Pacific Crest Trail Hike – 2nd Week Recap

Here I am in Cabazon, a few miles off trail from mile 209 of the Pacific Crest Trail. 15 days on trail – time for my weekly recap.

Body

Doing good with feet and legs. I feel like a caught a small cold during the cold days with snow in Idyllwild. In general – the temperature changes the last days were extreme. Two days ago, it was about freezing temperature when camping at 8500 feet altitude. Today in Cabazon, it’s 35 degree Celsius/95 Fahrenheit.

Looking at the average daily miles, it looks like I am below 15, resulting from the unplanned stop in Idyllwild waiting out the snow. Yesterday was my first 20+ miles/32 km day, so more is possible.

Soul

The second week was tougher than the first. Taking the extra break due to weather… I felt a bit guilty. Suddenly it felt more like a vacation than hiking the PCT. Maybe hiking the PCT should feel like vacation? 😂
We were sharing a cabin in Idyllwild with 4-8 hikers. Felt like living at student dorm – cooking together, music, movies. That was a good time.

On the days that I was hiking, I actually found a bit more time for myself.

The hiker bubble around me keeps changing. Meeting a nice couple from Switzerland. Some hikers tracked back to walk the fire closure detour around Idyllwild that I skipped due to the snow. Several took longer breaks to heal their injuries. Again many kind people along trail. Thank you especially to Addison’s mom! I am still working on accepting all that kindness and letting go.

Gear

Still room for improvement. With the cold days in Idyllwild, I got a wind/rain jacket from Patagonia with just 100gram weight – Houdini. I love it. Another change was a sleeping pad. Since my NeoAir pad kept loosing air, I changed to a super durable foam pad ZLite Sol. It’s great for breaks during the day… And no more blowing up the pad at night time. Sleeping comfort is ok, I sleep on my back most of the time. The NeoAir is at Cascade Designs for repair. I expect it back before I hit the Sierra probably mid of June.

Trail

Wow. I didn’t expect so much different landscapes in the South Californian desert section. The snow in Idyllwild… The climb on Mt San Jacinto. That felt like the Sierra already. It is really beautiful out here. I am curious about the next section to Big Bear and beyond.

What did I learn so far?

Respect the weather.

Water is precious.

Take it slow. Don’t get injured.

You need less than you think. No, even less than that. 😉

It’s okay to enjoy some time off.

What’s next?

In about three days, I should have completed about 265 miles and with that 10 percent of the trail. I try to worry less – less about challenges of the future, more focused about today and maybe tomorrow’s next water stop.

Even with a perfect plan, there will always be something that you can’t control.

Life is for living.

Day 15 – Snow Canyon Road to Whitewater Reserve, mile 218

What a beautiful warm night! Woke up around 6am, skipped breakfast. Ready to walk at 6.30am. Cactass and Addison still asleep, Johanna started walking towards the highway. I followed about 30 min later.

Since we were supposed to meet Addison’s mom at 8 am at the interstate, I was pushing and enjoying the flat terrain.

At the interstate underpass amazing trail magic. Fresh fruits, cool drinks, Cliff bars, cookies…. But I had missed Addison’s call.

His mom had come with a friend with two cars, one car was full with hikers already on its way to the Cabazon Starbucks, I was the last one missing for the second car. Addison, thanks for finding me!

Addison picked me up, drove to the Cabazon Starbucks. We occupied with 6-7 hikers the power outlets and enjoyed ice coffee. We moved over for lunch to Ruby’s. I was tempted to go with a nice big breakfast with French toast, but took the healthy choice – a huge salad with chicken breast.

After the food, we drove on to a Big 5 outdoor shop some miles away. Some of us completed or adjusted their gear. Back to Starbucks. We spend several hours charging and on WiFi. We started hiking again at mile 210 around 4pm where we had been picked up. It was so hot… Upper 90 F/ Mid 30 Celsius and no shade.
Steep ascend going up through the wind park.

Nice views. Good walking as it got colder around 5-6pm.

Arrived at 8pm at the White water preserve. Darkness was coming, needed my headlamp to find the area for hikers to pitch my tent. Had a quick dinner. Just saw Cactass and Johanna arriving around 9pm as I went asleep.

Warm night, no need for the sleeping bag…

That was some tough hiking for me in the heat – just 12 miles. I need to try other hiking hours… The heat in the afternoon was really bad.

