Zeros in Idyllwild Day 13 & 14

These past 2 days were well needed and well enjoyed. The mental exhaustion of thru-hiking on top of the physical pain of body overuse can make a hiker weak. In talking with all of the hikers we came across here in Idyllwild, we all had a common thread–we were all still having fun but it was certainly time for a day off the trail. This town is really cool. Lots of cute boutique shops and small businesses. Everything is within walking distance and the lodging options are a plentiful between cabins to campgrounds. All of this brings a weird mix of day-trippers, weekenders, families and hikers.

Yesterday I had a good chat with my Pops. Deep down, it was really hard for me to be away on the first anniversary of my moms passing. I knew I didn’t want to be alone. I knew I didn’t want to be cold on a trail either so being in Idyllwild yesterday worked out for the best. My hiking friends were very supportive.

As the story continues though, the 3 of us girls woke up early yesterday and went for breakfast at The Town Baker. Emily always cracks me up, she had 2 pastries while I ate a simple breakfast burrito. She said they were both delicious. After that we checked out our resupply options at the grocery store across the street and then we picked up Laura’s box of goodies from the post office. We had to check out of the Silver Pines Lodge at 11 so we found a few other hikers and stashed our packs in their rooms and walked around the few other blocks of town. We ended up finding Dani–who was planning to hike that afternoon but wanted a beer before she left. Clearly you can see where this is going to turn badly for her. Meg & Simon–who I met on Day 1, Justin, Dani, Laura and I all went over to the Idyllwild Brewpub for lunch. Emily was the smart one who stayed back and put her feet up with a book. I did get some inspiring words from Luc from Quebec. He’s on his 2nd attempt of the PCT. I can’t wait to see him again and chat some more.

Not that any of us were anywhere obnoxious it was just a fun group of people. The stories of our adventures always bring roaring laughter. Since we couldn’t check in until 3 PM we spent most of the afternoon there. We eventually found IdyllAwhile Wine & Beer which had live music. This is where the surprise visit of some friends from Vegas joined in. I was so excited to see Rod and Denise in town. They stayed at a campground in their new tent. Denise was super excited about her new camping “kitchen” but they never used it as they ate in town with us. As the night came to a close I was in bed by 930. A few others stayed up late playing games til the wee hours. Dani was caught up in those games and obviously never made it back to hiking. Actually, she was caught up in the afternoon beers before the games… but either way, she stayed the night and KNEW she needed to leave this morning to get back on the trail.

Simon & Meg went back to the trail with Megs parents who had come up from San Diego, Dani and Emily went in the hiker shuttle at 815am. The hiker shuttle is organized by the owners of the Idyllwild Inn (where we stayed Friday and Saturday nights). It’s an amazing gesture of them. I’ll get more on their story tomorrow but I think the property has been family owned 70 years. They have a whole operation to aid in our laundry chores making the rest day that much easier.

After we said goodbye to Dani and Emily, we went to breakfast and ran into Chris (Big Papa) at the Red Kettle. Belly full, I sat with Rod and Denise while they ate in town. I went back to work on laundry and resupply chores. Laura and I dumped our food bags and new town purchases and pitched what we didn’t want into the hiker boxes here. (Have I talked about the hiker boxes yet???) It was quite the mess of food. But this supply will last us a minimum of 5 days until we get to Big Bear.

Some low clouds starting coming in and Denise said they were headed out of town. I don’t blame them, it was cold! Rod and Denise graciously fed Laura, Justin and I with pizza before they left. So nice of them to make time to come out here, hang out and meet new friends with me. Thanks Guys!!!

As the day comes to a close, as much as I’d like to be outside of this room listening to the music I can hear across the street, I know I need to go to sleep. My pack is organized again for another 80ish miles to Big Bear. Tomorrow we will cross Fuller Ridge and hope to camp at a site just on the other side of it. It should be about 13 miles in total with water at the campsite. The elevation is 7,749 feet there so it’s gonna be a cold night. Now I’m glad I bought a pack of hot chocolate for dessert tomorrow evening. I feel like I could have hiked yesterday (and today for that matter) but I know that the body needed this time to repair. I just saw another post of a fellow hiker coming off Trail because her feet aren’t healing. I’m thankful for my time here. Taking a “zero” (or TWO) is legit.