May 2, 2021
Mile 134.8 to Mile 154.4
It was our earliest start yet today!! I got moving at 5:30am. I even had to use a headlamp for the first 15 minutes or so. I just had a quick few miles to Tule Springs for water.
I went down and found Chaparral camped by the water. The water itself was pretty nasty. Almost stagnant with lots of floaters. I found a place where it was running a little and filled up. I saw everyone else behind me heading down for water. Except Jedi. I thought he was behind doing his daily push-ups.
I did an easy 10 by 10 today. I think I did 12 miles by 10am actually. I was cruising most of the morning. It was actually a little chilly and cloudy. My butt was burning a little on the uphill.
I came to Mary’s Place which was a cute little oasis off the PCT. It had a picnic table, water cache, register, library shelf, and some apples/oranges. There was even a station we could sign postcards for Mothers Day and have them mailed in time. So sweet!!
But as I rolled into Mary’s Place I saw Rachel and Sean who camped ahead of us last night. And then I saw Jedi???¿? He was laughing at me because he beat me this morning. I was like “HOW DID YOU GET AHEAD OF ME?” Apparently he skipped Tule Springs and saw my backpack on the ground. He hopped on the opportunity to beat me. Its a bit of a running joke that I’m fast in the mornings (I usually lead the pack) and then super slow in the afternoons (literally last to camp).
The whole gang regrouped at Mary’s Place but it got too cold so we had to move. It was a mellow 6 miles into Paradise Valley Cafe.
Paradise Valley Cafe is about half a mile off the PCT and its known for its burgers. The whole patio was filled with hikers and bikers. I had a veggie burger with French fries, peach iced tea, and a large salad. I only ate half the salad so I packed out the rest in a ziploc bag to have for dinner tonight.
We lounged around and then moved out onto the grass so we could lie down. Jedi booked us an AirBnB for Idyllwild which was sweet because some of the hotels are already booked out.
We just had a couple miles into camp. We’re in this beautiful spot with lots of rocks and a nice view. Its very windy though. I hope my tent stays up.
We ate dinner and watched the sun go down. I got into my tent and called Matt which was nice. Now time to sleep!
