Stats

Start: Idyllwild – Mile 179.4
End: Fuller Ridge Campground- Mile 190.5
Elevation Max: 10,949
Elevation Min: 5,705
Elevation Change: 5,385 up & 3,837 down
Average Heart Rate: 137
Walking Time: 5 hrs 6 minutes

The Walk

I woke up on the Airbnb couch to the smell of pancakes. High life and Speaker were running the skillet and I was thankful for the chocolate chip pancakes and potatoes! I wasn’t too hungry, but ate as much as I could because the next few days would be tough. And I went light on my food resupply to Big Bear.

At 9:30 I left the Airbnb and started walking 2.5 miles toward the trail. I wasn’t in a rush but a car came up with a familiar face hanging out the window. High life found a hitch so I threw my backpack in the car and hopped in. I smiled because it saved me 2 miles of walking to the trailhead. The trail really does provide.

June dropped us off at the parking lot, which meant we had 2.5 miles of uphill trail to get back to the PCT. The hike up was nice to stretch my legs after almost 2 days off. My body felt good by then end. Except for one odd pain. My left knee was sore from jogging to the market for ice cream last night. I was lazy and wore my sandals on a 1.5 mile jog, which put weird pressure on my knees.

I was honestly pretty nervous. Running for ice cream in sandals is a pretty stupid way to get injured. Thankfully my knee loosened up after a few miles. We walked a few miles under tall pine trees, looking out across desert and mountain tops, to the San Jacinto trailhead.

This is my first break from the PCT. The trail to summit Mount San Jacinto would reconnect with the PCT in a few miles. The PCT wraps around San Jacinto mountain. But I didn’t want to pass the opportunity to summit one of the tallest mountains in Southern California at 10,834 feet! Plus we were still walking a continuous path from Mexico to Canada.

The climb continued. Every step was uphill and snowy. On top of the climb I could feel the drain of high altitude above 8,500 feet. I got winded easier and around 9,500 feet my body felt drained in a way it hadn’t been all hike.

Each step in the snow had to be calculated. Jack rabbit and I slipped and skidded our way up the mountain. It wasn’t dangerous snow because you wouldn’t slide far. It was more of a mental game and using trekking poles was helpful as an extra point of contact on the icy trail.

Eventually we made it to the top and were rewarded with beautiful views. On one side was Palm Springs, which began a vast deset, and the other side overlooked mountain peaks. It was cold and windy so we climbed 100 feet down to a small hut for lunch.

The hut was chilly but provided a wind block. Jack rabbit and I polished off the leftover chocolate chip pancakes from breakfast. After 30 minutes I didn’t want to get up. My body felt comfortable but worn out. I could tell the elevation was making me tired. I haven’t been over 10k feet in years.

I knew the fastest way to get energy was to climb down. So I started the snowy downhill walk to camp. We had 3 miles of trail back to the PCT. Then another 5 miles to camp. The way down was much tougher than the way up. The entire trail was covered in slippery rock hard snow.

I took a few spills, but nothing major. My body was feeling exhausted. It wasn’t my longest hiking day, but the elevation was kicking my butt.

We made it back to the PCT and kept moving. Only 5 more miles to camp and my sleeping bag! I scooted down the first 2 snowy and tiring miles. Halfway to camp I noticed a change in my energy. My muscles felt stronger and the general sluggish feeling was gone. I was still tired, but it was a familiar worn out feeling. The elevation was down to 8,500, which must have done the trick. I put on music and even had a few patches of snow free trail. There was barely any snow the last half mile to camp. A welcome relief.

Camp had a picnic table! So I made mac and cheese plus a pop tart. We were over 8k feet, and in for another chilly night. Right around freezing. I went straight to my tent to relax. Thankfully tomorrow would start with 19 miles of mildly graded downhill. With a possible burger stop at in and out!