Day 13-14 (april 19-20), mile 151.8-161.9

 














Day 13 was a zero day, meaning I hiked zero miles. I left the Idyllwild bunkhouse after a great and relaxing stay, and met up for breakfast with the group in order to discuss our plan. Ryan, Angel, Ian, Alashua and I all plan to go through the San Jacintos together, and we are all around the same page with comfort level. Since none of us have extensive mountaineering experience in spring melt conditions, we will take an alternate trail around the most treacherous sections. 


The rest of the day was spent relaxing and using the free wifi at the library, as well as doing various chores around town such as laundry and resupply. The second night of my zero I camped at the $5 hiker/biker site at the Idyllwild campground. 



On day 14, after 48 hours of staying in Idyllwild, it was finally time to get back on trail. I ate breakfast at the Red Kettle restaurant, went to the library one more time to charge my electronics, and met up with Ryan and Alashua. We also saw Chris for the first time in several days, as he had pushed through to spitler crossing instead of zeroing in Idyllwild. The night before we were able to arrange a ride back to the trail with a trail angel named Grumpy. He is an interesting character that embodies his moniker in a playful kind of way. 


It felt really good to get back on trail. I think we were all itching to get back out yesterday, but it was good that we got some rest. 


Only a mile or two in, we saw the first rattlesnake of the trail! A man going southbound had warned us of the snake a few minutes earlier, and sure enough, we turned around a bend and heard the rattling coming from a bush. It laid about 4 feet off the trail, all coiled up. We walked past on the opposite side of the trail and it didn’t move at all. 


It was a decent climb out of hwy 74, but nothing too difficult. There were incredible views all day as we got into some high elevation. Water was hard to access from the trail after about 3 miles, so we then each carried 4 liters to get us through the night. We set up camp at mile 161.9, where there were the most incredible campsite views of the trail so far looking out over Palm Springs/ Cochella Valley. Ian and Angel caught up with us there. The next day we plan to get up super early in order to have good snow conditions.


Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 21, 2023 at 7:56 AM

    Beautiful views. We love going on the trail with you. Thx

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 22, 2023 at 9:45 PM

    Thanks for keeping us on the virtual journey with you! (Except the part about the snake; I would have been just fine not knowing about the snake.) ~~ Pr. Tim

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 23, 2023 at 5:10 PM

    Today's Gospel was from Luke 24 "The Road to Emmaus"! I was thinking about your experiences
    with the hiking buddies you have met and hiked with! You probably have had some interesting
    conversations about a wide range of topics! I don't think I would hike the PCT alone. Companions would be OK! Have a great week! The weather folks have said we may have 70 degrees at the end of the week! Yahoo! GLK

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousApril 23, 2023 at 8:17 PM

    We are happy that you are having such a good time and are meeting so many different people. Thanks for keeping us informed on where you are, especially including so many pictures. We're sure the views are even more beautiful in person! ~~ The Feiertags

    ReplyDelete

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