Paradise Café & Idyllwild ‘The Motivation for Food and Alcohol Grows!’ – PCT 2017: A Hiking Story [05]
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Part 4 ‘Early Mornings and Flower Blooms’
Day 9 (06/04) – Mike’s Place
It was hard to leave such a big cohort of hikers, but Echo, Maximus, Sarah, Cuppa Joe and I all left to push on from Warner Springs. The day involved hiking through yet another beautiful meadow of flowers, followed by dry forests, and finally back into the desert. There were amazing huge boulders creating some breathtaking Mars-like otherworldly scenery.
Echo and I were hiking fast, but our water levels were getting light. Our next resupply was at Mikes Place, a hiker-friendly house in the middle of nowhere. You can access the water from their tanks and just push on hiking. However, many of us ended up planning to stay the night at Mike’s Place.
Upon arriving there, they offered beer, whiskey, and homemade pizza – a welcoming sight for all of us. The place was rowdy and a little wild, but welcome as a break. I’d heard mixed stories about this place, but my experience there was only good. I met up with several new hikers whom I had briefly met in Warner Springs, exchanging proper introductions, including Abi, Hansel and Grundle who were all great fun.
Distance hiked: 18 miles (28.97 km)
Total PCT hiked: 127 miles (204.39 km)
Day 10 (07/04) – Camping in the Rocks
Echo, Maximus, Sara, Medic and I set off as early as our hangovers from the previous evening had allowed. We filtered water at the water tanks and had a quick breakfast there. This way, we didn’t wake the other hikers sleeping down at the house. The morning sunrise was spectacular and made for a good start to the day.
Eventually, it was just Echo and myself hiking alone again, hiking faster than the others. The day was another desert superbloom paradise, with flowers everywhere.
Water was scarce, but an unexpected water cache made life easier. It meant we could camp comfortably at the next campsite, and not stress too much about conserving our water. The day was hot, and I was still tired from the drinking session and late night previously.
We arrived at a campsite surrounded by large boulders, and we decided to cowboy camp early on in the shade. I had a nice little cosy corner under a rock shelter, and Echo set up nearby.
Soon after, several other hikers arrived, including the couple Claire and Porter (previously Kade), Abi, Hansel and Grundle. We chilled talking together before all having an early sleep.
Distance Hiked: 17 miles (27.36 km)
Total PCT hiked: 144 miles (231.75 km)
Day 11 (08/04) – Paradise Café
I awoke to a fine mist befalling upon my sleeping quilt. It was quite cold and getting up was hard, but the longer we lingered, the more damp we’d become from the mist. Luckily, it seemed to have only just started and was very fine. I still managed to make my morning coffee and oats, and we set off. I thought about waking Abi, who wanted to get up an hour after, but she looked too comfortable in her feathered cocoon of warmth.
As we hiked on, the mist turned to almost rain and began to soak our clothes. It wasn’t rain in the usual sense, but more like walking in a dense cloud. It didn’t stop the beauty of the scenery, however. We passed an awesome little hiker rest stop called Waldon, with a cooler of cold drinks, and a small ‘library’ of books with a cache of water nearby. Thanks awesome community!
The destination was Paradise Café – some 8 miles (12.87 km) away. I was starving, and it provided the motivation to push on… fast! I knew Cuppa Joe and Maximus would be there too.
Eventually, we made it to Paradise Café. The process took about 15 seconds – I sat down, looked at what Maximus ordered and said ‘I want that too’, not even reading the menu! The meal consisted of home-cooked hash brown, chicken steak, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy (a kind of plain cake with white sauce) and toast. Then, this was followed by a coffee, a vanilla milkshake, and further… endless cups of coffee – truly a paradise café for a hiker!
After breakfast, we needed to hitch into Idyllwild – a small alpine town nearby. There was a trail closure from fires in the region, and the alternative was road walking – not something I wanted to do at all. Almost all PCT hikers we met hitched, missing part of the trail. Echo, Robert, Sara, and another hiker (I don’t know his name) all got a lift with some random guy almost instantly in his pick-up truck (along with his dog). It was funny as Sara and Robert had to squeeze into the front seat, and the dog was walking around all over us with nowhere to go!
We arrived in Idyllwild and found the campsite. Here, we found the other PCT hikers, and we set up our tents.
We bought beers and chilled out. A hacky sack was brought out and provided a good hour’s worth of fun. We were also hanging around the fire for the evening, sharing our trail stories. At the table, Robert and I were talking in mid-conversation, when he mixed up his water and wine bottle lids – dropping the cork in his water bottle instead of the wine bottle. It was hilarious, and I gave him the trail name Corky which stuck immediately!
Distance hiked: 8 miles (12.87 km)
Total PCT hiked: ~175 miles (281.64 km)
Day 12 (09/04) – The Town of Idyllwild
My first zero day!
Zero miles, a day to relax and chill out. I went into the township of Idyllwild with Maximus and bought some new tips for my trekking poles, which were both in bad shape. We decided a BBQ was in order as we had so many people at camp. We bought a heap of beer, meat and party food and headed back to camp. Our camp party was amazing!
Distance hiked: 0 miles
Total PCT hiked: ~175 miles (281.64 km)
Next Post:
Part 6 ‘San Jacinto & Fuller Ridge ‘Alpha Mountaineering Crew”
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