Saturday, March 19, 2016

March 19 – Idyllwild to Mile 197


The day started off with a fantastic breakfast at Mile High. Nam served us and shared some of her aspirations for walking the PCT. Betsy loved her eggs with portabella mushrooms and avocado. I loved the homemade corned beef hash. 

After breakfast Betsy drove me to my drop off on the road up Black Mountain. I was sorry to see her go, but we had a nice time in Idyllwild. 


Six miles up the road it connects to the PCT, then it's all downhill for at least fifteen miles. The trail drops 6000 feet to the desert floor. There is snow at the top requiring microspikes just to be safe. 



What's worse is that there is no water available on the route. I'll be a bit thirsty when I get to Snow Park campground sometime tomorrow morning. I plan on getting an early start to hike in the cool morning breeze. 

Just before heading downhill I heard from Chad that he was on his way up the same road. Hopefully he'll catch up tonight or tomorrow. 





2 comments:

  1. Hi Allen!
    Friends and I are having such a fun time reading your posts. I'm getting ready to hit the trail the first part of the month and can't wait. Can I ask if you know about how cold the nights have been? From your photo's its looking pretty chilly. Happy hiking!
    Susan

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    1. I'm older, so its pretty cold for me. At every rest stop I've learned to don my coat and cover up, even in moderate temperatures. The real surprise has been the wind combined with rain. It's brutal. The weather on the Pacific coast is very different from where I come from. It comes in waves, and some are very cold. Today we hiked in gentle rain with no wind and I wore shorts and a woolen short sleeved shirt. No problem until we stopped.

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