34k (21 miles) today?! What was I on?! That kind of distance to walk in a day is already crazy, but my dumb ass didn’t consider the heat.
Things started off pretty nicely. I had a bottle of electrolytes in hand, lightened my pack by leaving my Thomas Guide with the innkeeper (again, what was I thinking? It’s 500 pages of maps, most of which I didn’t need) and got a decent night’s rest. I felt great, and had spaced out rest stops during the heat of the day. Then it got hot.
Rancho Cucamonga: a very nice start, then purgatory
I walked a small section of the Pacific Electric trail, a former streetcar line turned into a bike and walking path. I came across two Indian men walking with some lit incense, filling the air with a scent far more pleasant than exhaust fumes. My first rest stop of the day would be Victoria Gardens, meaning I’d have to pass through a suburb with a very odd layout.
This was the first time I’d seen a sizable patch of green grass in a few days, and I almost wept at the sight. The kids tell people to “touch grass” if they’re online too much, and they’re on to something. It felt amazing. Later I learned this lush green grass was made possible by water recycling, sensible in a land this dry. I did see a few people walking around out of choice, another rarity.
Victoria Gardens is a large lifestyle center, a combination of shopping, public library, and performing arts theatre. I found it very pleasant to walk, reminding me of a theme park or Downtown Disney. It was a sort of reproduction of a small town main street, with decorations, fountains, and themed architecture.
Everything was immaculate, pedestrians outnumbered cars on the little laneways, and overall, it’s a fantastic, if sanitized, experience. Getting there by any other means than driving leaves a lot to be desired, though. The complex is surrounded on three sides by massive (though tastefully landscaped, I admit) parking lots. Omnitrans, the local bus operator, drops you off on the major roads outside.
My experience walking through the rest of Rancho gave me an appreciation for why its residents like Victoria Gardens so much.
I had to get west, and I basically had two choices: Foothill Drive, a massive commercial road, or the Arrow Route, with mostly warehouses on both sides. Given the heat, I chose the first. If it got too hot, I could duck into some air conditioning, and the Omnitrans bus runs along the road if I got caught in a bind.
It’s some of the most atrocious walking that I can imagine. Shade wasn’t the worst, but largely at the whim of the strip mall owner and completely random. The road was loud, cars were going fast, and the pedestrian crossings were absurdly long. I’d usually cross 6 or 8 lanes, but counted 10 sometimes. Big parking lots meant that the businesses are set back pretty far from the street, and to go inside meant fighting for my life in the parking lots. I exaggerate, though. Rancho drivers were actually very courteous at the crossings and in the lots.
I refueled at 85°C bakery, being told from a redditor it’s a great place (it was!), a Filipino bakery, and an Albertsons. I have seen so many different grocery stores it makes me think I might hold some kind of record. I also have learned to use the bathroom every single chance I get.
I had hoped to return to the Pacific Electric trail where it crosses Foothill Boulevard again, but given that the sun was right overhead and that the trail completely lacks shade, I took my chances on the city streets.
Upland, Claremont, Pomona
After seeing a marker for the Old Spanish Trail, I entered the city of Upland. It’s very easy to tell when you enter a new city, because the street signs have the city name. There’s probably a lot more to this than first appears. For one thing, American school districts, unlike in Canada, have huge differences in funding and graduation rates, and it’s by and large determined by where you live. Differences in property taxes are another, but that’s a whole other thing in California (see Proposition 13).
I walked down San Bernardino Road (hinting at the old route, maybe?) and through only the third public park I can recall since setting out. Mercifully, it had a public bathroom; sadly, there was obvious evidence of someone living in or near it.
The Upland library was the next stop. A lot of the civic buildings I’ve visited seem to date from the 1960s and 1970s, and this one definitely did. After a brief rest in the air-conditioning and grabbing some tasty tacos, I set off again, along the Arrow Highway towards Claremont.
This was the only city I’d heard of before, because it’s home to the Claremont Colleges, seven well-regarded private schools (they’d be termed universities in Canada). The city has a laid back college town feel, with a fantastically lively main street. Plenty of students and locals were walking and rolling. I got a little teary after several hours of Foothill Boulevard, wishing I could stay.
But I had my moronic distance goal, so I had to keep moving. I followed Bonita Avenue out of Claremont, seeing the pedestrians slowly fade away, and entered the city of Pomona. The bike lane was well used by recreational cyclists though, which was nice to see. This section of Bonita was very strange for me. It was a series of gated communities mixed with light industry. Atrociously bad zoning seems to be common in Socal.
La Verne, and San Dimas at last
Second last was the city of La Verne, home to a smaller university. The residential parts had a real laid back feel, with some homes that looked straight out of the movies, while the town center had a bustling street scene. Again, a place I’d have loved to stay.
The sun was setting, and it was dark by the time I reached San Dimas. The city seems to have went all in on a western kinda theme, and it may well have that kind of history. The old town center had some nice light displays but was pretty quiet otherwise after dark. There was a constant stream of 1980s pop on speakers all around, making for a really bizarre experience.
I’m pretty sure the motel front desk clerk thought I was homeless given how sweaty I was and that I didn’t have a car to register.
49km done, 45 to go.
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