Miles: 21 

Total Trail Miles: 328.8 

Ascent/Descent: 2536/2807 ft 

Start Time: 07:31 

End Time: 16:15 

Temperature: 8°C (46°F)

We had a chilled start to the morning at the hot springs getting in the hot pool for a 6:45am dip. We didn't end up leaving until just after 7:30. It was a beautiful section seeing the deep creek river flow through the canyon. We had a mid thigh deep river crossing 5 miles in and another knee deep another 5 miles in. We took an early lunch just before 12 after the second crossing as we could see dark course up ahead and we didn't want to end up having lunch in the rain. It didn't rain but it was very windy all day and sometimes I would have to steady myself against the gusts. Around 15 miles in we hit a dam, powerplant station and highway in a rather depressing stage of the trail especially with the high winds and grey skies. Luckily the trail quickly dropped over the hill and we came into view of silverwood lake which was much prettier. We did another 20+ mile day today as we knew there was a camper campsite near the lake where you could order pizza to. I arrived shortly after 4 after getting a bit lost in the jungle of the campsite (a huge mostly RV site), Beer Slide was already there and Shortcut arrived shortly after. It was hard getting the tents up in the wind and just when I thought I had sorted mine a huge gust came and snapped my tent pole which sent my mood plummeting. The snapped pile also severed the elastic shock cord in the poles, it was not looking good. I taped the elastic and pole up Best i could and secured the pile with a splint - hopefully it hold until I can get a replacement. The pizza arrived shortly after so I tried to snap out of the bad mood and not let it ruin the rest of the evening. We ate and chatted to the other hikers (Evan - now called Thrift, Hair Tie, Fry Picker, Brolly, Ray and a few others) some of their pizzas didn't arrive until after 8pm and after I went to bed (8!). Now with signal we discovered the using snow forecast for Wednesday and Thursday which means we won't be able to just nero in Wrightwood and head straight up into the snowy mountains. Not wanting to have to pay for 3 nights of accommodation Wrightwood we altered our plans to do just 14 miles tomorrow and camp near Cajon Pass and then head into Wrightwood Wednesday morning where we would still have to stay 2 nights to wait out the snow storm.