Oh! Snow!

May 2 – Day 13 – Mile 210

Uber can be a wonderful thing! We called Uber from the road right next to where the PCT passes under the I-10 near Cabazon and Banning, California. After picking up our resupply, he dropped us off at the Hampton Inn and Suites. We are now enjoying some front-country conveniences.

But before arriving here we had the chance to stay in Idyllwild CA. Nice mountain enclave with interesting cabins and homes. We tented in the state park campground with other PCTers. The park provides showers that we took advantage of. Fried chicken, baked beans, salad, and Texas Toothpicks were our menu choices. Later, the Idyllwild Brewery served us a very tasty Wee Heavy ale with roasted Brussel sprouts. Yummmy!

On the trail from Idyllwild, we ran into a bit of weather. We heard from other hikers were taking “0 days” in Idyllwild while the weather passed. It would take a couple days. We thoroughly checked the forecast and knew we could handle what was coming. The elevation of the PCT around San Jacinto Peak is 8500-9000 feet. It was in the 40s all day as we traveled. We traversed Fuller Ridge in blowing ice and snow as was predicted, and quickly set up our tent lower at 6700′. The snow continued with wind throughout the night.

This morning, we got moving at 7:30 and hiked the 15 miles to our destination arriving at 3:00. The biggest moment today was reaching the 200 Mile Mark in the PCT! Most of the day we bucked winds from 20-25 mph.