Friday, May 10, 2013
Post by Nick:
Friday morning we woke up around 6:30am but didn't end up leaving until 8:30am. The previous evening we had hiked past several groups that had setup their shelters early to avoid walking in the rain but this morning we were watching several of them go by...a mother & daughter team, Brock & Jordan (a couple from Ohio), Jugs (a guy hiking with a big jug of water in his hand...why???).
A large chunk of the delay was Melissa taking at least an hour to bandage up her feet with the various layers of moleskin, duct tape, medical tape, sports tape, etc. Being a fairly competitive guy, I still have a twinge of pain watching folks pass me by on the trail...I know its not a race and I'm working on it and trying to embrace the reality of hiking with a girlfriend :)
Once packed up and finally underway, we arrive shortly thereafter at the Hiker's Oasis/ Anza water cache. To our surprise, after seeing the last water caches mostly full, this one only had partial supply remaining. Mel and I always carry extra water and still have some left but decide to take some to ensure we can maker it the 10 miles to the Paradise Valley Cafe on Hwy 74. Folks typically estimate 1liter for every 5 miles but in the heat of the day we seem to go through it faster. This is why many folks hike on the "siesta plan" (hike early morning, sleep from noon to 4pm, then hike into the evening) to avoid the worst heat of the day in the desert.
The next 10 miles go by fairly uneventfully and the desert shrub and chaparral are all looking the same to me now. More cactus, more manzanita, more scrub oak, every summit or apex reveals the next set of ridgelines and switchbacks to ascend. I know this is the Pacific Crest Trail, but I seriously question the design of the trail. I'll see a perfectly good meadow or valley leading North and the PCT will circumvent it with a gazillion up and down switchbacks in the surrounding mountains. Whoever first blazed the PCT was clearly a masochist.
Upon getting to Hwy 74 we agree to head over to the Paradise Valley Cafe which is roughly a mile off of the trail. I discuss with Mel and despite her foot condition she wants to continue on the trail and arrive at Idyllwild via the originally planned Devil's Slide trail(this shortens the following leg of the trip to Big Bear). We consequently stash our packs in the woods and walk to the cafe where we meet up with some fellow backpackers. I order a burger and beer and Mel gets some huge burrito. It's about 3pm and we discuss our options for the rest of the day.We had met up with Brock and Jordan there, and since her Bday they were going to hitch into Idyllwild from there.This got me thinking more seriously about this option and I pitched it to Mel who eventually agreed that she would benefit from getting off her feet sooner rather than later. Unfortunately this meant walking the mile back to the trail to get our packs and then returning the mile to the cafe...but still less than continuing on the 30 miles to the Devil's Slide exit.
As we got back to the cafe we crossed the street, dropped our packs, and stuck our thumbs out. This was both my and Mel's very first experience trying to hitchhike and we were very nervous and not sure what to expect and how long it would take. I've never picked up a hitchhiker either so felt I had bad karma going into this. I check my watch to check our start time and watch car after car whiz by, sometimes looking at us as they pass. We try to straighten ourselves up a bit, tuck in our shirts, straighten hair, etc but we're still both unkempt, dirty, smelly, and I don't blame folks for not stopping.
Surprisingly, about 5 min after beginning our hitching attempt, a young recent high school grad pulls up in a black mustang and offers us a ride to Idyllwild where he lives. Mel climbs in the back with her pack and I in the front seat with my pack on my lap. It's a tight squeeze but we're both delighted to have gotten a ride so quickly and insist on giving Antonio a nice tip upon him delivering us right to the front door of the Idyllwild Inn where we planned to stay.
We check in, drop off our gear off, clean up, rest a bit, then head out to get dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that came recommended. Mel of course opted for Margaritas :)
Post By Melissa:
I want to add that the kid who picked us up had a huge bouquet of flowers in his back seat. He was on his way to his mothers for an early mothers day celebration. He asked me to hold them as the remaining space in the back seat was taken up by an ice chest and my backpack. I had little space in the back seat and the cellophane from the flowers was smacking me in the face during the whole ride. At least the flowers smelled good. Nick had the window down so our body odor didn't offend our driver. Overall, or first hitch was a great experience!
After we checked in to our cabin (my favorite number #8) and pick up our resupply box from the front desk, we searched high and low for Epsom salt but the two small stores were out and the pharmacy was closed. So peroxide was the answer for the nightly cleaning. We picked up veggies and hummus and fresh fruit for the room. I got a good laugh out of the ears of corn in the kiddie pool at the store. Gotta love small towns!
Our cabin had lots of ants outside crawling around and some of them like to come inside and hang out. Nick wasn't to happy about this but I thought it was funny...especially when they were crawling on his head!
The Margaritas fajitas at Ariba's were amazing and a wonderful treat! A prefect way to end the day.
I'd like to send a special thank you to my godmother for sending me the awesome card and picture to Idyllwild! Thank you! <3
cool pics and wow, that is a HUGE burrito! enjoy the rest!
ReplyDeleteGlad you survived your first hitch hiking experience. I recently had my first experience and felt they same way you guys did. I felt so sorry for the nice people who had us in there car smelling toxic!! I am sure you will have many more stories to tell.
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