Idyllwild to Mission Creek – The Hike

Day 15 – Mile 151.8 Idyllwild

Opening the motel door at 7:30 am, I saw Grizzly Gramps and Nevada in the parking lot of The Bunk House. With a flat hitch on his SUV, he could transport the five of us to the trailhead in comfort. Eagle, Crinkle, Emu, Salsa and I are packed and ready to go.

The San Jacinto Desert had few water sources with long, steep side trails for searching for water, so I was happy to leave later in the afternoon. Returning to the Paradise Valley Cafe, I walked around the back where there was a large tree and shade. I spent the afternoon hydrating and writing.

At 2:30, Grizzly Gramp and Nevada arrived to take me and a few other hikers to the trailhead. My night walk was uphill. After a few hours I could see small cars on the road shining in the sun. Walking between large granite boulders, the terrain was different from that afternoon. With flashlight on, I hiked through the mountains until 8 pm, 10 miles from Trailhead and 7 miles to the Apache Spring junction. Using my phone, I located a campsite. Hidden under some trees behind the flat campsite was another spot. Ducking under the branches, I climbed down to the least windy spot under the trees.

Freebird, a hiking blogger I had met earlier that night, approached while I was setting up my tent and asked if I would mind if he camped at the other spot. Not caring, he threw his blanket into the cowboy camp.

Day 16 – Mile 161.9

4:40 am I woke up tired and dehydrated, I hadn’t eaten enough yesterday. After spending days with my new friends, I was now alone. Frustrated with myself because when I first met this group, I knew they walked faster than me. I also felt frustrated because I cared so much about keeping up.

Idyllwild was the first time I had a big trail family or as we call it, a tram. It felt good to be part of a tribe. Not only were you spending days in the city and meals with your friends, but it was beneficial to split the cost of hotel rooms and other things that might have been out of the budget. I had a great time in the city and now I was frustrated because I couldn’t keep up. I knew it when I first met them at Barrel Springs.

Do your own hike, I told myself. You could handle yourself in the desert. If I pushed too hard, I could hurt myself again and possibly have to go off the road.

Passing through a deep, shady ravine on the mountainside, I saw snow for the first time on the trail. Stopping to throw a snowball at each of The Break Blazers behind me.

Walking through the bushes of hell. My new term for road-grown bushes; sometimes they had thorns, sometimes the leaves were sharp, I was starting to get angry.

Out of water and dehydrated, I left my backpack at the shadeless junction to Apache Spring. It was 12:30. With nowhere to rest, I filtered some water and started walking. As the afternoon progressed, I continued walking uphill. Around 4:30, I came to a bend with a nice view. Making a stop to rest, I decided to have an early dinner, since I already had the water I planned to use. What a great place to dine.

As we reached the top of the ridge, the sunlight was disappearing. I came to a small stream with cold air. I put on a few more layers and collected and filtered some water, tired and with cold hands. I put on my gloves and kept walking. Find a comfortable place to camp, without wind and away from freezing water.
Something about being alone in the mountains might be a little creepy.

Day 17 – Mile 177.6

The quiet night was something I needed. I tried to use my backpack as a pillow and it hurt my neck. I wasn’t sure if I would do that again.

Still sad from missing my new friends, I stopped for breakfast at the junction of the San Jacinto Trail and the PCT. Seeing a hiker approaching, I was excited to see Emu and felt a little silly for being sad. Pulling out his backpacking chair to hang out and chat. Genghis, a LASH (long section hike) hiker I met the other day at PVC, asked Emu and me for a photo before Genghis left. It made me happy to see people taking pictures of people they knew. A few minutes later, Marble came up.

Stopping at the cabin before San Jacinto, I ran into an old acquaintance with a new trail name. Hotdog, who had already reached the top. Closer to the summit, I suggested we leave our backpacks behind to make the rocky climb easier. As soon as we reached the top, it started snowing. What a perfect summit.

Back to our backpacks, we met a new friend, Platypus, a hiker from California. They told us about the White Bark Pine (5 needles) and how they were almost extinct.
Walking back along the summit, we found The Break Blazers taking a break at a trail junction. After saying goodbye to Marble and The Brake Blazers, Emu and I headed down the path towards the tram.

Arriving at the tram, we felt dirty and out of place with all the hikers and tram passengers around. A dad stopped by to talk to us about backpacking. Her teenage daughter was interested but nervous about backpacking. Living in Los Angeles, I suggested they try an overnight backpacking trip at Chantry Flats, where I did some of my first solo backpacking.

The tram was a fun experience. With a climb of about 6000 feet in just 2.5 miles. Every time it passed over a pillar, the tram felt like it was in free fall. When we got to the bottom we tried to hitchhike. With no luck, we ordered a rideshare to Denny’s before retiring to a motel for the night.

Day 18 – Mile 209.5 Palm Springs

I just couldn’t forget the beauty of Palm Springs in the golden morning light. Mountains towered over the city. Emu walked to Jack in the Box for breakfast and brought me a breakfast burrito and coffee.

Walking to a grocery store, we bought enough food to get us to Big Bear, including an almost ripe avocado.

Taking an Uber to the junction of I10 and the PCT, we headed under the shady bridge to while away the time in the hot desert afternoon. Chris, a local trail angel, is handing out refreshments. I watched friends as they walked in and out of the bridge. Platapus, Front Porch, Curious George, Stash, Marble and Lana, who I still call Fairy.

Hearing about trail angel Kristen, who had a nice garden to hang out in, Marble, Emu and I walked the few blocks to her house. Drinking frozen Gatorade and eating strawberries in the hot afternoon while Kristen’s son, who was learning guitar, played some songs for us.

The sun was still hot and I still wasn’t feeling any cooler, I was looking forward to putting in a few miles, so Emu and I headed out for the hike at 4:30.

It was difficult to walk on the sandy trail with my heavy backpack. I felt like I was carrying too much food. As they climbed the hills out of the valley, the great windmills whirred as they turned. The steep switchbacks to the top of an exposed, windy ridge hurt my shin. The sunset was beautiful in the smoky sky.

Walking alone, from time to time he turned off the flashlight to look at the clear, starry sky. It really felt like the middle of nowhere. Walking towards Whitewater, I could see Genghis and Emu like dead lights in the distance.

On the Whitewater River, the three of us met up to navigate the rock cairns into the preserve. Arriving at the parking lot, Emu and I walked to the back of the grassy park and the cowboy set up camp.

Day 19 – Whitewater Reserve Mile 218.5

Waking up to birdsong, I was glad to be able to sleep in. Ants invaded my sleeping area, I made peanut butter tortillas, and I watched dragonflies eat mosquitoes.

Wishing I could stay all day, I headed to the bathroom to change and wash. The running water and flushing toilets were an incredible treat. What an oasis!

Returning to the PCT, we passed bird watchers and hikers with dogs on the hot, exposed riverbed. Crossing a log over the Aguas Blancas River with a beautiful view of San Jacinto. Filter water and soak my hat and sun shirt in the cold river. Losing the trail in the wash, I saw some hikers on a hill in the distance and found the trail.

My shin still hurt and I regretted starting late. Hiking through the exposed desert hills in the middle of the day felt like I was walking away from, not toward, the water. After reapplying sunscreen several times, I was finally able to see Mission Creek in a valley. At the creek, we found a shady spot for lunch and had tuna and avocado burritos with Doritos.

As the day cooled, we crossed Mission Creek. Walking about a mile, we crossed the creek again and decided to set up camp while our shoes were still dry and called a flat landslide near the trail to spend the night.

– Mile 227.3