Usually, when camping alongside others, most get up early and pack at speed hoping to get miles in before it gets hot. Not today. The Paradise Valley Café opens at 8am so people were languidly packing, making every attempt to stretch the process out.

Breakfast was awesome, this was what yesterday’s work was about;

Once I could stand up again (after eating), I headed out to the road to hitch to Idyllwild. It took about 15mins but then Jennifer Muir, bar manager at the Idyllwild brewpub picked me up. She had a dog named Itty Bitty on her lap while driving!

I mention her surname as she is descended from the famous John Muir (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir).

It turned out the brewpub was right next to the post office so I got dropped there and picked up my ice axe and crampons at the PO.

After a little shopping for supplies and a bit of a rest I took a double hitch back to the trail. This was all necessary since there is a short section on the North face of Apache Peak which still has snow – better safe than sorry.

For once I resisted the temptation to do too much, although my leg felt better I didn’t want to aggravate it. Five or six miles felt fine for today.

Gavin turned up at my tentsite once I was pitched and kindly gave me a litre of water. This will make breakfast a lot easier as the next source is a mile down the trail and down a steep side trail.

I hope to be back in Idyllwild but foot Friday evening or Saturday morning.

Well this was a long day, and I’m aching a lot!

Since we were all cowboy camping, lying in was not an option so I got my earliest start yet of 6.40am. Lots of water on board as the next couple of sources were suspect. We all agreed to reconvene at Paradise Valley Café, some 20 miles distant.

I finally met the ‘Liverpool Hikers’ who were excellent company

I haven’t much to say today as I’m tired and twanged a muscle above my knee – should be ok but might take a day off tomorrow as a precaution. As it is, I’m camping behind the Café and will roll out at 8am for a full breakfast, well deserved after today! Then a hitch into Idyllwild to collect my ice axe and crampons.

As usual, by the time I exited my tent nearly everyone was gone. Maybe if I didn’t snooze anxiously when it became light I might do better! I was about to go straight on the trail and have breakfast later, but then thought ‘I like breakfast. HYOH’.

The day was due to be a hot one with over 1000ft of climb with little water. Accordingly I loaded up with 4 litres of water. There was the possibility of a location called ‘Mike’s place’ having a cache and once this was confirmed by a Southbound hiker I immediately ditched 2l!

After a hot 11 miles and a few chats with fellow hikers I arrived to find ‘Mike’s Place’ stocked with beer, soda, water and the promise of home made pizza! It was very much appreciated as the temperature had got to 30°.

The people looking after this little property were ex-hikers who found it difficult to go back to normal life! A little eccentric but very good natured. As the afternoon went on more hikers arrived and it became apparent that this was to become a bit of a party, so a few of us decided to move on which led to my first night hike as the sun went down.

So now Alex, Calum, Tim, Gavin and I are ‘Cowboy Camping’, that is camping in our sleeping bags without tents, seeing as space is limited and the night is mild. Another first.

Tomorrow we’ll all meet back up at Paradise Café in the evening. They allow camping behind the building so we’ll stop there get up to consume their excellent breakfasts! I’ll explain my subsequent plans tomorrow.

My day started shakily, waking up anxious for no apparent reason. It took me 30 mins to get out of bed.

Steve, one of the hosts at Mountain Valley Retreat, cooked me an amazing smashed avocado and eggs on toast, and that combined with fresh coffee lightened me slightly. He also dropped me at the trailhead saving me a couple of miles unnecessary walk.

The temperature is up today; more like what I was seeing a week ago. To avoid the peak heat I put in 8 miles to Warner Springs stopping only at the iconic ‘Eagle Rock’ where I met ‘Say it again’… again. I also bumped into Steve and Noelle, a couple from Portland I’d met before. Steve’s words were “there’s something different….. you don’t smell …. have you showered?!”

The meadows outside Warner Springs were in superbloom due to the unusual winter rainfall.

Now for Fargo fans everywhere, I present John from Brainerd! That really made my day.

Back to the walk. The meadows around Warner Springs were a gorgeous carpet of flowers for miles and miles. If that wasn’t enough, I also had a woodland walk with bubbling creeks.

