3.30.18

Towns are this alternate universe. Not diametrically opposed but a counterweight to the rest of the wilderness. Three to four days in the sun, rain, wind, mud etc and then out of nowhere a string of power lines points the way to this electrical oasis. A tiny grid connected by roads and cables. People and cars. Dogs on leashes attached to people with warm coffee in their hands. Every town we pass hikers on the road, in the supermarkets, at the coffee shops etc. The community is tight and a friendly wave and a few questions always follow. ‘Where’d you come from today? Did you hit the cafe on your way in? Oh man that first big grade out of Warner Spings’. Nods of knowing. Everyone’s generally speaking the same language and has just gone through the same heat or cold you have and everyone wants the same thing when they get into a town: hot food and hot shower. For these first 150 miles we’ve been leapfrogging an Asian couple in their sixties. We saw them first at Lake Moreno and come across each other at water spots or markets in town. They always seem like they’re having the time of their lives. This seems generally true for most people. You’re in pain. You’re physically and mentally drained. You’re dirty and you smell of a completely different brand of body odor that you were previously unfamiliar with. But you’re also having the time of your life. The locals aren’t put off at all. They ask questions and offer information. Twice we’ve just had people walk up to say they admire what we’re doing and will be happy to drive us back to the trail anytime. Shopkeepers offer to open gates to their property after they close if we can’t find a good camping spot. Retired army guys drive us miles at 6 am in their restored troop transporters even when they’re not positive it’ll make it back home. The lady at the post office leans down and comes up with a grapefruit ‘for the trail.’ Well-wishers and handshakes abound and it’s enough to get at ones heart strings on a daily basis.
So today Anne and I are leaving Idyllwild and climbing 3,000 feet to an exposed campground on Mt Jacinto. It’ll be five days in the wilderness till Big Bear City where we’ll have to hitch-hike in. Big Bear looks great but it’ll be tough to match the magic of Idyllwild. We’re rested. Legs feel ok. My ankle is almost completely healed. After climbing to close to 9,500 ft we then decend all the way down to around 2,000 ft where we cross the I-10 and for those of you who know the 10 this is the area with all the windmills. It’ll go from frigid to hot pretty quickly here and there’s a good 20 mike stretch with no water so we spent last night consulting all the maps and carefully laying out the next week. One big payoff is the water preserve halfway and the fact that we’ll be taking shorter days and staying in defined campsites with fire pits (my favorite part of any campground) It’s just mice to sit on a log and talk while you stare aimlessly into a cracklings fire at the end of the day.
I’ll blog again when we hit big bear. I’m still having trouble getting photos from google drive to link with Firefox and blogger but I’ll figure it out and have some pics up soon.
Take care!