On Friday I had about 7 miles to Saddle Junction and then 2.5 down to the trailhead near Idyllwild. I walked about a mile down the road and then I got a ride into town from the friendly lady running the Idyllwild Inn. They were full so she dropped me off at the campsite where I paid 3 dollars for the night. Had a nice hot shower and tended to the sore feet. Then I was off to the laundromat to get my clothes washed. Met Legion, another PCT hiker, there. After that I had a great salad, pizza and a few beers at the Idyllwild Pizza company. They had a 10 % discounts for PCT hikers. Saw Bryan (met him briefly earlier on trail) there and he ended up camping in the same spot as me that night. Also saw Sheldon and Christian in town a few times.
That night I met Andrew and Ryan who had been hiking with Bryan. There was also a guy from Liverpool but can't recall the name. We all had a few beers together that night.
Saturday I mostly ate all day. I had a breakfast burrito with some of the guys. Then a pastry and cookies from the bakery. At lunch I had this massive mexican meal I couldnt even finish. Guess it's because I had a huge tub of frozen yoghurt a few minutes before lunch!
I decided to head late on Saturday with Bryan and Andrew. We all made trips the library and outdoor outfitters and at about 5 we started out of town. A very generous lady called Mo gave us a ride to the trailhead. She had already taken 16 hikers up that day! We did the 2.5 mile ascent to Saddle Junction fairly quickly and hike on another mile or so untill we found a great camp with views of Palm Springs. We packed out a few beers to drink there. It was the coldest night on trail yet but we were almost at 9000 odd feet.
Sunday was tough. We did about 18 miles and the 6000 foot descent down to the I-10 highway is a killer. We aren't even there yet, we probably need to desend another 2000. So we are camped out on a ridge above the valley. Much warmer tonight. My feet are really sore but confident they will recover enough by tomorrow.
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