Day 11 – Sunday, June 4

PCT mile 180.8 campsite to PCT mile 204.8
Day Total: 24.0 Miles

We woke up cold at 9,000 feet, so we packed up quickly and got moving to get warm.

The hiking this morning was beautiful, through big trees and along a ridge with view of the mountains all around. It was so pleasant that Stephen and I talked about how hard it will be to return to the heat of the desert. Today made me even more excited to get to the Sierras farther north. 

We hiked along Fuller Ridge, down the shoulder of San Jacinto Mountain. Along the ridge, there were several streams, a beautiful small waterfall where we filled our bottles, and even a couple small patches of snow! 


After 10 miles along the ridge, we spent the heat of the day in the shade under some big trees, napping and reading. Once it started to cool again, we began the long descent back to the desert floor.

Haymaker, a hiker we had dinner with in Idyllwild, told us this is the longest descent on the whole trail, dropping almost 8,000 feet over 20 miles.

We hiked about 14 miles of that downhill after our siesta, into the dark, including passing the 200-mile mark.