Mile 127.3 (Mike’s Place) to Mile 145.4 (Mary’s Place/Hiker Oasis)

I had wanted to stick around Mike’s until noon - and feel warmth (not sweaty warmth, just warmth) and do a short 13 mile day. However, we were all up and ready to go by 8:30... Andrea, Scout and I decided to camp at a tent site about 13.7 miles up the trail ... and save a big climb for the following morning... and set off on our ways.

I hiked with a gentle incline for most of the morning - it was quiet and a nice time to reflect on the past week. Scout was ahead of me and Andrea behind. At 2:00 - I found the perfect rock.. it was flat and large enough to lay down on.. had an adjacent rock just the right height to prop my feet on that also provided some shade from the relentless sun... I swear my time on trail can be summarized as hot days and freezing nights... I stopped for lunch and to change socks... I literally fell asleep on that rock... for about an hour... ON A ROCK!!! I woke up and kept on moving - I got to the designated camp spot at 3 and Scout wasn’t there... I assumed he had moved on since it was so early ... and feeling good - I decided to move on too - Getting a little of the climb out of the canyon today would be good I thought... I kept going and going and no scout... I looked in every tent site on my app... and no scout... I made the assumption he had decided to camp at water at mile 145 and thought why not... and began to again have power hour... I passed a cannabis farm... and continuously burped up the ginger ale I had packed out from Mike’s...(hint: do not drink hot ginger ale on a hot day with lots of climbing ... no matter how refreshing it looks).

I arrived at 145.4 at about 5:30... and no scout... I assumed he pushed even further and decided I was beat and was camping there... talk about a complete welcome 180 from Mike’s - Mary’s place named Hiker Oasis... had a little free library.., standup cutouts and quotes of transcendentalists: Thoreau, Whitman and Muir. It was as peaceful of a campsite that could be... again on a ridge in the middle of nowhere. And bonus there was a picnic table to cook on... no dirt in my rice tonight!!!

I could feel the temps dropping as I climbed I to my bag at 7pm... another cold night it was to be...at least the sunset was beautiful.

Mile 145.4 to Mile 151.8 (Paradise Vallet Cafe)

It was midnight... I had to powder my nose, but it was cold ... it was 1am... still had to powder my nose..but it was colder... hour after hour... I decided it was too cold to answer nature’s call... so naturally sleep was evasive.

Finally at 5:30... I couldn’t stand it anymore.. I jumped out and quickly took care of business ... I got back in my tent - but knew sleep wouldn’t come... I debated ... I could be cold in my tent... or I could be cold hiking down and making it to the cafe 6.5 miles down the road for breakfast. Needless to say... I was on trail by 6:45... I could not feel my fingers the entire 6 miles... there was another snow storm moving in and I was at high enough elevation to get the damp, cold winds and no sun...

I walked into the cafe (about 1 mile off trail) at 9:10... pretty sure I would find Scout, since I never passed him or saw his tent - but only one other hiker had been there that morning - and that I knew was Bill. I ordered breakfast - full on 3 eggs scrambled with cheese, giant sausage patty and hash browns - picked up a package Charlie had sent me and decided I was going to spend the day in the cafe there to rest.

A little while later- Crash, who was camped with me the night before hobbled in and about an hour later Scout... turns out I totally passed up where he had set his tent about two miles before the water source- hidden by some boulders... he was not happy about his first night camping alone ... as Andrea had camped a few miles before him...it’s hard to communicate on trail without cell service.

We enjoyed a day of warmth, beer, amazing food and incredible hospitality- the people at Paradise Cafe had to be raised in the south... and they didn’t care that we were stinky and spilling everywhere - even letting us camp on the porch/outside dining area of the restaurant to weather the storm and leaving us a key to the bathroom (flush toilet and hot water in the sink!) - by the end of the day there were about a dozen of us setting up tents as the storm rolled in...

It will be a cold night... but we are semi-sheltered and our bellies are full. Bill, aka Spirit, who went forward this morning despite the storm (hello special ops colonel in the Army)... sent me the photo above ... and I am glad we decided to wait it out at lower elevation.

The next section has a lot of chatter - a young, recent college grad, Trevor Laher, last year lost his life slipping on ice on one of the steep ridges of Apache Peak around this time in the season... Scout and I decided to use the buddy system and have a plan for bailout points and turning back - if we don’t feel safe. Hopefully the warmer temps the next few days will help us out!

Zero Miles...Idyllwild, CA

At 4 in the morning - I was lying awake in my tent on the porch of Paradise Valley Cafe - shivering, feeling like I didn’t want to hike today... but I had promised Scout we would attempt the mountains... I got up to get in the shelter of the bathroom to warm up a few minutes - saw the snow weighing down my tent and oscillating on faking an injury to get out of hiking and telling Scout the truth... I heard his rain fly unzip - he came to the bathroom and we looked at each other and at the same time said - let’s take a zero! It was a huggable moment.

We went back to our tents and tried to sleep - but wound up shivering until the cafe opened up and served us coffee and another amazing breakfast. We texted Andrea and her sister, who were already zeroing in Idyllwyld to see if we could get a ride.

Then we heard from Spirit and our decision to bail for the day was confirmed. Spirit who had gone ahead the morning before and got stuck in the storm had lost a trekking pole, dodged ice bullets falling from the trees in the wind, water filters had frozen, couldn’t set up his tent he finally collapsed at some point after 28 miles trying to find a way off the mountain - rolled his tent around him curled up like a burrito under a rock - when we picked him up on the side of the road that morning - our zen warrior for the first time looked beaten and battered... yep a day off was in order.

I also met a new hiker, Rainbow (pictured above with the crazy white hair), from Nashville, who talks just like Matthew McConaughey... I am pretty sure the makes him my new friend :)

And what a day off it was... Idyllwild is a great mountain town... the Silver Pines Lodge that we stayed in even gave us loaner clothes and did our laundry in a real washing machine (no bucket washing here!!)... the shower was glorious and Scout (being a hairdresser) even gave me a blowout with my tiny one inch hairbrush.... we all gathered for dinner and wine and live music (something I haven’t had since Covid).... and made the plan to hike out at 5am the next morning.

And I finally got a trail name.... half asleep in the cabin room - I was awoken by Spirit and Scout around 10pm... they had been enjoying a bottle of wine in the lodge... they announced I was to be called Clutch from here on out because I keep all the gears of our group moving and because I try and take care of everyone in our group no matter how far ahead or behind they are. I accepted it since it is like the fourth one I had been offered.... and I like how short it is ;)