Wrightwood

Most of last week was a slow, steady descent from Big Bear to Cajon Pass (home of the mandatory McDonald’s stop), making it some of the easier miles of the trip.

Given the easier terrain, I tried pushing the daily mileage a bit. Over the past few days, some numbness developed in my right great toe, which I suspected is hiking related. Hopefully, today’s zero will help.

To make up for the easier early week, the approach to Wrightwood was a 17 mile waterless stretch with a 5,000 ft elevation gain. I started the trail at 4:30 am with 4 liters, hitting Guffy campground by noon. The climb wasn’t that steep, but seemed never ending.

Wrightwood had been one of my favorite stops so far. The town is very hiker friendly, the stores well stocked with hiking gear, and our hotel even had a mini washer and clothes line. Plus, everything is within close walking distance, unlike Big Bear. The great weather has been another bonus.

Gear:

My Sawyer filter has performed suboptimally since starting, so that was swapped out with a new one. The Sawyer bags developed leaks if you looked at them wrong when trying to filter, so those were replaced with a 2L CNOC bag, which has performed much better.

The MSR tent has held up well under windy conditions, though is heavier than most of the new ultralight tents. No major rain challenge yet.

I’ve managed to puncture not one, but two sleeping pads, so I’ll be trialing a cheaper, more durable pad (though heavier) this week. Waking up in the middle of a 30 degree night with a deflated pad is about as much fun as it sounds.

Clothing:

Most of it will reach “burn me” status in a few weeks. The white Columbia sun shirt has worked well, but like most synthetics, smells like something died in it after a few days on the trail. Plus, sun reflection works better when the white shirt is actually white…

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be busy indulging in complete laziness for the remainder of the day. Next stop, Agua Dulce.