Acton – Wrightwood – Day 140 – Sat Nov 11th

Day 140 Sat Nov 11th
Tent site 2 b4 Angeles Forrest Road Tent site 2 b4 Highway 2
2234.4 – 2255.7
Approx. 3497 ft ascent 2694 ft descent
20.4 Miles


It got pretty windy last night I’m not just talking about the ramifications from our pad Thai Ramen!
I woke up a couple of times still slightly feverish, disturbing Sarah’s sleep and generally getting in her bad books. Sorry Sarah.

As day broke any trace of the cities had almost disappeared. Apart from tiny ant like shapes moving along highways and the rumble of the distant traffic.

We had pitched our tent on the north facing slope of the mountain, but it wasn’t long before the sun rising in the east showed its face and the gusty winds then disappeared.
We ate breakfast basking in the sunshine.

I went down to find a poop spot only to interrupt a hunter that was stalking a dear close to our tent. I asked if he had any luck and he told me he did a lot of hiking but hasn’t seen one single deer.

Today I’m feeling stronger, almost back to usual form. Fingers crossed we’re gonna have a more productive day. I can’t believe we’ve been out here over 140 days doing this hike.

Last night we had Verizon reception and Sarah checked in to her fundraising campaign page to find that in just 24 hours £840 pounds had been raised. We were both totally blown away by this.

This news has also helped put a pep in our step today as the last few days the chips have been down with me feeling unwell. Just knowing that money is starting to be raised really helps push us forward like you wouldn’t believe.
Thank you to all the kind generous people who have kindly donated to our fundraising campaign.

After a short downhill we arrived at Mill Creek Fire Station where we were able to fill our water bottles and get rid of any trash which is always nice.

Next up we have 2000 feet of elevation spread over 6 miles.
So far the aches and pains of yesterday and the general feeling of being unwell seems like a distant memory.
I’m flying up the mountain with fire in my belly and smoke coming off my feet, leaving Sarah in my dust.
As we climb, we come across more groups of hunters all on the lookout for the elusive mule deer. So far we’ve only heard a few shots but everyone we’ve met hasn’t had a sniff.

As hikers we’ve seen tons of mule deer, some as close to six feet away.
Maybe they realise we pose no threat?
Although on this stretch of trail they have gone into hiding, as if they are aware the hunters want to do them harm.

We can see why this place is so popular because of his proximity to the city. For this reason any game in this area are going to be far more wary than what they would have been in more remote parts of the trail. Good luck to the mule deer that’s what I say!

We reach the top of Buckthorn climb around lunch time and sit in the shade amongst the trees while crows circle above on the lookout for scraps.

We imagine this is what the mountains would have looked like before the fires swept through. There are a mixture of pine trees, grasses and sages in amongst the white sandy groun is very pretty.
Although the next section of trial needs some TLC and we have to negotiate a couple of blowdowns along wih the trail being washed out.
As I’m in front I hear some cussing and cursing from Sarah behind as she negotiates these obstacles.
Around 4pm we each collected 1 litre of water from a seasonal creek as there’s not much water around here.
There was evidence the watering hole has had other visitors and some of the prints look suspiciously like mountain lion prints.

I wanted to get to Copper Canyon camp which is another 11 miles away, but we figured we shiuld stock up from water just in case we don’t make it.

As we climb, we hike through corridors of oak, pine, manzanita and other higher elevation species dispersed between the spiky desert plants..

We are both surprised how established and lush this side of the mountain is compared to the last few days and figure it’s to do with a higher elevation as we’re now climbing to nearly 6,000 feet.

The elevation profile on Far Out for this next climb looked quite straightforward, but in reality it was not and seems steeper than suggested.

Sarah pointed out, “Why do we always seem to chase the sun towards the end of the day” The mountains in front of us are illuminated a warm orange with the last rays of the sun as we hike through shade.

It always seems to be the way, maybe it’s similar to that famous pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Who knows, but it certainly keeps you motivated reach the last dying rays of sunlight before the day closes shop for the day.

As soon as the sun drop below the horizon once again it begins to get cold.
The trial conditions around the Camp Greenwood area were terrible. Much of the trail seems to be washed out or non-existent and under the light of our head torches we could see lots of evidence of poodle dog bush.
This put me in a slightly bad mood for the remainder of the day and any hope of our 25 mile day soon disintegrated. I started to feel shattered and washed out just like the trail.

In the darkness we managed to find a tent site just before Highway 2 which seemed to be surrounded by charred trees and the remnants of a burn zone.
To lighten the mood we cooked up a hearty meal of rice and beans with the new addition to trail kitchen – a seasoned shredded pork packet that Smiles had recommended. Containing over 600 calories, in addition to the 500 calories of the rice and beans. Surely this would put anyone in a good mood.

I insisted I would take the foam mattress tonight because Sarah hasn’t slept very well for the last 4 nights and needs a good night’s sleep. So I’ve wrapped up in all my clothes including my thermals, rainpants and puffy jacket and hope for the best.