Day 14 – Tentsite at mile 187 to Snow Canyon Road, mile 206

Slept ok, first night on my new foam pad Therm-a-rest ZLite Sol. That pad is so practical… At any short rest during the day, I can throw it to the floor and lay down for a while. No risks for punctures… It is just a foam pad. Gear of the day award.

Normal routine, woke up around 6am, hit the trail around 7am. Today I was facing a 20 mile hike. All downhill, about 7000 feet, the longest descent on the complete PCT. I would find out later that downhill doesn’t mean fast. On the contrary… Being careful with my knees, I barely made 2-2.5 miles per hour.

Later the day I got news from a fellow hiker that he needs a longer break from the trail due to serious knee pain. These issues from other hikers keep floating around in my head… You can’t go super slow and careful all the time… But you can also risk your hike with one wrong step.

Talking about that wrong step. I was listening to music in the afternoon…

Song of the day: Melissa Etheridge – I run for life

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth, for all that is real
(lyrics from Melissa Etheridge)

When I realized that there was rattling sound that doesn’t fit to the song, I was standing right next to a rattlesnake.

My heart skipped a few beats. I was told by another hiker to keep distance at least equal to the length of the snake… I was walking by just about 50cm of it, didn’t see it in the grass next to the trail until I was standing right next to it.

I continued without music for a while… 😂

The descent to the water and tentsite at mile 206 took a lot of time. 4 miles out, it looked like you could touch… But once again, the trail kept following the mountains into the next canyon and the target was out of sight again for another 2 hours.

I finally arrived and pitched my tent around 5pm, the sun still heating up the whole valley. A few other hikers were discussing to take an Uber to the nearby town Cabazon and eat burgers there. When the three other hikers from my group came in, we opted for just that. We left tents and packs, walked about a mile to the next street, rode in an Uber for about 20min and had a feast at In-n-out!

After that feast, walking back the mile to the tentsite was not easy, but a beautiful walk under the stars and moonlight.

The night was warm… Only used my sleeping bag as a blanket, fell asleep with a view on the beautiful night sky.

Day 13 – Idyllwild to tentsite above Fuller Ridge via Mt San Jacinto Peak, mile 187

A last lazy morning in Idyllwild, got up around 6.30am. Cleaned up the house, returned keys and started walking at 8am at 5300 feet.

We reached the trail head for the Devil’s Slide Trail head at 9am and started as a team of four (Cactass, Johanna, Addison and myself) climbing towards the PCT junction at 8000 feet.

At 1030am we were finally back on trail, heading towards the peak of Mt San Jacinto.

Addison licking his phone not to waste the good avocado calories

We made the peak at 10800 feet at around 230pm. Today was a day measured by altitude gained (5500 feet/1600m) and not miles… The last few hundred feet were not easy for me – felt the altitude and a cold I catched during the last days.

Met Paulina, Gandalf, Baby Blanket, Happy just below the peak, they took off shortly after.

We continued to hike to mile 186 to get water – next reliable water would just be in another 20 miles.

We camped shortly after at mile 187 around 7pm. Quick dinner… Lots of photos of the beautiful sunset…

Good night!

Day 12 – Zero Day at Idyllwild

Yes, already another resting day 😁. I didn’t really need one, but when I woke up today in a big and warm bed around 730am, a look from the window was all I needed to justify the break:

I am still in the desert section, but at 5300 feet. Snow fell overnight, temperatures were around freezing.

Rotem was cooking a Israeli breakfast for the group – thank you! I optimized my gear a bit. My blow up sleeping pad was loosing air every night, so I sent it back to Cascade Designs for warranty repair. I got a foam sleeping pad instead (ZLite) – no need to blow up, no risks poking holes, great for quick lunch breaks… But only sleeping on the back for now. I also got myself a super light and thin wind/rain jacket – Patagonia Houdini, just 100 gram!

Did my food planning for the next five days.

Balanced diet if dry frozen meals, tortillas with peanut butter or tuna, bars

Tomorrow morning I plan to hike up from here at 5300 feet to the PCT at 8000 feet. Following the PCT for 2 miles, there will be a junction at 9000 feet where I will decide to climb to San Jacinto peak at 10800 feet or continue on the PCT. Since I skipped some miles to the snow today, I should have the time. I will decide on the trail tomorrow based on the weather.

My pack is packed and ready to go… I am excited to continue my journey. Hanging out at the coffee house now after getting my first head shave since I started hiking.

Tonight probably all hikers will meet at the town cinema – Avengers for just 5USD!