Day Eleven

Today's miles: 14
Total miles: 151

I was sore waking up, but otherwise felt much better. Something magical happened to the weather today: it was overcast! There were rumors of rain tomorrow, but in the meantime the temperatures were cool, the sky was gray, and the sun was hiding. I never thought I would be so happy for such poor conditions. But though I have spent my whole life in hot, Southern conditions, I do much better in cold weather. Heat drains me, exhausts me. Cold weather is revitalizing and therapeutic, and wonderful to hike in.

Since we had no need to beat the sun, we slept in until 6 and we were on the trail at 7. I was in good spirits, enjoying the cool breeze and feeling stronger than I have in a while. We all had a goal today: cover 15 miles to make it to the Paradise Cafe, a diner one mile off the trail and near the town of Idyllwild. The call of real food was strong, and we were feeling strong.

There was a water cache at the ten mile mark, so we stopped to sign the register, fill up and take a break with Lunchbox, Cookie Monster, Rub-a-Dub, Jesse, Tumbleweed, Sneaks, Coincidence, and Hitch. Lunchbox kept singing, "I've got.... two liters to Paradise! Won't you pack your bags, we'll leave tonight!"

Lunchbox enjoying the water cache

When we got to mile 15, two trail angels named Tarzan and One Pint had set up a tent with margaritas, fruit and vegetable platters. Heaven! The wind had picked up and the temperature dropped, but though everyone else had a coat on, I was loving it.

The storms coming through tomorrow sounded nasty, so while we grabbed big burgers at Paradise Cafe, we debated staying in Idyllwild for the night. The boys decided they wanted to slack pack 30 miles tomorrow (ie, leave their packs in a hotel room and hike without them) since there are two entries to Idyllwild, 30 mile apart on the PCT. The rest of us just wanted to hike out tomorrow, but either way, we needed a room.

An hour later nine of us were the proud renters of a large cabin at the Idyllwild Inn: Katie, me, Wocka Wocka, Giddyup, Sneaks, Coincidence, Lunchbox, Hitch, and Bob. It was a great place and we were ecstatic to have showers, laundry and a place to call our own.

Lunchbox, Sneaks and Coincidence (who we like to call the Three Amigos) plotted out their slack pack tomorrow with Cookie Monster and his crew while the rest of us watched bad TV and passed around a pint of ice cream. The Idyllwild Inn was filling up with hikers, so everywhere we looked we saw people wandering around in the typical thru-hiker town outfit: shorts over long underwear, a puffy down jacket and Crocs. It seemed like everyone's plan was to stay in Idyllwild for the night.

We split into rooms and fell asleep at 9:30 - late for us - and dreamed of rain.

Day Ten

Today's miles: 22
Total miles: 137

After a run of good days where I thought I was finally getting my hiker legs under me, today was a rough setback.

The morning started out very chilly. After so many hot nights, a cold one was a nice change, but it also made it difficult to wake up. I set the alarm for 4 but hit snooze until 5.

The early hours of our hike out of the canyon were cool, which was pleasant considering we were slowly gaining elevation. We hopped around on the trail with Rotisserie, TwoBadDogs, and Hitch throughout the morning.

Four hours in my energy levels were starting to flag. The heat was rising and I've noticed that my feet get sore and tired in trail runners after about 10 miles. The muscles in my feet felt every bump and rock on the trail. But I knew we still had three miles to go to our afternoon siesta spot, so I pushed on. But it was a mental game, making myself go farther when I wanted to stop.

By 11:30 we had covered the 13 miles from camp, and came upon the next water source: a water tank next to a trail angel's house. And lo and behold, the trail angel Mike had a nice setup in his backyard where we could sit, eat, and relax in the shade. Tired as I was, it was just what I needed.

Left to Right: Lunchbox, Sneaks, Coincidence, Papa Bear, Tumbleweed, Focus

We hung out with our hiker friends until 3 and then moved on. My feet, after a good rest, weren't feeling as poor, so we aimed to do another 10 miles, since that was the next water source.

It took us another 4 hours to walk the remaining 10 miles, and by then the sun was setting and my feet were so sore that I was hobbling through the final few miles. I was hungry and cranky and having one of those days where I wonder why I'm out here. But an evening spent with hiker friends telling jokes makes it all worth it, even a 23 mile day that leaves my poor feet battered and weary.

Day Nine

Today's miles: 5
Total miles: 115

Since we camped so close to Warner Springs, we didn't need to get up early to hike. This was fortuitous, since I was sleeping so hard that I slept through all my alarms, anyway. We woke up to Papa Bear leaving camp and joking to us, "Canada won't come to you, ladies!"

