PCT 16 – Into Wrightwood

Daily Miles: 5
Total Miles: 369

Well, the wind had no intention of dying out last night and even came down into our little campsite. We could feel the gusts of wind come right though our under quilts and hammocks. Funny to think that we had a better night’s sleep right next to the train tracks than we did in a beautiful pine forest.

We slept in a bit and got up around 6:00. We took our breakfast up the hill a bit to eat in the sun. It was nice to get warmed up a little.

We packed up our stuff and headed out close to 7:30. Once we got back up to the trail, we encountered super strong and cold winds. We started out the day wearing all of our clothes and we’re happy to have the extra protection. The wind was blowing so hard at times that it was hard to stay upright and walking.

As we continued walking, we became engulfed in a cold and windy cloud. At times it sprinkled and even alerted a bit. Definitely cold, but as we continued to descend we seemed to get below the cloud.

We got to the road around 9:15 and were just getting ourselves ready to hitch when a car rolled up to us. We said we were going to Wrightwood and he said he could give us a ride. Not until we were in the car, did we realize that he was a taxi/shuttle car. So, what we thought was a hitch turned into a very expensive shuttle. Not happy about the money, but very happy to be in town quickly.

Once we got to town, we picked up our resupply boxes and ran into Big Chill and Bing who we have seen on the trail over the past few weeks. They are childhood friends from WA and are really fun to talk with. We ended up going for breakfast with them which was a good time.

After eating, we were able to find lodging in town for the night. Sadly, we were ready for the room around 11:00, but the room is not ready until 3:00. So, we spent the afternoon in the park enjoying the fact of not being on our feet.

We were excited to see our friends MountainMan, Proton, Gazelle and CrossCountry come through town today. We hadn’t expected them to get into town until tomorrow, so it was a nice surprise. We sat and talked with them for a bit and planned a camp spot to meet up at tomorrow night. We have been hiking around them since the beginning of the trail and we like them a lot. It would be nice to be able to hike with them for awhile.