A long day of pretty cruisy hiking today. Got on trail around 7:30 am and hiked 16.3 miles, 26.2 km, with only a few hundred meters elevation. We spent about 12 hours on the trail, with long breaks for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today was the first time arriving at camp after dark.

The trail starts by taking us over the edge of Silverwood Lake. We walk around the rim of this lake for a couple of hours before arriving at a well serviced picnic area. We had access to potable water, toilets, trashcans, and tables in the shade. A perfect place for breakfast, so we get comfortable at one of the tables.

After breakfast we continue walking around the lake. After circling half the lake, we climb up and it of the catchment. From the top, we see the lake stretching around the mountains behind us. Walking around the lake and then up to the top takes us to the halfway point of our planned 13 mile day, so we stop at the top for lunch.

On the other side of the climb we traverse more hot, exposed and windy ridges. Once again we see Deep Creek behind us, this time much more distant.

As we hike into the afternoon, the sun gets lower quickly. We arrive at a flat spot, but find no good campsites since the trail is in the middle of a gravel road here. We decide to have dinner while it’s still light, and then continue 3 more miles to camp.

After dinner, we get to a lookout over jagged sandstone formations just after the sun has dipped behind the hill. The sand cliffs, and background light makes a dramatic sight.

We hike up and over the sharply formed sand mountains. From the other side, we see a spectacular sunset over the desert behind Cajon Pass. The winding trail, backdropped by an extremely busy freight train line, and interstate freeway gives s mesmerizing perspective of the desert.

After sunset, we hike for about 20 minutes by headlamp. Once we find good flat ground, we set up camp and head to sleep.