Which Way Is North?

PCT mile 219.5 to PCT mile 239.9 Day Total: 20.4 miles One mile into our hike this morning we saw something wonderful that we hadn't seen on the trail yet – a river! The trail crosses the Whitewater River, which was flowing with plentiful, cold, crisp water. We loaded up our bottles and enjoyed hiking for a few hours in a canyon that hadn't yet been lit up by the sun.  At the first crossing of Mission Creek, we soaked our feet, ate a snack and I think Stephen even fell asleep for a little bit. The trail followed the creek for another eight miles or so, allowing us to carry far less water than we often do in the desert. But by 10:30 a.m. it was excruciatingly hot, so we found a shady area along the creek to rest.  We napped, read, and ate a big meal of chicken flavored rice before packing up to start hiking again about 5 p.m. It was still hot, but the sun was low enough behind the canyon rim that we were not in direct sunlight. We climbed all ev...

Homemade frosted banana-walnut cake PCT mile 204.8 to PCT Mile 219.5 Day Total: 14.7 Miles It was already hot when we got up at 6 this morning. There was no shade. My legs were sore and tired after the long descent yesterday and we began the day with more downhill. We arrived at the promised water faucet at 7 a.m. where we "camel-ed up" by drinking two liters each, and then filled up four more liters to carry with us. (We get info about water sources from the daily PDF water reports with info supplied by other hikers published on  pctwater.com ). From there, we walked along a road through a small, desert-floor neighborhood for a mile-long stretch and saw only two cars. The guy in the second car rolled down his window as he pulled up next to us and asked if we were hungry. Yes. The answer is always yes. And then, hilariously, this guy handed me a humongous piece of homemade frosted banana-walnut cake on a paper plate. Thank you, we said, and he drov...

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...

The Idyllwild Pizza Company PCT Hall of Fame IDYLLWILD to PCT MILE 180.8 VIA the TAHQUITA PEAK TRAIL (6 miles to PCT, 2.8 on the PCT) It was really nice to sleep in a bed. I woke up earlier than I wanted to, but I guess my body has gotten used to waking up early, a necessary evil to beat the heat in Southern California.  We had a very nice visit from my dad's friend Gordon this morning. He lives in Palm Desert, the other side of the mountain from Idyllwild. It was such a treat to meet him and enjoy the cookies and bananas he brought. Thanks Gordon! After checking out of the cabin, we spent some time in a coffee shop, using their wifi and outlets to plan the next little section of our hike. We resupplied at the local grocery store, leaving with enough Snickers, tuna packets, rice sides and the like to make it to the town of Big Bear Lake, some 80 miles up the trail. Our last order of business before leaving town was to eat a large pizza at the Idyllwi...

IDYLLWILD, CALIF. PCT Mile 178.0 Zero Day After staying on the patio of the Paradise Valley Cafe, we hitched into Idyllwild. The Mountain Fire of 2013 shut down a section of the PCT that remains closed, so the hitch into Idyllwild was the easiest way around the closure. Initially, we planned to hike into town but the traffic along Route 74 would have made the nine-mile road walk dangerous. We almost resorted to ordering an Uber to get us to town until a Hummer slammed on it's brakes for us to jump in. As an owner of a Subaru Outback, I'm a little upset with the Subie community that a number of Foresters, Outbacks, and Legacy's passed us by (Kelly feels that had a Baja come across us it would have stopped). The couple in the Hummer were very nice, despite the husband saying the only way he'd hike the PCT is with an AR-15. When we got to town they drove us around and pointed out everything we needed to know. They dropped us off at the Red Kettle for breakfast a l...

CAMPSITE AT PCT 129.2 TO PARADISE VALLEY CAFE PCT MILE 151.9 22.6 Miles We had one goal today – to make it to the legendary Paradise Valley Cafe in time to get food before they closed at 8 p.m. It was 22.6 miles on the PCT and one more mile on the road from where we camped high on the ridge below Combs Peak. It was an awesome campsite, and a beautiful sunrise as we packed up this morning. The first few miles were cool and downhill and meandering. We took a break a little before 10 a.m. and then we climbed and climbed and climbed. This section reminded me of hiking out of the Grand Canyon with my family years ago. Red rock, little shade, lots of lizards. Stephen and I saw our first (and fingers crossed only) rattlesnake this morning. We didn't stick around long enough to take a photo. We reached a water cache at mile 145 that was unlike any other. A trail angel named Mary, who we didn't get to meet, not only had water and picnic tables, but also a free little library l...

WARNER SPRINGS 109.5 TO CAMPSITE HIGH AT COMB'S PEAK PCT MILE 129.2 19.7 Miles We started hiking at 6:30 this morning and the first few miles followed a beautiful, shaded creek. It was such a treat after the hot, open meadows yesterday afternoon. We passed through an area that looked like an abandoned hunting camp and after some fast, flat miles we climbed all morning to Lost Valley Spring. By this point, it was 11 a.m. and we set up the tent in the shade to wait out the heat of the day. Thank goodness for the tent –  the flies were unbelievable! (Stephen now writing) They buzzed around our tent like we were an aquarium exhibit; instead of water there was a cloud of stench. Tent time was a treat. I read a few chapters of my David Sedaris book and napped, Kelly mostly napped. We thought the flies might die down over the four hours we were there. They did not. I scrambled out of the tent and threw my rain pants on and passed Kelly hers for bug defense and proceeded to p...