Day 13-17: miles 150-179

I wrote about half of this cozy in a pizza place as it rained outside, and the other half relaxing in a Casino as it gets to 85 degrees outside. You never know what the trail will bring!

Day 13: miles 151-166.6

A bunch of us slept the night behind Paradise Valley Cafe, I set up right next to their massive propane tank haha. Gadget and I are partnering up to begin San Jacinto and do Apache Peak together, in case it's much worse than the recent comments make it sound. We got kind of a slow start but we're on the trail by 8:30. And ohhh man, no doubt at all that we're going into the San Bernardino mountain range. Immediate, grueling uphills met us. Unlike the last few days though, there were plenty of spots of shade. Very minimal water on trail though - there's a couple springs, but they're all a mile or so off trail, and wayyy downhill, so I was incentivized to carry quite a bit of water. The views were fabulous though! It was so cool to watch the snowy peaks getting closer and closer. Gadget hiked a decent bit slower than me, so I got to take plenty of pics while waiting for him. We didn't get quite as far as I hoped, but camped below the climb before Apache Peak, which we'll summit in the morning.

Also, context that I'm not sure I gave last time: Apache Peak is a fairly minimal peak in the San Bernardino mountain range, but the PCT is particularly treacherous in that area, and Trevor 'Microsoft' Laher tragically died there in 2020. Since then, there's been a lot of awareness around how bad this otherwise unknown section is. Quite a few people go into Idyllwild via Devil's Slide Trail (which I'll be doing) and get their microspikes and ice axes there. But before the trail into town, you have to go over Apache Peak and a number of sketchy sections. People who don't know they need snow gear before then can end up in some really dangerous positions. That's why I got my snow gear Paradise Valley Cafe, so I'm fully prepared for this section.

Day 14: miles 166.6-179 (plus 2.5 off-PCT)

We started out pretty early, getting up with the sunrise, but the climb up to Apache Peak took awhile, so we didn't get there until around 8:45. I elected to take the alternate route, which goes up and over the saddle of the peak, while Gadget checked out the official PCT, where the really sketchy section is. Sure enough, the saddle trail was just as easy as previous comments said - I barely had to even touch snow, let alone use my microspikes. After about 10-15 minutes of bushwhacking, I made my way down to the trail on the other side. Gadget on the other hand took more like 45 minutes to complete the true PCT route, using ice axe and microspikes. I backtracked to wait for him on the section right after the snow, and he called out "it's definitely scary!" so I feel pretty good with my decision. Gadget and I split up after that, since I was hoping to make it into Idyllwild by the late afternoon, which required a much faster pace than he could do. The section he did was supposedly the worst bit of it, and he said he felt comfortable doing the rest alone. There were also quite a few people coming in behind us, so I hoped he could hike with them if needed.

So I set off, encountering a few more sketchy areas, getting good mileage out of my microspikes, and seeing some fabulous views. The trail in this area goes past the 2013 burn area, so there's also a ton of dead and fallen trees everywhere, which made going slow. I counted around 92 blowdowns on the trail, 15 or so that required major effort to maneuver around. There was also a rock slide that looked bad but wasn't terrible so long as I didn't look down. For the sections with snow clinging to the sides of the mountain, I was very glad it was cold the night before and had all refrozen. Those bits are definitely cases where warmer weather isn't necessarily good - once the snow there starts melting, it becomes more detached from the trail and significantly less stable. Around mile 175, the trail was continuously under a couple feet of snow, with good tracks to follow. It was starting to warm up, making for slushy snow, and every 10 steps or so my foot would push through top layer and the snow would go up to my knees. It was very slow going and very wet, but the allure of a hot shower at the end of the day kept me pushing. Finally, I made it to mile 179, where the Devil's Slide Trail intersects the PCT. It's a 2.5 mile trail down to a parking lot for day hikers, and then another 2.5 down to the main road. I was really hoping there'd be someone in the parking lot to hitch a ride from, and I was in luck! About halfway down, I ran into Sherman and Kim, a couple from LA out with their dog Luna. We made some good conversation - Sherman is also a mechanical engineer, and Kim lived in Boston for eight years - and they very kindly offered me a ride into Idyllwild, which I happily accepted.

