Just got into Idyllwild this morning after an amazingly successful TWO hitches to get here; 13.5 miles down one road & 4.5 miles down another. The first guy even gave us fresh water to drink for the ride! We woke up at the first sign of daylight this morning in order to hike the 11 miles to get to the road crossing in hopes of catching a ride at 10am with Cuddles & his wife, who were also headed to Idyllwild, but we must've been just a wee bit late because we missed them. But we still managed to get here alright & we already have our belly's full of the most delicious gourmet pizza...it was very large...& we ate the whole thing. Yum!
The lady we got a hitch into town from gave us a tour of the town & dropped us off at the outfitter so we could buy some stuff. I, new shoes (going back to the Soloman's that worked so well for me on the AT) & also a new water filtration system. Our MSR ceramic filter broke 2 days ago, so we are giving up on it. It's heavy & apparently unreliable (although magically as we stayed the night on Trail Angel Mike's property, the caretaker, Kushy had a spare of the exact same filter & gave us parts from his to fix ours). But still, if it quit that easy on us, we're not taking another chance.
We got a room at the Idyllwild Inn but are waiting for it to open up for us. At this point, we still have NOT showered since before we started the trail! So we are excited for a shower. We only know one other person who also has yet to shower - Martin from Switzerland, so he is our soul brother. :)
The trail has absolutely kicked our butts the past few days. We are being pushed to the extreme & our bodies are more than ready for a day (or so) of rest. Our bodies are doing weird things & we're trying to work out the kinks & figure out what's normal & what is not...We will be resting today & are still deciding on whether to take the day off tomorrow as well. This town is way too cool so that's making it even more tempting to stick around for another day.
We are at trail mile 151.9...many more to go!
Much love to all you who are reading this. :)
Looks like you have to travel extra miles to get into towns. That's an adventure in itself. Do you still want me to mail your box this Monday/May 6? If I don't get a response by the 6th I will mail it on Tues/May 7. Your descriptions are very vivid and are something to look forward to. Let me know through this site what you want or need. The book says you are at 178.6 miles in 9 days averages 19.84 miles per day. In the heat that's harsh but exciting at the same time. Happy trails. Love-n-stuff Mom.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your break while you let your bodies adjust. I bet you two will appreciate a shower much more than those of us who just jump into the shower every day. Where is the next address to send a box? I have Agua Dulce, but that is at mile 454.9. Is there something sooner? If so, please post the address here. Hugs, Jana
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