... he and his dad had decided to skip the hotel but camp right at the i15 underpass on trail... I bid goodbye and told him I would meet him early the next morning to knockout as many miles of the climb before the heat of the day that we could...

I started off down the road to the hotel... this was by far the scariest .5 mile I have had since starting this journey... Cajon Pass is apparently a major interstate stopping point for people coming back from Vegas, the mountains... somewhere to San Diego? LA? Not sure but omg the cars ... so many cars..... the traffic was insane on a Sunday afternoon ... and while I didn’t have to walk across i15 per say .... I did have to cross hwy 138 right at the entrance and on ramps .... I felt like a real life game of frogger trying to get to the hotel... checking into a room felt nice ... a shower, good dinner and good night sleep would set me up better for the climb the next day. A number of hikers had the same idea as the hotel was full of new thru hikers for me to meet - all of which equally traumatized by crossing the road.

When 4pm rolled around... I started looking at options... there were three... McDonalds, Subway and Del Taco.... hmmm...Del Taco was the only one on my side of the street... but Subway sounded better ... (and I could pack out the other half of a foot long to carry the next day).... I walked to the edge of the parking lot to the road crossing... yep... nope... I’ll try again later... 5pm... me to road crossing... again not worth the risk... I checked Google Subway closes at 9pm.... surely the traffic will let up by then... 6:30pm... nope... 7:30... nope... I decided it was going to have to be Del Taco... I went into the gas station housing Del taco... just my luck... Del Taco had an oven malfunction and had closed... I walked around the gas station... besides junk food all I could find was a loaf of bread... I had some peanut butter and jelly in my pack... guess that would be dinner... as I checked out I asked if the traffic ever let up... the clerk told me on Sunday nights It was like that until 1 or 2am.... I started walking back to the hotel... and noticed an underpass... hmmm... I could walk down those boulders... under the hwy... and back up the other side to Subway... heck yeah!

I stashed my bag of bread ... and in my sandals scampered down the boulders.... easy peazy.... underneath the hwy... I am like how did I not notice this earlier.... then I see the other side.... no path up... straight up... through trash and overgrowth galore.... determined I try and pave a way up.... trying in the dark by the light of my phone not to step on broken glass or anything else harmful.... a few stray cats scared the bejesus out of me .... despite my shower a few hours before ... I was now again covered in dirt... and must of been a sight coming up over the guardrail because a trucker in the parking lot... offered to buy me food from the gas station... I explained and he laughed... it was 7:45... and I had made it to Subway.... which was.... closed...and had closed at 7:30... the guy working there said sorry... they hadn’t updated their hours online since Covid... but you haven’t even cleaned up yet I explained... nothing he could do the register had been closed already.... sigh... I went back down the obstacle cliff of trash and thorns.... back under the road... back up the boulders... searched for my bag of bread I had stashed... back to the hotel and sadly ate my peanut butter sandwich.... set my alarm for 4:30am and went to sleep...well attempted to with the constant sound of cars and freight trains a far cry from a few nights before with the babbling creek and harmonies of frogs...

Ps. Sorry about the blurry pics... my phone case got scratched and I didn’t realize for a few days :)