The good folks of Warner Springs maintain a community run resource centre close to the trail. They have everything a hiker needs, good resupply food, coffee, room to sit and relax and places to charge electronics. Any profits go to the local school.

I met up with quite a number of hikers taking a rest there, too many to list. Of note, though, were the Liverpudlians I met before who were taking an enforced break after their tent pole snapped in the recent winds!

The heat was up so I mooched around for a couple of hours in the centre. Any thoughts I had of leaving evaporated when a local came in and announced that he would be cooking burgers and hotdogs at 4pm! It was a much appreciated boost.

After the food, a few of us planned to hike on a few miles so I joined Alex, Sam and Tim for an extra 5.5 miles to camp next to Agua Caliente Creek.

The next civilization is the Paradise Café, 36 miles distant, so I have 4 days supplies to be sure. More interesting is the water situation – after we leave the creek there is very little. What there is has comments like ‘for the love of God, don’t get water here’!

I think I’ll set off with 6 litres then!

Woke up to find strong winds buffeting the tent. Good job I secured four guy lines last night. I didn’t fancy breakfast in the conditions so packed my sack inside and then engaged in the tricky act of taking a tent down when all it wanted to do was become a big sail and disappear over the horizon. Hiked another 8 miles to the trailhead, passed the 100 mile mark

then another couple off-trail to Montain Valley Retreat. Chery and Steve looked after me very well. They even supply robes, knowing that most through-hikers don’t have spare clothes! So I am now clean, and as a bonus was invited to a ‘kind’ rodeo at Silver Horse Retreat. Here they dance with horses rather than ride untamed ones.

Tomorrow I’ll get a lift back to the trailhead and walk the eight miles to the Warner Springs Community Resource Centre where I’ll resupply for the section to Idyllwild – 5 or 6 days – though there is Paradise Café on the way. The next blog post may be a while based on signal availability.

A very pleasant, easy and uneventful day. The trail mostly wound round the contours so little climbing or descending. Bumped into a few people already known and a few new ones.This winter has been unusually wet so the desert is in bloom; so many wild flowers and butterflies!Found a nice spot to camp with a great view about 8 miles short of Barrel Spring. From there I’ll get a ride to Mountain Valley Retreat where I’ll get a bed, showers and washing facilities, for a very reasonable price. See my feet below; in the desert dust gets everywhere.I’ll be clean for at least a day or two

Well, a lot to tell today. Up early and away because no water until Julian (or at least the cache at Scissors Crossing) so wanted to hike in the cool. For a good few miles just following the contours, fairly pleasant walking but still a bit chilly due to the wind.

Finally dropped down to the valley and had about 3 miles walk to the road. This was flat and featureless so seemed like it continued forever. However it was starting to become apparent we were entering cactus country!

At the underpass at Scissors Crossing, two old lads, ex-hikers, were stocking the water cache. Now this was not a few bottles, it was a pick-up truck of gallon bottles from Costco! So Austin and I spent the next 15 mins lugging them down from the truck. It’s amazing that people do this just to help us out.

So, to our first hitch of the trail, into Julian. We had tried about 20mins when a lovely couple, Mike and Bernice, stopped and gave us a ride. They had camped nearby and were just spending their day ferrying hikers up and down! They would accept no payment other than us signing their log book of PCT hikers.

Julian is a gorgeous little town nestled in the mountains with small shops catering largely for weekend visitors from the city. They are super hiker-friendly. Mom’s Pie Shop was the first stop, where we were given free Pie and coffee!

And then the Julian cider mill for free juice and a snack bag for the trail!

Sorry about the overuse of exclaimation marks but this was so welcome after a couple of days in the desert.

I picked up my water filter at the post offices so I’m now fully independent. Now the sad but, Austin, the young lad I’ve been hiking with, and who has been keeping me alive (literally!) by allowing me to share his filter, has left the trail for a couple of days due to a sore ankle he turned two days back. It’s sad but I’m sure I’ll see him again.

