Days 13 - 16
April 23 - 26, 2021
Miles 151.8 - 179.4
I woke up early and enjoyed a slow morning with a hot oatmeal breakfast. I spent some time in the restroom, reveling in the hot water. It was only the start of the third day of my period, but it seemed like it was already over. I have heard that both not consuming enough food and intense exercise can impact the menstrual cycle. So I am pretty sure that this is a normal thing to happen, but I am unaware of any possible long term effects. Anybody else know? I hope that there aren't any, because not having a period while on trail seems like the best way to deal with a period on trail.
I took my tent down, packed everything up, and walked the mile back along the road to the trail. It was a beautiful day with a light breeze to ease the warm temperature. I had a nice view of the San Jacinto mountains almost the entire day. It’s so cool to be hiking in the mountains in the desert. I hiked through a burn zone from the 2013 Mountain Fire. The vegetation is slowly coming back, but the burned and broken trees are still very evident. I saw a lot of Western Bluebirds flying around the area.
I hiked alone all day, hardly seeing anyone. And I camped alone, too. Mango and Slice are about a mile back. It seemed crazy to me that day 13 was the first time I camped by myself. The PCT certainly had gained in popularity over the past 2 decades. Plus, the southern sections were going to be the most heavily trafficked for Northbounders as there was still a bottleneck effect due to everyone starting at the Southern Terminus, and people hadn't dropped off trail yet. Still though. Seeing this many people as often as I had wasn't quite what I imagined when I told people I was going to hike 2,600 miles in the mountains for 4-5 months.
"Doc" and "Tenderfoot," two members of our trail family (commonly called a "tramily"), went into Idyllwild from Paradise Valley Café today. Doc was headed home and done with the trail. Her knee had become too painful and she may have needed surgery on it. I was so sad to see her leave. She had such a bright personality and made everyone laugh. I hoped that she would be alright and get the care that she needed. Tenderfoot was seeing her off and then would be back on trail. I hoped that she would be able to catch up to us.
I hiked 14.8 miles and gained about 2,000ft in elevation. It felt tough. I hiked slowly, wanting to give myself the time to gain the elevation. But going slower meant more time on my feet. I didn't really take any proper breaks today. I only stopped walking for photos and water breaks. I should prioritize actually getting off my feet at some point throughout each day. Taking my shoes off and putting my feet up seem to really help keep me from getting too sore.
I woke up the next morning with everything covered in fine dirt. It had been really windy all night and it blew the dust into my tent and all over my gear. Excellent. On top of that, I was tormented by 2 False Wind Scorpions. These are the creepiest things I have ever seen, and I even spent a month in Australia. They're about an inch long and look like a cross between a cricket and a scorpion, with 8 legs, a large abdomen, and large pincers. They kept trying to crawl under my tent and then started to crawl on the outside walls of my tent. Every time I tried to flick them or shake them away they just kept coming back. While they have no venom and are technically harmless, they do have a strong bite that can hurt. But more than that, they are just so creepy looking and I felt like they wanted to get me with how persistent they were! I finally got the courage to dart out of my tent. I shook it out real well, making sure I wasn't carrying any hitchhikers. If you think I was being silly and dramatic, yes you are correct, but also look up a picture of these things and tell me just an image of them doesn't make you squirm.
I had a much better day today. It was still challenging with a steep start to the morning. But I took a break at Apache Spring to get water from the source that was about a half mile off trail, and to wait for Mango and Slice to catch up. We talked with a couple other hikers. There was "Fizz" who we had met briefly back at the 3rd gate water cache. He earned his trail name by eating Nuun electrolyte tablets directly, instead of dissolving them in water and drinking them per the printed directions. The "fizz" part comes from these electrolyte tablets having a bubbly, carbonated effect in the stomach. It was cool to see him again as he was another strong, fast hiker I didn't think I'd run into again. We also met our first Southbounder. She had done much of the trail last year, but had to get off before she could finish. She was out here finishing up the last leg of trail for herself.
It was really beautiful today. There were so many wonderful views of the peaks and ridges. Fizz and I passed by Apache Peak. A sign marked where Microsoft fell last year. It was so sobering and humbling to be right where this awful tragedy occurred just a year ago. It was a much different trail now than he had experienced. By now, just about all of the snow had melted and it was a clear trail along the mountainside. It felt very safe. Fizz went on ahead and Mango and Slice rejoined me.
There was a rock slide we had to pass. Over the winter, a large boulder had fallen directly across the trail. It was too steep above and below the trail to go around it, so the only way to pass it was to go over it. Someone had tied a rope around it so you could use it as a handhold if necessary. I didn't think it was hard to get over the rock, but I did feel like I had to do it quickly so I wouldn't have time to get scared.
After the rock crossing, we encountered a ton of downed trees across the trail. I really enjoyed this section a lot. I heard other hikers complain about having to clamber over the fallen logs as it messed with their pace and they couldn't hike as fast. But I enjoyed it immensely. It was nice to do some other movement than just walking. Plus some of the trees were so large that it was a mini puzzle to figure out the best way to get across it. I had a lot of fun with this new challenge.