We had a lazy breakfast in camp and walked into Warner Springs at 8am. Though the town is small, there is a community center where locals set up a hiker stop and take donations for the FFA. We stopped for laundry, showers, and to pick up our first mail drop of food. (Although we've been eating less than expected, so now we have too much). Plus, the ladies running the resource center made us breakfast and had a little resupply shop open to buy goodies.

Happy Hour enjoying a foot soak

We spent time with old and new hiker friends: Papa Bear, Jesse, Tumbleweed, Games, Nate, Wocka, Giddyup, Pickles, Irish, Andrew, Hitch, Happy Hour, and Tony. We spent so much time teasing Tony about his Canadian accent that we came up with a trail name for him: Oot and Aboot. Katie and I should go into business giving trail names! We don't have any ourselves yet, though I told Katie we need to name her something about her feet. She's the only one we've met so far who doesn't have any blisters or foot problems. Name suggestions included: Hermes, Superfeet, or Happy Feet. We'll see what happens.

At 4:30 we hiked on, but only made it five miles before stopping for the night. We camped with Oot and Aboot near a low running stream and had a dinner buffet sharing all the new food we had just gotten.

Day Eight

Today's miles: 23
Total miles: 109

We were up before the sun this morning, having slept pleasantly under the stars last night. Cowboy camping means less to pack up in the morning, so we were on the trail by 5am. The first hour tends to be difficult for me: my legs and feet are still waking up, and my joints are stiff and awkward. But once I get into my groove, the miles move by much faster.

Today the weather was a little more temperate. It didn't get unbearably hot until closer to 10am, and by then we had already covered 10 miles. We are starting to love early morning and late night hiking most of all.

The San Felipe hills by daylight were quite beautiful, and very stark. They had recently been burned by wildfire, so the blackened cacti and shrubs were a sight to see. Soft sand and charcoal covered the ground, and soon our legs. 

This was a long waterless stretch for hikers, but since we had filled up 5 liters each in Julian, we were doing fine. The next water cache was at 91 miles, and we stopped to find over 300 gallons of water left for hikers by dedicated trail angels. We stopped in the morning shade to talk to Nate and Games, and kept walking with them for a while.

Today the heat wasn't as brutal, but after 10 miles my feet were in poor shape. Last night's quick pace gave me a new blister, and I was soon hobbling carefully along, using my poles more as crutches than trekking poles. We traversed from mountain to mountain, and the sight of the trail meandering into oblivion in front of us was a little daunting. 

We hit a significant mile marker today: 100 miles! A very exciting milestone in a very long journey.

We pushed on, wanting to get to Barrel  Springs, at 102 miles, for our afternoon siesta. We had hiked 15 miles by noon when I started seeing signs posted on trees:
"PCT hikers! Feet hurt? Dirt in your eye?"
"Yes!" I cried.
The next said, "want a free chili dog?"
"Yes!!" I said.
"And a cold beverage?"
"Yes! Yes!"
"God, I hope this isn't a joke," Katie said.

We reached Barrel Springs at the same time we discovered the trail magic; a huge RV camp with four trail angels who set up a hiker haven, complete with washing station, first aid station, chairs, shade, fruit, cold drinks, and homemade chili. I wanted to cry. It was glorious. And even better? We caught up with Papa Bear, Tony, Jesse and Tumbleweed!

Our new friends were there, too: Games, Nate, Hitch, Happy Hour, TJ, Andrew, Giddyup, and Julia. Katie and I gave Julia a trail name as we sat and talked with her: Wocka Wocka, due to her Fozzie Bear pin and love of the Muppets.

Trail Angels in chairs. Hikers, back row: Nate, Hitch, Games, TJ
Hikers, front row: Giddyup, Happy Hour

We stayed in the shade socializing for four hours, and then decided to get as close to Warner Springs as possible so we could pick up our mail drops tomorrow. We ended up hiking another eight miles after 5pm. This stretch of trail was uniquely different - it was the first time we were walking such flat terrain, with expansive views over lush cow pastures and wide-open fields. Sunset was upon us, and Katie and I decided the dusk was our absolute favorite time to hike. Nicer weather, pretty views, and the calm of the desert before nightfall.

We were hiking with Nate, Games and Happy Hour when we came upon Eagle Rock, a formation of rocks that looks just like the bird. With the beauty of sunset upon us, we couldn't help but stop and take photos in the fading daylight. Nate, Games and Happy Hour decided to camp for the night, but Katie and I pushed on. We walked with Andrew until we got to a beachy campsite right next to Warner Springs. Papa Bear was camping there, too, which solidified our decision to stay.

Both Katie and I were still full from our chili trail magic, so we split a dinner and celebrated a 23 mile hiking day and the 100 mile mark before turning in for bed.