One of the thrills of hiking—being in the woods or the desert, slaloming through the mountains with only small goals every day (traveling miles, getting to the next water source, finding a good spot for lunch, or setting up the tent after a long day)—is the contrast to all that.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen… I mean: City Day.
First there is your backpack, finally there is almost no food. Or, if you’re like me, you only have a few emergency snacks left—you know, these extra cinnamon and brown sugar Pop-Tarts, completely crushed but still there just in case. With four or five kilos less on your back, you literally fly.
Then there’s the excitement of… where to start?
Replenishment
Honestly, grocery shopping has never excited me more than during long walks like this. The promise of new food, maybe a new flavor of La Vache Qui Rit, a little almond butter to mix with peanut butter, and who knows, maybe a few more options from Clif Bar. All of that along with your own trail classics: ramen, Fritos, Idaho four-cheese mashed potatoes… each has its own.
Food for the next 5 days (and something “just in case”)
Mine is breakfast. The last one I’ll get in the city before heading back to the trail. My special is coconut yogurt, apples or bananas, oatmeal, maybe a brownie… well, something very filling. No wonder.
Then comes the hot food…
You know, the one that’s been fueling all your fantasies for the last five days. Being able to choose something different than what your little stove can produce (ramen, macaroni and cheese, or mashed potatoes), possibly including real vegetables, which is probably what I miss most in the forest. Or pizza. Or a burger and fries. Or Mexican food. Sometimes all of the above.
(No, not right away. Come on.)
Then, of course, comes every hiker’s favorite: everyone’s holy grail…
The holy hot shower of the Holy Grail.
Honestly, sometimes you need two. Especially judging by the color of the water, even after aggressive scrubbing. In my case, this also includes two shampoos. But my description would be incomplete without mentioning the pleasure of a CLEAN, fluffy towel. Something I now realize I completely underestimated in normal life.
Then, closely related, comes the little detour to the laundry room, where you throw every stinky item you own (clothes, socks, buffs, random cloth accessories) into a washing machine and suddenly feel like a civilized human being again.
And of course, after living in your little two-square-meter tent, you have the luxury of having a real roof over your head…
Check into a room.
Well…sometimes…
Sometimes it’s still your tent on a campsite. Other times, as in Julian, it is a folding bed on a patio. But in Idyllwild, Claire, Tohia, and I found ourselves in a small log cabin with a fireplace, our own kitchen, and enough space to properly resettle.
Also convenient for weekly deep cleaning of kitchen utensils, water bottles, filters and all the other questionable things we carry around.
And of course: a real bed.
Only then can you start to relax a little, meet other hikers again or explore the so-called city.
One of my favorite trail towns so far has definitely been Idyllwild: village atmosphere, friendly people, weekend tourists mixed with hikers, wooden storefronts, walkable everything, nice shops, great restaurants.
And, of course, their famous honorary mayor: Max the golden retriever, who somehow manages to meet the hikers despite his seemingly very busy schedule. Provoking immediate joy in children and… hikers alike.
This is also where we ran into some hikers from what I call the «May 6th group» – all the people we met during our first night at CLEEF in Campo before starting May 6th, and who we somehow continue to run into every few days on the trail.
Idyllwild was also the perfect place to do a final reassessment of my pack and admit that maybe I had been carrying too much stuff.
Okay, not «slightly.» More like fifteen articles. Including my beloved Kindle. Sniff…
So I sent them to another town further down the road where I can pick them up later if necessary.
Oh, and I also bought new shoes. It hasn’t even been three weeks and they are already a size and a half bigger. I’m officially a size 40 now.
And finally, Town Day wouldn’t be Town Day without checking out the famous hiker boxes with the curiosity of a treasure hunter. Even when you don’t need anything at all and your backpack is already too heavy, I guarantee you’ll find something to carry (locks, a half-full gas can, Band-Aids, a hat, glasses, soap, half a toothbrush, a water bottle, and sometimes the strangest things).
Or maybe it’s just me.
All that to say, Idyllwild treated us incredibly well and fully met every expectation we hikers had for a proper Town Day. However, it was with no less enthusiasm that we packed up the next morning to return to the trail, leaving modern comfort and those fluffy towels behind.
PS: Thanks to the Trail Runner who took us into town from Devils Slide and to Jeanine who took us there. In both cases we didn’t have to hitchhike for more than 2 minutes, and that says a lot about the generosity of the people of Idyllwild.
