TD Grad hits mile 400 on PCT, finds relief in electrolytes, summits Mount Baden-Powell

Hitchin to Wrightwood on the PCT at Highway 2. Another Trail Angel earned his boots.

400 miles down just 2250 to go.

By Tom Peterson

“My right leg cramps a lot and my left shoulder all the time,” said TD Grad Emily Peterson who surpassed the 400-mile marker on the Pacific Crest Trail last week.

“I have to sit down and massage it and drink some water. I’m trying to get it under control - those are the two things that make me stop the most. Somedays the cramp comes undone and other times I have to walk it off.”

Peterson said the tight muscles were getting worse as she hiked into Silverwood Lake and then the body of water tortured her on the hot day. 

While she got to the lake early, it was still another 4 miles to the campground after hiking 18 miles. “It was awesome and terrible at the same time. Those last four miles take twice as long because you are just beat.”

“I wanted to jump in so bad,” she said. “But you don’t want to hike wet. You don’t want soggy feet.”

And then the hiker camp was located far from the lake.

By the time she got there, she said she was out of gas and made dinner and went to bed.

She had her eye set on hitting Cajon Pass the next day. A McDonald’s awaited. 

Any port in a storm - these trees provided a bit of shade on a 90-plus degree day when McDonald’s was closed.

She contemplated taking the McDonald’s Challenge - where a hiker loads up on as much McDonald’s food - say twenty McDoubles - to make it to the next destination.

But when she arrived in Cajon on Highway 15, the McDonald’s was under renovation - she had heard the drive-through was open on her FarOut App, but it was the day they were renovating the drive though.

Nuts. 

“I was thinking about it the whole way,” she said. “I had revised my order in my head a few times. I was going to get two McDoubles, a 20-piece nugget, large fry, Mcflurry and then a Powerade.”

She ended up at the gas station next door. 

“We hung out there under the shade of a tree for four hours waiting for the day to cool off. It was pretty funny, we just kept going in and out of the gas station buying more food for hours.”

Two liters of Gatorade, a turkey sandwich, an Icy, Cheetos and an ice cream cone later, and she left at 5 p.m and did 5 more miles.

She was into Wrightwood the next day after hiking 6,000 feet of elevation over 21 miles.

She met a trail angel with several people at Highway 2 and got a hitch into Wrightwood.  

Peterson said she had a resupply in Wrightwood outside of San Bernardino where she found several essential items at Mountain Hardware. “It’s like an ACE but with great hiking stuff.”

First, she jettisoned her “fancy organic” vanilla scented sunscreen which was attracting mosquitos and horseflies and bought bug balm stick and a ton of powdered electrolytes to help with the muscle cramping. She bought several dehydrated meals as well and hit the magic number of $30 and, boom, she got gas for her stove for a penny. 

But first thing’s first.

Grabbing food at Mexico Lindo

Fungus Flowers near Wrightwood

They hit the Wrightwood Brewing Company for a Raspberry Sour and then to Mexico Lindo for a margarita and dinner. And she found a group renting a BnB where she could get in for $30. 

“The lady who ran it lived across the street, and she did all our laundry for us; she did a really good job.”

“Wrightwood was amazing but also like that was more alcohol than I had this entire time,” she said. “Alcohol hits hard - because you’re always so hungry - there’s just not enough food in your body. But walking back to the BNB, I met more people. It was such a fun night, and I am finally starting to get to know people better.” 

Summiting Mount Baden-Powell

She spent the next day in town and left at 3 p.m. to summit Mount Baden-Powell. She hiked the 10 miles and summited at 9,407 feet  at 7:30 p.m.

Purple flowers after Mount Baden-Powell

Since then, Peterson has hiked a 27-mile day, her furthest stretch thus far on her way to Acton, where a KOA campground with pool awaits. 

And a 20-mile stretch of the trail along the Los Angeles Aquaduct is coming up beyond that. Peterson said she plans on hiking it at night to avoid the high daytime temps. 

Any advice so far?

“Naps,” she said. “It really refreshes your feet. That is what gets fatigued the most. In no particular way. But if you take a nap, your feet feel fresh again. I roll into siesta about 1 p.m. I slept 40 minutes today. Oh yeah, I definitely slept today. 

A shout out to Sally and Tony Fasulo of The Dalles who made this new pair of Altra hiking shoes possible for Emily.

Hiking by Vazquez Rocks Natural Area.