Day 21: McDonald’s – The Walk

Miles traveled: 18.4

Mile marker: 347.2

It’s not yet five in the morning and you can already hear the noise of the sleeping bags being put away. The alarm goes off and, as usual, I stay in bed for a moment longer before turning over.

When I leave my tent, Bumper and Lucie’s tents are already packed away.

«You guys are fast!» say.

«I don’t like people waiting for me!» Says Bumper.

This leaves me rushing to pack my bags once again. I really wanted to not be the last one ready.

“Lucie threw the trash at me yesterday!” Rafiki said laughing. «After our pizza party, I asked where the trash can was. Lucie said, ‘Are you going to the trash can?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ “She said, ‘Here,’ and put her pizza box in my arms.”

None of us can help but laugh at his whole story. Bumper has a big smile on his face as he films it for his vlog.

It’s a little cold early in the morning, but I put my wool away anyway. Lucie goes to the big bear can and pulls out a slice of deep dish pizza.

“It’s my pizza!” she says with a smile.

We headed down the winding path of the camp roads on hard concrete. It’s a slight incline, which is crazy considering we walked most of it yesterday to get here!

Bathrooms are on the way and I’ll be able to use a real bathroom! How exciting. I love clean bathrooms.

We return to the trail, a hard sand with some rocks bordered by tall grass, chia plants (tiny purple pods), and Mojave ceanothus (white-tipped flowers). I turn a corner and suddenly the soft sound of a stream sounds, as if I had just turned on the radio. The birds sing a tune early in the morning.

We climb to the ridge and the trail winds around the hill. The trees and apples have various shades of green: fluorescent green, pale green, and deep forest green. The trail is rocky and continues uphill. My calves tense. I wonder how the others are doing, considering they ate pizza last night beyond their comfort zone.

In the distance, the tops of the trees and bushes look like little heads of broccoli. The hills look like something out of Lord of the Rings.

Rolling hills. Green. It’s lovely.

Dad and Bumper are up front. Rafiki, Lucie and I hide under a tree. The little burrs get caught in my shorts, but it’s nice to rest for a moment. McDonald’s is ahead of us, so I don’t eat too much while I make room in my stomach for fast food.

Soon we are walking, not too fast but still red-faced and sweating. Rafiki says Lucie and I are going too slow for his knees. She left in the middle of a conversation about hairbrushes and balayages, so I think she got bored of girl talk.

We moved along the hill as we went around it. The golden grass looks like hay. There are green bushes with white flowers. I see a hairy red ant, one of those whose bite hurts a lot, I hear. Lucie and I wondered why there wasn’t just a tunnel to get through this hill we struggled over and then hurt our knees.

I think I have some old fries from McDonald’s. I can’t wait for McDonald’s. We’ve been talking since yesterday about what we’re going to order!

My right glute hurts from going downhill suddenly. Beyond the edge of the packed sand path is a cliff with a rock face. If I fall, I will definitely die.

A cicada hums loudly. Previously this also happened. Lucie and I wondered if it was a rattlesnake, but Rafiki said it was just a cicada.

Lucie and I worked in silence. We passed lizards and horned toads. We’re moving down a golden hill, McDonald’s is the only thing on our mind.

Dad texts me: taco truck! I need to go to the bathroom, but I don’t want to lose Lucie, so I ignore him.

We finally hit the road! We turned right and walked briskly like motivated mall walkers. Once we reached the yellow fire hydrant, we started running.

I stormed into the McDonald’s looking for Dad.

He’s not there!

I call him as I leave and go to the gas station next to the restaurant. Dad is on the grass.

Of course it is. When I entered, the entire section to my right was filled with hikers and their gear.

At the taco and fruit trucks, I order three tacos and a giant cup of mango, watermelon, and pineapple.

The pork, potato and bean tacos were great. The pork was my favorite! How cheesy!

“I was hoping the golden arches of the McDonald’s sign would reach into the sky,” Lucie says, telling us about her imagined experience.

«Instead, it’s next to a landfill,» Rafiki says.

Sure enough, there is a giant garbage container next to us. Oh, to be wooed by McDonald’s.

We waited a while. Rafiki bought me a smoothie since I bought him the coconut water (just exact cash which I didn’t have), but I didn’t hear him say he was going to buy it for me.

As a result, he ended up drinking two shakes and suffered massive stomach pain.

Poor Rafiki is now curled up in a corner of the cabin trying to control his stomach problems.

We stayed here for over three hours, waiting for the sun to come up, as we would end up at camp early if we left earlier.

Bumper finishes off an extra chicken wrap and offers it to Dad, who takes a bite. «Oh,» he says, «it’s a wrapped chicken nugget.»

Yes. That’s McDonald’s for you.

In Dad’s defense, the last time he was at McDonald’s was five years ago, in this very location.

Finally, it’s time to continue walking. We set off and Lucie is not feeling well. It seems like too much McDonalds before a six-mile walk in the sun wasn’t a good idea.

Finally we reach the water tank. There are gallons of water stacked and chairs next to the trees. We decided to stay.

We all cowboy camp and I eat some ramen before going to bed. It is still light outside and a plane flies through the sky with its column of smoke leaving a white streak in the sky. It passes directly through the moon.

I put on earplugs and close my eyes as the sun goes to sleep. One day closer to Wrightwood!