I arrived in town around 5, got an ice cream and hot choc that came wildly recommended by Sherman (it very much lived up to the hype) and found an inn to stay at. I got to take a glorious hot shower before heading into the tiny town and getting some fantastic pizza. The. I got to relax and watch the rain come down outside, before bundling up and heading back to the inn. I'm very cozy in bed writing this, and ready for a good nights sleep. I'll leave all my town chores to the morning!

Day 15: zero miles

Today was my first zero!! The town of Idyllwild is really adorable and I enjoyed getting time to explore it. I slept in until 8:30 and then checked out the campsite in town, which had a cap of 10 hikers, so I snagged a spot. I also realized that I'd left my hiking poles in the hitch I got yesterday so I had to get some new ones :(( I'm really bummed because my sister got me my poles and they were fabulous. But it's a lesson hard-learned - hopefully that'll be the last thing I leave in a hitch. After replacing them, I did various other chores - I did laundry, fixed the leak in my sleeping pad, reheated my pizza for lunch, and went grocery shopping for my resupply. Then I explored the town a bit - lots of very cute gift shops and boutiques, a tea store, a few vintage stores - one with a sign proclaiming "hidden treasures and rusted junk!" - and quite a few restaurants and food places. I also got to meet the mayor! Mayor Max is an adorable golden retriever, and he pulled up with quite the retinue and adoring fans. (Idyllwild is an unincorporated county with no official mayor, but no need to tell Mayor Max).

By the afternoon it was starting to rain pretty heavily, and I got a text from Chef that her group had rented a cabin with some extra room, so I decided to stop by and say hi. We chatted for a while in the warm, cozy cabin, and I decided to go grab my stuff, pack up my tent, and stay with them instead. We then had a wonderful potluck dinner with Chef, Lookout, Waddles, Cheers, Radio, Pitstop, and Martin. I'm very cozy on the pullout mattress right now as it lightly rains outside. I think I'll be going back out tomorrow afternoon (unless I get pulled in and stay another night). The question is if I go back to Devil's Slide, where I can off, or skip ahead to Black Mountain. I'd really like to get to San Jacinto peak, which Black Mountain would miss, but I have to skip Fuller Ridge and the alternate around that is really nasty. So we'll see - it might be influenced a bit by what the hikers around me do.

Day 16: miles 190 - 193.6 (7 miles off-PCT)

In the end, I decided to follow Chef and Cheers up Black Mountain Rd and skip 11 miles, including the San Jacinto Peak and the currently impassable Fuller Ridge. The alternate around Fuller alone would be 15+ miles, and had some sketchy private property sections apparently, so I'm okay to do that skip. The day was incredibly foggy too, so I wouldn't have been getting many views from the peak. We spent the morning finishing up chores, including shipping the ice axes back home, and then started up Black Mountain around 1. It was lots of uphill and some snowy sections, but nothing like earlier. We did about 10 miles and got to camp around 6. It was really lovely hiking with Chef and Cheers! Chef lived in Boston for a while, and Cheers is from the UK. I hope to stay with them for a bit, maybe until my next resupply in Big Bear Lake.

Day 17: miles 193.6-206

A shorter day today as we came down from the mountains - the next section is incredibly windy, so we're hoping to have one last night of reasonable sleep haha. The views down the mountain were gorgeous, with so many flowering plants! And it was incredible to look across the valley and see the San Gregorino Mountains looming ahead. We also passed mile 200 :D We got down to the valley around 3, with rapidly warming temperatures, and Chef and Cheers needed to resupply in Cabazon. We got a ride over to a general store and then to the In n Out and the casino, where we charged devices and waited out the worst of the heat before returning to the PCT. It was very strange to be around all that noise and people after two weeks on trail!

That's all for now, I'll hopefully be able to update again at Big Bear Lake!