Then off to the Julian Brewing Company for a pint of ‘PCT Panacea’ and the biggest brisket sandwich in Christendom

I had planned to share a room in Julian with some hikers from Liverpool, but it turned out their four bedroom suite had two singles and one double, and no-one fancied sharing with me 😁. So Cara, (Austin’s mum) gave me, Seashells and Bandit a ride back to the trailhead, much appreciated.

Seashells and Bandit decided to camp at the underpass, where we found a Frenchman named Stephan. He didn’t seem to know what to do for the night so he came with me for the steep climb up to the first camp spot. We found there Alex and several others I haven’t seen since day one. Daylight was running out so we pitched up there. Better still they had lugged a large wine bag up so red wine for supper!

So that was a super long but great day. Not much water for a while so I have 7 litres packed. Heavy!

Well, that was a stormy night. Took me a while to sleep because I was watching the tent brace against the wind and the pole flex and bend. I added a couple of guy lines to stabilise before I went to bed and I’m glad I did.

There was light rain too, and this combined with the desert dust made everything a bit mucky. Was a bit late getting moving but the cool weather and easy going trail made the miles relatively easy. However the wind didn’t ease until lunch and it was cold when we stopped.

Ate lunch at Sunrise trailhead, about 10miles down the road, at a bit of a natural windtunnel. We weren’t the only ones drying wet tents there, and filtering water from the animal trough.

Put on a few easy miles and a steep descent into a canyon where a handful of hikers are camping tonight, with the benefit of a small stream just about still flowing.

Julian tomorrow.

It says something about how tough yesterday was that we breezed through the day even with winds hitting 50mph on exposed ridges.

Start of the day was easy with us leaving rather late at 7.45 after breakfast. It was only a few miles into Burnt Rancheria campground (still closed at present) and a warm welcome from Pine House Cafe and Tavern. Coffee and muffin for second breakfast! Funnily, they had tables set aside for PCT hikers…. Wonder why 👃.

Then a short walk into the general store to resupply for the 3 days to Julian. The only water filter he had was the Sawyer Mini, which has a bad rep as being very slow, so I ordered a different one from Amazon to be shipped to Julian post office.

We decided to get some miles in before camp so after meeting Austin’s girlfriend and parents at Pine Lodge we pressed on to the next water source some 8 miles away. Amazing views of the desert on the way and 50mph winds at places, but the walking was easy and we polished it off. Indeed this is the first night I actually felt I had more miles in the tank.

Fun Fact: I am camped at 5444ft, over 1000ft higher than Ben Nevis.

And there is a wind advisory, so a stormy night ahead.

Set off from our glorious campsite around 7.30am, for a day of hopping between water sources. Where there was water, there was plenty and we had to ford a couple of creeks.

We soon got to Boulder Oaks campground, and a little later met up with Blue Monkey, who we were to bump into all day and eventually camp with. Turns out someone camp to the campground last night and set up a barbecue to feed the hikers and gave out ice cold beer! So we narrowly missed out on our first trail magic, but I’m sure there will be more.

Took our first break at Cottonwood Creek to filter water, and I washed my spare undies and socks. Last year at this time it was just a puddle, this year 6″ deep and flowing! It’s been a wet winter here, but great for us as we generally carry 2L of water rather than up to 6L!

Quite a gentle walk to our idyllic lunch spot at Fred Canyon, but on the way I found a watch on the ground. I pocketed it and carried on. Blue Monkey arrived, amongst others, and I asked if it belonged to anyone. Lo and behold Blue Monkey had met a guy who lost a watch earlier, and he arrived 20mins later to be presented with his watch!

The next part of the day was a tough, hot climb towards Mount Laguna. Very taxing, and I consumed litre after litre of water. My shirt is now stained with salt deposits!

Good news is that, due to Austin meeting his family tomorrow in Mt Laguna, we are taking a ‘Nero’, a near zero miles day. I will resupply with food, finally get a replacement water filter and avail myself of the facilities at the campground – my first shower since starting and a wash of my clothes. And I will have plenty of time and signal to phone Fleur 😁😁

Oh, and did I mention I lost my toothbrush on the first day? I’m not one to talk to at close quarters….