"Epic day today! Sleeping over a mile higher than I did last night. Sweet cabin with a fireplace to stay in." 4/11/22 6:31 PM
In reminiscence, this day was quite a mixed bag, with plenty of joy and sorrow alike. I began the day in the Whitewater River Wash. The trail was difficult to follow, and the deep sand was challenging to hike in, but I made steady progress nevertheless. As I approached the northern end of the wash, the trail began to climb.
I knew the night prior that there was going to be a lot of elevation this day, and elevation there was. The remainder of the day, I felt surprisingly great, and made speedy progress on the way to Onyx Summit, my ultimate elevation destination before descending into the town of Big Bear. Amidst my progress-induced euphoria, I set a lofty goal of making it to the Coon Creek Cabin for the night, which at that point was a questionable (but internally justifiable) decision, and within a few days would turn around to bite me in the ass.
By nightfall I made it to the cabin. Unfortunately, there was a dysfunctional "trail family" already there occupying the majority of the cabin. The vibe was off, and they were disappointed that I wanted to keep the fire rolling. I kept it rolling anyways. Another individual hiker arrived later that night, and we kept each other company. At about 10, I hopped in bed, with my biggest day in terms of both mileage and elevation under my belt.
Mt San Jacinto poking through the clouds over the Whitewater River Canyon, a Gophersnake, Coon Creek Cabin, a happy fire:
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