Silverwood Lake to Cajon Pass
12.4 miles
Mile 341.9
We all slept in a bit. The 12 miles to Cajon Pass we’re easy, so there was no reason to rush.
The Valle Group campsite at Silverwood Lake we made home for the night was top notch. Large shaded ramadas, a plethora of picnic tables, outlets for charging, coin operated showers and restrooms with more toilet paper than four through hikers could go through…like I said, top notch.
Around 9 we finally meandered out of camp. We didn’t have far to go, but the heat was rough.
We took a short snack break on this great rock.
Then we pushed on for another 5 miles.
Alex and I saw a massive rattle snake slither into some shrubbery right around here. 
The desert was shrubby and mostly unspectacular until we turned a corner to find this.
The epic change in scenery was rad. Suddenly we were walking down rolling green hills towards the promise land (McDonalds).
Around 2 we approached the Golden Arches.
Walking into the air conditioned fast food joint felt great. I hadn’t been to a Micky Dees in over a decade, so it took me a minute to become reacquainted with the menu. I ended up ordering a two piece crispy buttermilk chicken strip, sausage egg burrito, bacon double cheese burger, small fry and a large Diet Coke.
It wasn’t very good…
After being persuaded by the cashier to complete an online survey I won a free chocolate sundae.
It was very good.
As we sat in the booth regretful of the poison we had just willingly consumed, we decided to grab a room at the Best Western half a mile away. The lure of a pool and jacuzzi was just too much to deny.
The trail to the hotel was treacherous.
Safely across the busy overpass, we successfully booked our room and began to unwind.
After starting a load of laundry we hit the jacuzzi for good soak. A few other hikers joined us. Sausage party that it was, the water still felt great.
We grabbed some Del Taco for dinner and spent the rest of the evening relaxing in our room.
Tomorrow is a big day. It’s about 30 miles up to Wrightwood with no reliable water along the way, so our packs will be heavy with liquid.
I’ll worry about that in the morning though…
Cheers!
Dudes!! The march to the Golden Arches was epic!! Too funny!! Be safe gentlemen!!!
Gotta get those McNuggets! Cheers!
Really enjoying reading your blog, and it’s making me look forward to my eventual thru-hike. Since you had a March start date, it seems like you’re slightly ahead of the herd, and have had pretty good luck with getting hotel rooms and campsites so far. Would you recommend a March start date for this future hiker?
Glad to hear you dig it! Definitely get out here…it’s incredible. I couldn’t be happier with my start date. The weather has been awesome. Some of these desert portions will be brutal in a month. Also, the towns/trail angels aren’t slammed with hikers yet, so everyone has been super friendly. I highly recommend a late match start date. Cheers and good luck on your future thru hike!
Thank you for the reply and advice! I’m a bit of an introvert as well, so the appeal of not being among the massive horde of hikers sounds awesome; plus missing out on most of the awful heat. I’m a SoCal desert local (J-Tree), so I know how awful the heat starts to get right around this time of the year. When I do pull the trigger on my future thru-hike, I’ll definitely be looking for a late March start date!
Right on! Joshua Tree is a neat place. Glad to help! Let me know if you’ve got any other questions. Cheers!
Our house rule is one can never have enough 2-ply tp. Always have @ least 18 rolls on hand and double that if storm is predicted. 😘. Lv u. G