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Day 22 (23 April) - Lake Fire Detour Mile 0-20

4/23/2016

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PCT Mile 208.49 to Cherry Valley, CA

We stayed in a hotel last night in Banning which is always nice.  However, I had a hard time sleeping because I was thinking about this crappy road walk that is in front of me for the next 2 days.  There was a fire last year that closed 15 miles of the PCT.  The problem is that there isn't any good detour around it.  Officially, thru-hikers are supposed to get a ride from the I-10 / PCT intersection up to Big Bear and avoid the closed section.  Me being stubborn me wants to keep a continuous footpath from Mexico to Canada so I have to walk.  The walk we came up with is a 60 mile detour with about 45 of it being roads and the rest being truck/jeep trails.

Tim dropped me off at the intersection of I-10 and the PCT.  This first part of the detour will not be fun.  I will be walking the I-10 service road that goes between the interstate and a wind farm.  I can tell you first hand that this is a perfect place for a wind farm as I walked head on into very, very strong and gusty winds.
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The start of the detour on the I-10 service road.
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Walking by a wind farm.
In case the actual wind wasn't bad enough, the trucks and cars going by on the interstate created their own gusts.
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Walking along an interstate is breezy.
Just when I thought that I must be crazy, I noticed some footprints in the dirt.  Could this print be that of another thru-hiker crazy enough to walk this detour.  I liked the thought and embraced it all day.
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Footprint of another thru-hiker?!?
After 1.5 hours of walking the service road, I finally arrived to my first waypoint, the city of Cabazon.
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Thank you for the welcome Cabazon!
Just 20 minutes later I arrived at my next waypoint.  This one was a big one, the Morongo Casino.  It was big because I could see it in the distance right when I started walking today.  I knew that it was 6.5 miles away and i watched it grow slowly.
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The Morongo Casino, 6.5 miles into my walk.
After 1 more hour the service road I was walking ended.  Across the street was a small, close road that I continued on.  It was like "Life After People."  An old abandoned road with grass growing in the middle and trees and shrubs overtaking the side.  I kind of liked it because I could walk right down the middle and not worry about cars.
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Abandoned road.
Next came the adventure of exiting the abandoned road and getting to the other side of I-10.  I won't go into detail, but it involved walking along an entrance ramp and into a tunnel and climbing up an embankment...not fun.  But now I am away from the interstate and walking through city streets.  First city is Banning:
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Thanks Banning for the welcome.
Not long after entering Banning, an SUV pulled up to me and asked if I was a PCT hiker.  "Yes" I said.  They then said that they saw me around I-10 and figured I was a PCT hiker and followed me here to offer me a ride to the bus depot where most PCT hikers were headed to get a ride to Big Bear.  I then explained to them that I was walking the detour and they looked at me like I was crazy and told me good luck.  It was way cool that they went out of the way to hep me.  I continued through Banning and then, at 12:39 PM arrived back to the hotel we stayed in last night after over 4 hours of walking...I did say I was crazy...right?!?
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Hello again Quality Inn.
After walking the entire length of Cabazon and now Banning, I arrived in Beaumont at 1:30 PM.  This is the last city I have to walk through today...so let's go.
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Thanks for the welcome Beaumont.
Finally, after walking west all day, I made a right turn to head north toward the mountains I have to get through.
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The mountains look so far away,
After just 3.5 miles walking north, I hit the end of the Beaumont city limits and entered Cherry Valley which just happens to be the end of my 20 mile walk today.  Yes...20 MILES!!!  I am beat.
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Goodbye Beaumont
Tomorrow I pick up right here where the mountains seem a bit closer.
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The mountains look closer.
Tim arrived just as I was done.  We drove to Redlands to stay at another hotel.  When we arrived i notice a pool, so I jumped in.  It was freezing, but the cold made my legs and and feet feel better, so I dealt with it.  Afterwards a shower and dinner at The Old Spaghetti Warehouse and then to bed.  Tomorrow I have another "wonderful" road walk to enjoy.
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