PCT Day 21

Cajon Pass to Wrightwood

23.3 miles (2.1 off trail miles)

Mile 363.4

We started our day around 6 by swinging through the breakfast bar offered at the Best Western we had crashed at. The coffee was alright, I didn’t eat, but they had a buffet of eggs, sausage, waffles, bagels etc.

We packed up our gear, chugged a couple liters of agua and topped off our bottles for a full water carry.

We had 5000 ft of elevation and 22 miles to knock out before the next reliable water source…should be a fun day!

We were crossing the overpass by 730 and back on the trail by 8.

The trail took us under a series of tunnels before beginning the long ascent up to Wrightwood.

We stopped by a surprise water cache to catch some shade and fill our bottles. From there we pushed on up the foothills and into the mountains.

We spent the rest of the day ridge walking on switchbacks that felt endless. It was hot, and shade was scarce due to the recent forest fire.

We still didn’t really have a plan for where we were crashing that night, so I decided to call a trail angel in town named Tony.

We had bumped into him at the Circle K in Cajon Pass the previous day. He had given me his number and offered up a place to stay if needed.

When I called he answered and welcomed us all to pitch in his yard, as well as laundry and a shower! The trail provides!

Stoked on our luck, we banged out the final miles to the Acorn Trailhead, which would led us 2 miles down into Wrightwood.

The Acorn Trail plopped us right out front of Tony’s place. He came out to greet us and offered up his camper for us to crash in, as well as a ride into town.

20 minutes later we were being seated at the local Mexican food joint. Apparently they offered 5 cent margaritas on Tuesdays!

We all ordered fajitas…it was fantastic!

Having eaten, we now needed to find a ride back to Tony’s place. It was a bit past 9, so the small mountain town was empty for the most part.

We decided to try our luck at the local watering hole, The Yodeler.

We grabbed seats at the bar and within minutes had secured a ride from a cool dude named Stewart. He wasn’t quite ready to leave, so I bought him a round and began chatting with the owner.

He had some pretty neat stories about hiking the PCT in 1995 and biking the CDT in 2001. He was dubbed Spider during his first night on the PCT when a spider crept into his sleeping bag causing him to flip out during the night. Super rad dude!

When it was time to leave, he gave us a six pack of Expatriate IPA…I don’t recall the brewery, but it was tasty stuff. The Yodeler is a rad spot, definitely a must stop for thru hikers.

At closing time, the four of us crammed into Stewart’s Subaru and were safely ferried back to Tony’s.

It was a rough day on trail, but the good people of Wrightwood made it all worth it!

Cheers to Alex for crushing such a huge day on only his second day on trail! Congrats duder!!!

P.s. Huge shout out to Alex’s friend and reader of the blog Roger! He’s been following our adventure since day 1, and yesterday he generously offered to sponsor our next zero day in town! Cheers Roger! We’re blown away by your generosity and cannot thank you enough for your support and enthusiasm!