The Adventures of...: Days 9-10

Day 9, approximately 19+ miles, endpoint PCT mile n/a (off trail—left at PCT mile 162)

Today was our reroute day. Many people were skipping this section entirely, which is a shame, as the scenery was amazing. We left our campsite and climbed up to 7,000 feet, an upward gain of 2,000 feet. We didn’t see anyone else on this last section (11ish miles) of the PCT before the closure point. Most people hitched in directly to Idyllwild from mile 152, which means they lost at least 10 miles of the PCT that was hikeable. In addition, these folks can’t say they walked all the way from Mexico to Canada, something that is important to both Josh and me. At any rate, the 11 PCT miles people are missing were amazing.

We entered the San Jacinto mountain range and had views along ridge lines to the east and the west. When we hit the closure point, we took a side trail down off the mountain; from there, Josh guided us along an interesting path he had learned about from various sources. Once we left the side trail, we walked a paved, rural road (the few cars we did see probably thought we looked pretty strange out in the middle of nowhere with our backpacks and umbrellas), then down a seemingly never-ending dirt forest road, then a power line trail, and finally a few miles along Highway 74. The highway led to a store next to Lake Hemet, where we loaded up on beer, soda, sandwiches, chips, and ice-cream bars. Today was a real struggle for me, as my feet and legs felt exhausted from the beginning.

At the store we met Salt and Pepper, a recently retired French Canadian with a strong accent and a friendly demeanor who was also thru-hiking the PCT. We decided to spend the night at a campground across the road a bit from the store, and split the site with Salt and Pepper. Over beers at the picnic table, he told us stories about his hike of the Appalachian Trail 8 years prior, his cycle across Canada, and the five week trip he took with his girlfriend cycling out of Portland, to Lincoln City, and then down the Oregon and California coasts.

Tomorrow we will make it into Idyllwild, a promised land of hotels, restaurants, laundry, a movie theater, and our bounce bucket. We have a reservation already at the Idyllwild Inn, which Josh made two days ago while standing on a windy cliffside. Getting there, however, will be tricky, as we finish up the detour route. We don’t know for sure what the best route is. The highway is not ideal for road walking due to its tight corners and high car speeds, so we are going by some vague instructions and a few maps to hopefully pick up a trail and the remaining 8ish miles into town. Should be interesting.

Cool high desert vegetation.

Up to about 7,000 feet. Our highest point on the trail so far... but we will be going much higher very soon. Carla with her umbrella on the right.

To the east the desert does not look inviting.

Hi lizard!

Nice to get a warning like this after you leave the area.

The PCT follows that ridge up top. We had to come down about 2200 feet down a side trail, some pavement, and then some old dirt roads as part of our detour.

Road walking sucks.

Day 10, approx 8 miles (?), endpoint PCT mile n/a, Idyllwild

I woke up with much anticipation about getting to Idyllwild. This would be our first big town stop, and the thought of a hotel room was giving me some serious motivation. I had heard a lot of good things about the town from other hikers, and was excited to get there and see it myself.

Once again, Josh navigated us through an unidentified course as we completed the detour off the PCT. From the campground we took a trail that paralleled the highway. This gave way to some unavoidable road walking on the highway, which wasn't very fun. We then took another road, another sidetrail, and the highway once again to make it into town. Idyllwild is a small mountain town filled with pine trees and views of the San Jacinto mountains, which tower directly over it. There are only a few main streets that make up its core. We headed to the post office first, where our bounce bucket was waiting for us. We were also able to check in early to our glorious hotel room. The town was filled with hikers everywhere you looked. If the locals were annoyed by the influx of ragged-looking nomads, they didn't show it. Eveyone was friendly, asked lots of questions about the trail, and seemed genuinely interested in our travels. We spent our time in Idyllwild eating pizza, grocery shopping, and resting our feet and legs. Tomorrow it will be back to the mountains, with a steep climb to 8,000 feet.