DAY 27: CAJON PASS

miles: 3

Rough. Day. 

Sadly, I didn't take a lot of photos today with my iPhone, so we will make do with words in this post.

The sunrise was one of the best yet. Ben and I had the prime real estate: our tent was on a slight peninsula with water on both sides of us. We could hear the lapping of the lake all night and see the stars. 

There were, however, biting ants last night that aggressively climbed our legs as we dined at the picnic table. 

I slept really well, but Ben had not slept a wink, for some reason. It was a night of tossing and turning for him.

My feet were in so much pain, I could not stand up in the morning, and Angela had such severe blisters that she couldn't put her shoes on. We loitered around the campsite, taking our time as we packed up. Carrot and Sour Cream left promptly at 6:00ish in the morning and we watched them as they departed, envious of their strength and uninjured bodies. 

"If it weren't for our acute injuries, we'd be strong."

We feel both physically and mentally strong and it is disheartening that we have such nagging injuries to tend to....

An hour turned into 2 hours and we came to a realization: we were not going to make it the 16 miles to Cajon Pass, where the McDonalds was located (all hikers go to the McDonalds at Cajon Pass as a treat, it's a notorious stop on the trail). My feet could not stand another 20 mile day, and I blamed my stint of no insoles, as well as the time I tried insoles that didn't fit. I had injured my feet, and skipped a much needed zero day in Big Bear. I needed to rest my feet. 

The three of us made the executive decision to make it the 3 miles to Silverwood Lake Campground and attempt a hitch into town ASAP. I could no longer feel the ball of my left foot, Ben's knee was swollen, and Angela was hiking in FLIP FLOPS.

This is not sustainable.

We winced the few miles to the campground where we set up shop on the side of the highway, attempting a very, very, very hard hitch. Not one car stopped for us and there was not much traffic. 

This is when it gets worse.

It's hot and painful on the asphalt. We had walked the three miles without an ounce of water, due to our not wanting to drink the lake water and our assuming there was water at the campground. There IS good water at the Silverwood Lake campground, but it is a very large area... and hard to navigate. 

Dehydrated. Great.

"We'll be at the McDonalds soon" we kept saying to ourselves.

This is where Ben's nausea enters the picture. Ben is no longer feeling well, and needs to lie down. This is very bad timing, seeing as we are trying to hitch hike. No one wants to pick someone up who is nauseous. Also: the road to Cajon Pass is a winding one.

We collectively decide to abort the hitch hiking attempt and find a nice place in the campground area to rest in the shade. Also, it was time to find water. 

There was a quiet area with a bathroom, water fountain, arena seating, and a sort of stage. We set up shop here in order to re-group and wait out Ben's illness. It was actually a really nice area and I wondered what sort of presentations they held here and who attended them. There were giant signs designated to the Acorn Woodpecker and the Mountain Lion, describing their lives here in this forest. I wandered around reading the informational billboards in the forest, and made my way to various sections of the park. 

Angela cooked some oats. I found an in-construction museum, poked my head in a ranger station-area, and tried to occupy myself. 

"This is my life", I thought. Wandering around foreign places, looking completely homeless, searching for water, and waiting out bouts of illness. 

We live here, right now. tucked away in this isolated quadrant of the park. We have everything we need to survive. 

I napped twice today at our little home in the arena - both times on a picnic bench. This is my first time sleeping on a skinny bench - I didn't realize it was possible, let alone COMFORTABLE. I was supremely comfortable as I drifted off on my long, thin plank of wood. 

The ants eventually made their way up the bench to my body and began biting me. 

How long had I slept? Was Ben feeling okay?

Ben had vomited and was feeling slightly better and we decided to resume the hitch hiking operation. 

This time, we tried hanging out at the entrance exit of the park. Surely someone would be kind enough to drive us the 10 miles to Cajon Pass. 

No one stopped, even though they were barely going 3 miles per hour out of the park AND Ben was waving them down. It was hard not to think that in Oregon, we would have at least gotten a "are you guys okay??" from someone...

Back on the highway, I guess. 

After a while, some jeep turned around and stopped for us. First question out of his mouth: "have any gas money?" 

YES. GET US OUT OF HERE.

This was probably one of the most frightening rides of my life, but we made it safely down to Cajon Pass. He even dropped us off right at foot of the Best Western, where we checked in for the night. 

After checking in, Angela and I made our way to McDonalds, after a terrifying encounter with the highway and freeway intersections. We each devoured a McFlurry and french fries. I bought Ben chicken nuggets upon his request, as he was feeling worlds better.

We think it may have been that he was severely dehydrated, and being beaten by the sun, perhaps. Who knows, maybe it was the water.

Back at the Best Western, we showered, did laundry, ate food in bed, and did not move from bed once we laid down. We watched two movies back to back and fell asleep.... hard.