I took a "double zero" [two(!) days off without hiking] in Cajon Pass, given forecasts for thunderstorms in Wrightwood on Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning on Thursday afternoon for an area including Wrightwood, and apparently there was a great deal of rain and even hail in town.
Friday was a 5am start, with a pre-dawn, 1,500 calorie McDonald's breakfast fueling a 25 mile, 13 hour day (breakfast can't have been healthy, but it did help for a long hike). The early start and cool temperatures during the day allowed me to get to Wrightwood that same evening, despite the extra water I carried (no sources on the way) and the extra time I took to avoid the rash-inducing poodle-dog bush. I feel like my 2 mile per hour pace is on the slow side. I'm being passed way more often than passing others.
Wrightwood is another small town on the trail that seems to be doing well. All the houses and cars seem are up to date and in apple pie order. There aren't as many for sale signs as elsewhere. In the compact downtown, there are Saturday morning youth t-ball and softball games at the school ballfields across the street from the elderly cabins of the hotel I'm staying at. The Wrightwood History Museum provides an overview of the town and region, and the coffee shops are full of locals relaxing on their weekends. And, like Idyllwild, there are a prominent video store and acupuncturist. Slice of Americana!
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| Above the clouds in the San Gabriel Mountains, approaching Wrightwood |
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| In the clouds! |
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| Historic signs at the Wrightwood History Museum |
