Days 13-15: Mission Creek: Worse than expected and ending with the easiest day

General thoughts from the trail.

Aches and pains 🙂

I was going to write about food, but since several people have asked me how I’m feeling, I thought I’d talk about aches and pains. Spoiler alert, yes, there are aches and pains, but nothing out of the ordinary. Waking up on an uphill slope for hours on end with the trail sloping from right to left causes me some pain on the outside of my right ankle. That makes me appreciate when the trail descends from left to right. Going down a 20 mile hill from Mount San Jacinto was hard on the knees. And of course, that downhill climb will probably result in a toenail coming off at some point. It’s a little iffy, but it’s tender and has a little pinkish red underneath. I tried KT tape around the knees, but I should have shaved the area first. Various aches and pains are common. I dwell on the hot spots on my feet, but when there are so many foot complaints, I found it’s easy to overlook the hot spot. If it were easy and painless there would probably be a lot more people doing it. So, there’s my opinion on it. Expect some pain, deal with it and move on.

Day 13

20.8 miles or so

From the campground near mile marker 85.5 of White Water River, elevation 248

To Mission Creek Junction at mile 239.9, elevation 7948

Up 7028 Down 1562

Camping: under the pines alone

People I walked with: Stinger, Alex and Astro

The first thing of the day was a short walk to cross the White Water River and then filter some water.

Dry shoes are nice, but for a few miles there were no dry shoes to be found.

The hike from Whitewater River to Mission Creek was fun. It hit places with great views and took a ridgeline that made me hope I never had to descend again. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The PCT through the Mission Creek stretch was devastated several years ago by Tropical Storm Hilary. Basically 10 miles of trail turned into a trailless rock field with rocks from the size of a fist to the size of a couch. It took a while and was slow. At least there was water constantly nearby. Eventually the trail was reshaped, although in several places it was the case that if you missed a step it was a very, very long drop. This day was not only difficult due to the lack of trail, but there were also many ups and downs and then more ups. This day also brought the trail’s sixth rattlesnake and also its first, a California kingsnake.

The “trail” along Mission Creek.

Astro and Alex, completely entertaining people to walk with

Day 14

19.9 miles or so

From Mission Creek Junction at mile 239.9, elevation 7948

To store site at mile 259.2, elevation 7150

Ascent 2949 Descent 3698 Maximum elevation 8738

Campsite: only a few with views of Big Bear Valley

People I walked with: me, me and me (no one)

For the most part, this part of the trail wasn’t particularly mind-blowing, but it was impressive to see Mount San Jacinto in the distance and Mission Creek so many thousands of feet apart in elevation. I saw Alex briefly from the day before. I wanted to travel 28 miles to get to Highway 18 and Big Bear in one day. Go Alex!

Mount San Jacinto at top right with Mission Creek at bottom left. Santa Rosa Mountain is the high peak to the left of Mount San Jacinto.

The day brought some ups and downs (talking about elevation), some impressive geological features, and I met some day hikers. However, towards the end of the day, the trail was perhaps my favorite part of this hike. The trail descended into a narrow ravine just below Onyx Summit along Highway 38. The pine trees were huge, the road was soft from dust and water flowing along the road. Unfortunately, I was so impressed that I didn’t take any photos. This is a section I intend to tour next year with Marnie. I think we will have two cars, one up and one down.

My tent looking towards Big Bear Valley

This was the most pleasant night of the hike. The valley was warm, there was no wind and there were no insects. I heard the wild donkeys doing their Hee Haw thing in the middle of the night.

Day 15

15.5 miles or so

From store site at mile 259.2, elevation 7150

To Van Dusen Canyon Road junction 275.1, elevation 7260

Promotion 1985 Relegation 1877

Camping: The Cabin at Sugar Loaf

People I walked with: Alejandro and Craig

This part was amazing as the trail didn’t have the ups and downs of any previous day. I got up at 05:05, packed my bags and set off with the false dawn. This morning I heard the lone cry of a coyote. Something I heard every night at home, but hadn’t heard on the road since the first night at CLEEF. There were many donkey tracks and I finally saw one. The burros are wild and are remnants of Big Bear’s gold mining days.

The views of the Lucerne Valley were spectacular early in the morning.

This section of trail jingled as I crossed it. It is difficult to see the trail and it was not an easy hike.

The rest of this trail meandered through hills and I finally reached Caribou Creek (although there are no caribou in these parts).

I’m enjoying this zero day in Big Bear and will soon be heading north and hiking down to the hot springs, the Golden Arches at Cajon Pass, and Mount Baden-Powell.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.