October 30

Distance: 26.5 | Ascent: 2740′ | Descent: 6330′

Mile marker: 2314.7

Lunch: J – Mountain House chicken and potatoes (A), A – Shin ramen (B+)

Dinner: J&A – Maccas (A), McFlurries (A+)

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The hike out of Wrightwood wasn’t too bad (Alex here: my legs respectfully disagree). Once we were out of the town, it was only 1500′ of ascent in 2ish miles. The trail was graded nicely, which allowed us to get into a rhythm with our climbing. We reached the top before 10am, before it really started to warm up.

We decided to cold soak our lunches (letting cool water rehydrate our meals over several hours). This saves some time from cooking the food at lunchtime and then waiting for it to cool down to eat. It also lets us behave like true hiker trash: eating out of plastic bags.

We had a long descent today. The hike out of Wrightwood was the only climb, other than slight undulations. We left the high desert pines and re-entered the scrublands.

We crossed 2300 miles. Truthfully, we didn’t realize until we took a break five miles afterwards. This makes our marker a big fat lie. But you, the reader, would never know if we didn’t admit to this heinous act. Perhaps, we’re not lying after all and this was truly at 2300 miles. Maybe we’re playing mind games. Alex will delete or heavily edit this paragraph (Alex again: Nah, I think you should all bear witness to… this).

As we got close to I-15, we saw a traffic jam. Where are all those people going? Did anyone look out their window and see us?

We also saw and heard lots of trains. Trains are neat. We like trains. The trail even had us cross a few tracks, including a huge tunnel under a pair.

Soon, we saw the Golden Arches in the distance. We luckily were there right at a reasonable dinnertime. We made great time today. We thought we’d get to the interstate closer to 9pm. In lieu of our packaged dinners, we got America’s favorite fast food. This means we can have double dinner later in the week. Jason’s watch tells him that he’s burning close to 4400 calories per day. He only planned and packed for 3750, so he’s getting his extra calories where he can. Women are more efficient, so Alex is burning about 3000 calories per day. For both of us, it’s going to be hard readjusting to a normal eating schedule post hike. We’ll give ourselves a week, maybe, to treat ourselves to expansive meals after the hike. We’ll need to have immense self-control until our appetites readjust.

After dinner, we went just far enough away to only occasionally hear a train horn and a low rumble from the interstate. Alex likes the ambient noises. She’ll sleep well.