Our original plan was to camp a couple miles away from the side trail that we would take down to the town of Idyllwild tomorrow with another Nero. But as we were hiking, we thought to ourselves "Why wait?" We had plenty of daylight left, we could get to town with plenty of time to spare. So we pushed on ahead, navigating the occasional snow field. As we gained elevation in the mountains, we found more winter snow that still hadn't melted off yet.
Mango was struggling a little as she slipped and postholed in the snow a couple times. I could tell she was eager to get out of the higher elevations and back down low where we didn't have to contend with the snow. We pushed on and took the 2.5mile Devil Slide Trail at Saddle Junction down to Humber Park. There was a large parking lot filled with cars who would begin leaving as the day came to an end. We waited only about 15 minutes before a couple who were headed out after a day of rock climbing kindly offered to take us into town.
It was a bit of a squeeze with the 3 of us and our packs among their climbing gear, but they were so patient and generously made room for us. They took us into Idyllwild and dropped us off in the center of the small town. Our first objective was food. We quickly found a restaurant and ate ourselves silly. As a vegetarian, I was thrilled to see a beyond meat burger on their menu.
After we were sated, we could focus our attention on finding lodging for the evening. Unfortunately, the campground in town was full. We searched for and called the local motels, but they were all full. Finally, we were able to procure a room at the Bluebird Cottage. The three of us began walking the mile towards the motel, but were very quickly offered a ride by someone headed down that way.
The Bluebird Cottage was very cute and I wa so happy we stayed here. All of the rooms are named after birds. We are staying in the "Chickadee" room. My favorite thing about this room is its wonderful setup. It looks like a standard hotel room with a queen bed in the center against the wall facing a tv, and an attached bathroom. But it also had this extra nook that had a second bed directly facing the other. It felt a little creepy and like the ultimate 3rd wheel setup. I thought it was very amusing. We took turns taking a shower and washing all of the built up grime off our legs while we watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
After hiking for two weeks, we took our first real break. We had originally planned on a Nero followed by a "Zero day" - a zero day is where you don't hike at all, 0 miles for the day. But since we got in the night before, we had 2 full zero days ahead of us. I was so excited to rest and explore, and honestly to eat, in another small trail town.
We woke up and had a wonderfully slow and lazy morning. After checking out of our delightful Chickadee room, we walked back into town to get breakfast at the Red Kettle. Everything was so delicious. I drank 3 mugs of hot chocolate. Then we started doing our town chores. We went to the gear store and Slice, "Mocs," and I bought a zlite sleeping pad to cut and split among us for lightweight sit pads. We went to the grocery store and bought our food resupply. Then we checked into the Idyllwild Inn and settled in a bit. This inn was made up of separate little cabins so we had a really nice little space to ourselves. I took out all of my gear to shake it out and wipe it down, trying to clean it as best as I could. Then I left it spread out on the porch to let everything air out.
We got dinner from the pizza place across the street. It was a great time hanging out with each other and chatting with other hikers as they came and went. The restaurant had an awesome 90s/2000s playlist on and we sang along together. Back at the inn, we lounged and watched tv. We made it through the end of Mary Poppins and the first half of Shrek before everyone tapped out and went to bed. I was loving Idyllwild so much. It was such a cute little mountain town and even though they don't have a Mom's Pie shop, I wa falling in love with this place.
The rest and ease continued during our second zero. It felt so good to sleep in late and on a real mattress. We had some fruit and donettes for breakfast. Then some of us went back to Red Kettle for second breakfast. I originally wanted something small and light. But instead, ate a full plate of eggs, vegetarian patties, potatoes, and a biscuit. And another hot chocolate. It was so delicious.
After breakfast, we went over to the other hikers' cabin for one of the biggest highlights of this entire trip so far: meeting Mayor Max. The town of Idyllwild was an unincorporated community and while I didn't exactly know what this meant, my understanding was that they could do whatever they feel like doing. So they made a dog their mayor. His name is Max and he was a very good boy. Meeting Mayor Max was hands down my most positive interaction with any politician. He is a golden retriever and he has deputy mayors to assist him with his demanding mayoral duties. He was all dressed up in his hat and tie. What a treat it was to meet this excellent boy.
I ran some more errands. It was raining in town, which meant that it was snowing back up on the trail in the higher elevation. I went back to the gear shop and bought some pants for the colder weather I am sure I will have to face tomorrow. It sure was nice being warm and dry in town. The timing of our town visit was perfect in avoiding the poor weather.
For dinner for our last night in Idyllwild, we had a big family style meal. We cooked a big pasta with sauce, made a big green salad, and steamed some broccoli. Everything tasted so good and it was so much fun to share food with all of the friends I had made on trail so far. We cleaned up and then headed back over to our neighbor's cabin for dessert: s'mores! No one lasted very long though, we were all so tired and wanted to get to bed early to be well rested tomorrow! It was such a fun day and I had such a great time with everyone.
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