Julian to Idyllwild

PCT Day 12

The last I posted was in Julian.  Our stop in Julian was a good decision.  Not only for the great pie, but also for the rest.  When we hit the trail the next morning we felt rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next section of heat and desert.  Out of Julian we got a hitch in a BMW.  Sweet!  It was some guy who was headed down to Mexico for a week.   He does this about once a month.  Hmm, I should have asked him what he did before he retired.  After he dropped us off at Scissors Crossing we headed up hill!  We carried 6 liters of water each to get to the next water 25 miles away.  We decided this would be better than taking a detour to get water at the 3rd gate.

At the 3rd gate we took a long break in the heat of the day.  As it turns out this was everyone else's idea too.  It was like a game of hide and seek amongst the bushes.  There were about 30 or so hikers hidden throughout the area.  There were a lot of bushes, but with the sun directly overhead it was difficult to find a shady spot.  People would come and go out of the bushes depending on when they decided was the best time for them to hike.  We put up our sunshade (see tiffany's blog for a picture) and stayed for about 4 hours.  It is nice to break in a big day.  We ended up leaving about 4:30 and headed to Barrel Springs.  We hiked 24 miles this day, and by the time we rolled into Barrel Springs it was dark.  I enjoyed the cool of hiking in the dark, but always wonder in the back of my mind what I cannot see in the dark bushes.

We got a nice sandy spot to sleep at Barrel Springs and slept in knowing that our walk out to Warner Springs was about 8 miles and we didn't want to get there before the PO opened.  The Warner Springs PO is a 1.2 mile detour.  We took the cutoff trail down which was overgrown and not too shaded.  Walking through Warner Springs is like walking through a ghost town.  The town of WS used to be made up mostly of the WS Ranch Resort which closed a couple years ago.  When we picked up our package at the PO box we were surprised by its condition.  It looked like the PO had played a game of toss the box with it; and it wasn't caught each time.  The side was split and the top was squished in.  As long as all of our food was in there, that was okay with me.  We were just going to squish it into our bags anyway.  We took our box and hiked back to the trail and to the WS community center.

At the WS community center we took our heat of the day break.  The WS community center provides food, laundry, and showers for hikers.  They also had a mini store of supplies if you needed any.  For a small donation Tiffany and I both got a burger, chips, and a soda.  I am not usually a soda drinker, but the sugary soda tasted so good!  I even went back for a second soda later on.  There were about 25 or so other hikers taking their heat of the day break at the community center as well.  It was fun to catch up with other hikers and swap stories and helpful trail tips and data.

After eating, resting, and repacking our bags with our resupply box we headed out of the community center for the second half of the day of hiking.   That night we hiked up to a spot near mile 115 on Agua Caliente creek.  Again we were lucky enough to have a sandy camping spot!

Out of mile 115 we had another 25 mile day.  It feels great to have another 25 mile day behind us, but our bodies are not yet used to this and at the end of the day we are exhausted and our feet hurt.  Again we came into camp in the dark.  Our spot was on a sandy beach, but it was a very small sandy beach.  The site was so small that instead of having our gear down the middle, we had to squish together on one side of the tent and pack our gear on the other side sloping down the bank.  The upside of our long day and poor camping spot, we set ourselves up for a trip to the Paradise Café.

The Paradise Café is a popular stop for hikers on the trail.  They have great food and a water hose for hikers to fill up their water bottles.  We hiked the 1 mile from the trail to the Café with Heavy Weight.  Heavy Weight is a hiker that is carrying a huge bag (70lbs) and only resupplying once every 15 days.  Crazy!  They have something called the Jose Burger.  One of those burgers that has beef, bacon, avocado, jalapenos, etc.  So good! We added a chocolate and coffee milk shake for desert.  The Jose Burger and the milkshake appeared to be popular with the other hikers who stopped for a lunch break.  Fat and happy we got a ride back to the trail from the owner.  Thank you Neil!

Out of the Paradise Café we hiked further than we thought we would for lack of "good" camping spots.  We were a bit tired, but in the end the camping at Live Oaks Springs was worth it.  We had a great water supply.  We camped with Gumby & Chatterbox, Operator, and Autobahn.  There were two other hikers that joined us later, but I didn't catch their names.  These other two are resupplying through hiker boxes and by foraging.  I am not sure I could do that.  Or at least not sure I could do that and keep friends.  I am happier when I am not hungry :-)  That night all hikers at Live Oak Springs got a spectacular orange moon rising.  I slept great that night.

From Live Oak Springs we climbed!  It was a hot day and I sweAtes and sweated!  While climbing was tiring the views were rewarding.  We were climbing into the mountains and walking closer to the ridgeline with great views.  During our long rest stop we talked to a couple from Palm Springs who were on a training hike.  They were getting ready to hike the El Camino (sp) trail in Spain.  It is so fun talking to all the people you run into.  Good luck to them on the trail!

As much as I have enjoyed the beauty of the desert the high altitude pine forest make me feel at home.  We had a great camp spot on a ridge top that night.  We were all by ourselves and when the sun went down we could see the city lights of Palm Springs down below.  Crazy to appear so close to a city, but feel so far away.

The next morning was a short hike out on the Devils Slide trail to the TH.  We picked up Autobahn at the stream crossing and made our way out.  We were lucky enough to get a hitch into town from a fellow San Diego hiker. 

Now we are in Idyllwild!  As much as I love the trail, a shower to wash the sticky layers of sweat and mud off feels so good.   My shirt gets so encrusted with sweat that it is stiff when it dries.  My socks have a thin layer of mud caked to the bottom from a mixture of sweat and fine silt.  Needless to say Tiffany and I decided that running all our clothes through the washing machine twice was well worth the extra $2.50.

We are staying in town for two nights so we will have a complete zero day today!  We are camping at the state park in town with a multitude of other through hikers.  Yesterday we sat around the picnic table drinking beer and swapping stories with Sasquatch, Maximus, and Stumbling Beef.  Maximus would really like to give Tiffany a trail name, but she is waiting for a story that she can tell with her name.  So for now, she is still Tiffany.  Last night the whole lot of us plus a few others gathered for pizza and more beer at a great hiker friendly pizza place that offers a 10% discount to PCT hikers.

We are both buying new shoes here in town.   The ones I started with already had quite a few miles on them, but the desert grit can really grind down the tread and it was time for a new pair.  I am hoping these will take me to Kennedy Meadows where I will have another pair waiting for me.  I have already thrown away the pants that I started hiking with.  I wanted them because they were very light cotton, but my "steel" thighs proved too tough on the fabric.  I was able to duct tape one hole, but after the second and third I figured there was no point.  So I will be hiking in shorts until I pick up my new pants in Big Bear (thanks Mom & Dad for sending those!).

In general I am really enjoying the simplicity of life on the trail.  Everyone is so nice and there are a lot of very generous people willing to help out the hiker community.  Someone asked me if I was craving anything or missing anything.  Not really.  What I want most when I get into town is a shower and a super cold chocolate milk. 

Hopefully in the next stop I will be able to download pictures from my camera.  I only have a few from my phone that I can upload to the blog, but I have ton on my camera that I will hopefully be able to share soon.

We hit the trail again tomorrow morning.  Until next time Happy Trails!

Trail Statistics
Mile: 180
Days: 12
Candy Bars: 6
Bags of Chips: 3
Jars of Peanut Butter: 1 (Shared)
Showers: 3 (2with soap)
Shoes: 2