Running Wild in Idyllwild

A message written by Dr. Pacific himself:

It's been a wonderful trip so far, though definitely becoming exhausting. I passed the 100 mile mark a little while ago, which felt great. I've mostly been hiking through high mountain desert - it's been in the 90s everyday by about 9 am, and that's at 5,000'. But, the temps drop quickly at night, and I often have to put on my down jacket when I get up in the morning. The scenery is amazing - the cacti are all flowering, and there are tons of lizards. Unfortunately, tons of rattlesnakes too. I've come up unexpectedly upon two and had them lunge at me, one getting very close. Talk about scary. I've seen many more, but they have all sounded their alarm before I got too close. I'll take camping in grizzly bear country any day over rattlesnake country!

I've very quickly adapted to the "sunrise-to-sunset" schedule, and I'm up by 5 or 5:30 in the morning. A few weeks ago, I couldn't have imagined being up this early, but I'm digging it now. I try to find a spot in the shade (VERY hard to do sometimes) for 3-4 hours during the hot afternoon, then hike until its dark out, and often for an hour or two with a headlight. All the desert hiking makes me realize just how precious water is (and makes me happy I am a hydrologist!). I often carry 4-5 liters of water, but have had to carry over 8 a few times. That's over 16 pounds of water!

My body has, as expected, taken quite a beating. During the first week I was popping blisters 3 times a day with a safety pin, though not uncommon among other hikers. My waist has also been bleeding with abrasions from my pack. The other day, at the 150 mile mark, I was limping very badly, so I've been hanging out in the very hiker-friendly town of Idyllwild for the last few days. I bought a new pair of shoes and a new pack, so hopefully it will get better when I start hiking again tomorrow. Is it worth all the pain, 20 miles days, and long waterless stretches??? ABSOLUTELY!

I'm really excited about the upcoming section - which heads up into the subalpine San Jacintos, and is one of the steepest on the entire PCT (and of course I'll be carrying 7+ days of food). I'll climb up to about 10,000' in elevation (there's apparently still a lot of snow up there - hikers needed crampons and an ice axe a few weeks ago to get through - then quickly drop down to about 1,000 feet and reenter the scorching hot desert. After seeing so many cacti (and rattlesnakes), I can't wait to hike in the pines for a little while!

Pictures soon to come, so check back soon.