We Walk Faster for McDonald’s: PCT Week 4

Our fourth week here in the desert started off easy enough. The trail had given us a fairly flat section and we really picked up the pace. We only had one full day of hiking left before heading to the town of Big Bear. That morning we decided to book a room at the Robinhood Resort, where we could get a room with a jacuzzi. It had been very cold in the afternoons and at night, and the thought of a hot bath was my main motivation to get to the city.

A few miles before camp, we found a cooler full of soda near a trailhead. We each took one and enjoyed the sugary stimulant. Then, a tenth of a mile later, we pulled into a parking lot where a guy offered us cookies and a ride into town. We accept cookies but reject the trip; We had already booked our room for the next night and had planned to go in «nero» so we could do all the city chores in the morning.

We camped about a mile off the dirt road into town, got up early and booked it in the morning. We arrived at the outskirts of the city around 9:30 and did our first hitchhike to get to the city proper. A kind gentleman took us to the plaza where the laundry and grocery stores were located. We immediately put on our rain suits at the cafe (after some coffee, of course) and then headed to the laundry room to wash our clothes.

After doing laundry and resupplying ourselves, we took the inner-city bus (and is free during PCT hiking season) to the area where our hotel was. We stopped at the gear store first so we could buy some warmer socks to sleep in, since we had been reaching near-freezing temperatures at night. We also had some ice cream, where the guy behind the counter gave us countless samples and too many delicious combinations to choose from.

We got to the room and immediately tried to get the cold out of our bones. My foot had been feeling better up to that point and the hot water seemed to help it even more, so I was hoping the jacuzzi would be like a magical cure. Cactus and I sorted out our resupply, ordered Indian food, and watched the Noah Kahan documentary in the warmth of that hot tub. It was definitely relaxing for the muscles in the body, but it somehow aggravated my heel pain beyond words. That night was the most painful night I have ever felt in my foot.

The next morning we decided to walk half a mile down the road to a breakfast place called Grizzly Manor Café. I bought a huge pancake that Cactus said was the size of a pizza. I think it was the perfect size for a hungry hiker. Halfway through breakfast, the trail angel who was supposed to take us back to the trailhead canceled on us due to car trouble. I found another ride, but we were told it would be at least another hour. We waited anxiously, feeling bitter about this last-minute change of plans.

A giant pancake, dipped in butter and syrup.

Around 11 we were on the road again. We didn’t have a very long day planned and the trail was still surprisingly flat, but my foot felt just as bad as it did before my physical therapist appointment. I had done my exercises that morning and taped it accordingly, but ever since I soaked it in hot water it had felt terrible. With or without pain, the kilometers passed and we continued forward. We barely saw anyone that day, but at least it was a little warmer than before.

Our next stretch of trail was so beautiful. We hiked into a canyon and then followed its rim for miles. We crossed a stream that runs through the canyon on a long metal bridge and passed up the opportunity to enjoy another off-trail pleasure. To our left was a blue blaze for a few miles to a malt shop, but we turned right and continued through the canyon. We did our biggest day yet (20 miles) and camped at a creek near a wonderful stream.

That night, Cactus had broken a trekking pole just before I went to bed and I felt bad. I knew what unipolar living entailed and I hoped it wouldn’t bother him too much. However, we were too excited to be too sad. A few miles into our day, we were hiking next to a natural hot spring right on the trail! We had read in the FarOut reviews that it was a very popular “clothing optional” spot for locals, so we crossed our fingers that the locals were doing other things that day.

The hot spring pool we jumped into.

When we got to the hot springs, we only saw a naked guy who left the water shortly after. We went down, still in our clothes, and took the time to soak in the lovely little man-made pool filled with warm water. Cactus soaked her feet and I completely immersed myself, hoping the minerals would soothe all my sore muscles. There we also met some new hikers, who we hiked with for the rest of the day: Greyhound, Menu, Rooster, and Sven.

We took our time with the rest of the canyon hike, admiring the views. We then descended the canyon and circled a dam, where we learned about some magical trails ahead. We had only planned to do 16 miles that day, but 3 miles beyond that is where the supposed magic of the trail was. We checked FarOut’s comments and discovered it was Snowbird, the hiker who had given us trail magic the week before. We rushed to get there, thinking about their delicious cheeseburgers for the rest of the day.

Our hike out of Deep Creek Canyon, with our first view of a snowy mountain ahead.

Once there, we enjoyed 3 more cheeseburgers on the propane griddle and the company of about 6 more hikers. It had been a while since we were able to sit and talk to a larger group of people and I loved it. I discovered what a social hiker I really am. That night, we all pitched our tents around the Snowbird truck with the promise of breakfast in the morning.

There are some things I would eat every day of my life, and they are all too heavy or dirty to carry on a trail. The first is eggs: I enjoy an egg cooked almost any way, and Snowbird’s Cheesy Eggs placed it very close to the top of the list. We enjoyed generous portions of eggs and cheese and pancakes, and sat down to talk with the other hikers about their plans for the day.

We continued and did a lot of hiking around Silverwood Lake. Our first kilometers were bordering the lake and climbing above it. The view down was incredible and the climb was smooth and easy. My foot had felt a little better since the hot springs and the trail was a little less rocky in this section, which helped. I was finally starting to feel that the desert wasn’t all bad.

Excited for McDonald’s!

We camped on the other side of a dirt road, less than a mile from Cajon Pass. Tomorrow morning we would go to McDonald’s. We had strategically planned our days to be so close to the highway so we could meet the McDonald’s challenge with variety. The plan was to go to breakfast, order breakfast food for that day and the next, then sit back to recharge and relax until the menu changed to lunch. We would then stock up on food for lunch and leave with full refill packs of fast food.

If this sounds unpleasant it’s because it really was. We arrived at McDonald’s at 8 in the morning and ordered some breakfast. We each received 3 Sausage McMuffins: 1 to eat now and 2 for the next morning. We then plug in our phones and wait for 10:30 when the menu change occurs. Meanwhile, hikers began to arrive. People we didn’t even know and people we thought we would never see again.

Day trippers at McDonald’s waiting to eat more

We sat down with Dairy Queen (formerly Deanna) and Bang Bang and told them our plans. It seemed like we were the only ones who knew they were planning to do this stupid challenge. The challenge was simple: carry only McDonald’s in your bag from there to the next town, which was only 20 miles away. We thought we would see a lot more hikers trying this, but most people just stopped for breakfast.

My backpack loaded with chicken nuggets, French fries, McDoubles and sausage McMuffins.

After the lunch change, we ordered a lot more takeout and headed out on a hike. I had about 3,500 calories of fast food in my backpack and was ready to hike. We left around noon and continued for another 14 miles or so. After the first 5 miles we had a steady climb almost all the way to Wrightwood and I felt great. Powered by McDonald’s, we climbed, through gusts of wind and above the clouds. Tomorrow we would be in Wrightwood.