Bushcamp to Silverwood Lake
19.3 miles
Mile 329.5
Woke up in the corner of my tent around 5. Apparently the ground I had pitched on wasn’t quite as flat as I had hoped. Darn.
An hour later the boys were up and we were jamming down the trail towards Silverwood Lake.
A few miles down we encountered the first of many creeks we’d need to ford along the PCT. I pulled my shoes and socks off and made my way across.
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Then I chilled on this rock for a bit to dry out.
The remaining miles to the lake consisted of rolling hills contrasting the old burnt remains with new green plant life.
Around here I rolled up on a group of three on horseback who didn’t see me as I approached. When I was about a 100 feet out, one of the horses was spooked by my presence and bucked up onto its hind legs, nearly throwing the young rider from her saddle. I froze, unsure of what to do. One of the riders called out for me to hide my trekking poles and approach slowly.
It turns out the horse who bucked was young and still being trail trained. I apologized profusely for the scare. They were cool about it and I was on my way.
We passed by Cedar Springs Dam, indicating Silverwood Lake must be close. I was in a rush to get there to meet up with my longtime bud Alex, who’d be joining me for the remainder of the trail.
We made it to the lake by 2, but it wasn’t silver…
The trail weaved around the lake until we arrived at the picnic area where Alex was waiting with Subway and cold beer!
Absolutely thrilled to have Alex join us, it was a neat reunion. After catching up over a few calorie waters (beer), we set out for a camp ground three miles out.
On the way we placed an order with Roadhouse Pizza who loves PCT hikers and will deliver to the camp ground. Their number is (909)338-5040…I highly recommend the place!
We ordered two large pizzas, 2lbs of wings and a twelve pack of Coors. Yup, they’ll even bring you beer!
Shortly after we had arrived at our campsite Sharon pulled up with our order.
We laid out our feast and dug in!
We spent the rest of the evening hanging out under the ramada catching Alex up on our trail stories and enjoying each others company.
It was a great way to spend Al’s first night on trail. Looking forward to many more to come!
P.s. Check out Justin’s ultralight shoulder strap water bottle pouches! The 1 liter is perfect for the hikers best friend, the Smart water bottle. His product and customer service is on point!
Cheers Justin!
Looks like a great day all around for you guys. Thanks for the water bottle tip. I just bookmarked them so I can have one too.
The blue skies and well behaved trails leading you to a perfect little lake and pizza/beers.
Happy trails to your new addition too.
Thanks Judy! We’re certainly enjoying ourselves out here! Cheers!
Alex! I’m so glad he joined the hike with you. On our Grand Canyon hike he was named Best Dressed. After seeing your green shorts he may lose the vote on this hike. haha.
Let me guess, Alex’s pack weighs the most.
Give Alex some time to gain some trail conditioning. You guys are likely in your zone.
Be well!
Alex crushed it today! We’re resting up at the Best Western in Cajon Pass. Got a big water carry tomorrow up to Wrightwood! Cheers!
Hey Austin! Paul Anzalone here. I have been following your blog since day one. I love it and look forward to your updates. I even bought a pair of the Altra Trail Runners after your recommendation and love them! Your gear list makes me want to completely re-do my backpacking set up. My current backpack probably weights as much as all of your gear combined! Keep the awesome updates coming! I look forward to hearing all about your trip someday when you are finished. Paul
Howdy Paul! Great to hear you’re enjoying it! It’s been incredible so far and we’ve barely scratched the trail. Glad you dig the Altras, I’m a big fan. I definitely stand behind all the gear I brought out here. Being light makes big miles easy and the fun factor high. I’ll try to keep things interesting for you. Cheers!
Good push on Justin’s gear! His stuff just makes life easier…thanks for all the great pics to inspire all of us ‘hopefuls’!
Thanks for reading, cheers!
Love reading you each day. At some point with Paul’s trail experiences think he should show up with pizza and beer to support your efforts 😏. Lv u G
One would think…come on Paul!
I think that your dad and I should ride our motorcycles out to California and plan to meet you at some point on the trail. June or July would work great! Scott?
I support this!
I don’t need much of an excuse to ride the bike. Sounds like a good reason. Let’s go!
Do it! We’ve been crossing dozens of neat mountain roads. Lots of motorcycles out here, looks like a good time!