PCT Day 25 – Silverwood

I did not wake up in Oz. The wind died down at about midnight, my tent stakes held and I managed to sleep. However, as I emerge from my tent I feel the wind stirring. Time to get out of here.

Jeremy and Shelly are out of camp first. They are so fast! Keith and I are on the trail at 6:05. Today’s goal is to get close to the place where the trail crosses I-15. This place is called Cajon (cah-hone) Pass. Keith has booked a room here for tomorrow night. From there, he will get a bus to Las Vegas, and I will continue on to Wrightwood on the trail.

Summit to Silverwood

The trail goes generally west above Summit Valley, home of the Mojave River. On the north side of the valley is an impressive mesa. The town of Victorville is on that mesa.

The development in the valley is agricultural or at least rural. It must be weird knowing that you live in a valley that could become flooded if the river overflowed. Realistically, overflowing rivers has not been a recent phenomenon in California. But it used to be much more common.

The trail bends south and we run smack dab into this. It looks like another dam.

It is the Cedar Springs Dam. It’s another dam on the Mojave River. However, this dam seems to be for power generation. Behind the dam is the enormous Silverwood Lake.

An interesting feature of the lake today is the huge bank of clouds that are flowing toward the lake over the maintains on the horizon. Warm air rising over the mountains forms clouds. But as the cloud descends toward the lake, it evaporates. It’s like watches a puffy avalanche.

Finally flowers

I had been holding off on the flower pictures lately because I have not taken any good ones. But I have good ones today. First, thistles! Thistles rarely appear in bunches like this on the trail.

Then there is this beautiful display of Indian Paintbrush. They are fairly common, but this group was irresistible.

Finally a new showy purple flower they are only about eight inches high, but their color is very rich. Among short grasses they look like this.

Up and out

We continue west away from Silverwood. We are going back up on the ridge above Summit Valley. It’s a 1000 foot climb. But the winds are so strong that we barely notice the effort out of fear that we will be blown off the mountain. When we reach the top we look back at Silverwood.

Then we turn around and look at what lies ahead. We are looking at the end of Summit Valley. Above it is Baldy Mesa. We can see trains ascending the mess from where we are. I-15 is behind the mesa.

Odds and ends

On our way to camp, we run into this young man as we collect water. His name is Funk. He is from Denver. He is hiking north as we are. When the topic turns to basketball, his interest perks up. He has been a Nuggets fan his whole life. Alas, that has mostly meant disappointment. But now that the Nuggets are in the NBA Finals, he wishes he were back home to experience some of the excitement with the rest of the city.

I wish him well. Having a team in the finals is a pure joy.

I finally got a picture of a horned toad. They are so fast I have not been able to catch or take a picture of one. I hope I can get a better picture soon!

Keith and I find a place to camp only six miles from our destination. It’s our last camp together. I know how he feels right now. I leave him with his thoughts.

• May 29, 2023
• Starting marker: 317.3
• Ending marker: 335.7
• Miles hiked today: 18
• Total PCT miles: 306