Hail Storm

Burgundy and Eric on the trail

Hello everyone. I am currently in a little town called Idyllwild (mile 179 on the PCT) having taken my first “zero” yesterday. A “zero” is a day where you don’t make any mileage on the trail at all. A “nero” is a day where you hike a minimal distance (nearly-zero).

Me on the trail- Photo courtesy of Highwater

The hike out of Warner Springs where I made my last post was the toughest hike up to that point. Nails, Burgundy and I decided to hike 15 miles at night in order to avoid taking a “zero”, but still enjoy the benefits of one. I.e relaxing during the day, doing laundry and eating cooked meals.  We did not realise however, that the next section was a long climb straight up a mountain. Having left at 5.30pm, it was a gruelling 8 hour hike before we arrived at the planned camping spot just before 2am. Hiking in the dark means that you cannot see the surrounding landscape, only about 25 yards of the trial in front of you. Every turn we approached, we hoped in vain that the incline would level out, even a little bit. Contrarily, we were greeted with steeper and steeper switchbacks, that seemed to be never-ending.  By the time we arrived, our legs were barely carrying us. Every step felt like an impossible battle, but we made it. It was a HUGE relief to finally reach our goal. Our sleeps were long and deep that night. When we woke in the light the next morning, we could see that we were sleeping in a boulder field, on the side of a mountain, in a cloud. It was one of the most surreal, and spectacular moments.

It was late before we were prepared to set off again that day. It was a pretty memorable morning, not just because of the gorgeous scenery we woke up to, but also because Burgundy and I made our first outdoor bowel movements (not together or in the same hole, as some people assumed). It was a prouder moment than you might think. On the trail, there is a very serious “leave no trace” or LNT policy. This means that you must take all your rubbish away, and try to leave everything as if you had never been there. This includes not leaving any toilet paper, so you have to take it away with you and throw it out later. It is disgusting, but you can probably imagine several thousand hikers taking a dump every day will eventually lead to a messy trail. Some people do bury the TP with their excrement, but animals have a tendency to sniff it out and dig it up, so it is a little frowned upon. You would be amazed how quickly a conversation with another hiker can turn to toilet patterns out here. it is quite common to speak to someone you have never met, and within 5 minutes, be talking about the schedule and consistency of each other’s faeces. I feel right at home!

Another hiker called Highwater stopped as he was hiking passed to chat while we were getting ready, and decided to join our little group for the day. He has previously hiked the Appalachian Trail, and so having started about 4 days after us, it was no surprise he caught up to us so quickly. He has stuck with us since.

Highwater and I- Photo courtesy of Highwater

A couple of days later, we arrived at a highway crossing at mile 152 of the trail, and a little place called Paradise Valley Cafe was only a mile west along the road. We had been looking forward to it for a few days, as word of their “Mother Lode” one-pound burger was quickly getting around the trail. A few other hikers were there, and 6 of us got a table outside to avoid stinking up inside. All but the 2 vegetarians ordered the Mother Lode, and a couple of beers. Highwater decided to order another one, and to everyone’s amazement promptly cleaned his second plate, and second pound of burger patty. All the patrons were really friendly to us, and several stopped to have a quick chat, including a couple of leather-wearing bikers. Shortly after the 2 bikers left about an hour later, our waitress came over and said that they had paid for our meal, and didn’t want the waitress to say anything until after they left. We felt so humbled and shocked at their generosity, but also sad that we could not show them our appreciation. The waitress said that they were regulars however, so we all wrote a thank you note and asked her to pass it on next time they came in.

The “Mother Lode” at Paradise Valley Cafe- Photo courtesy of Highwater

A section of the trial is closed from ~mile 162 to ~mile 179, due to a forest fire a few years ago. As a result, for the last few days, most of the talk between hikers has been about an alternate route, some of which involves a section of dangerous highway walking. Most people have decided to skip the road section, as it is not part of the PCT, dangerous, and just unpleasant hiking. There is 10 miles of the PCT open from the Paradise Valley Cafe to the point where the trail is actually closed, then a 6.2 mile alternate route down to highway 74, where people hitch a ride into Idyllwild. Nails, Highwater and I decided to tackle this section on Thursday. Burgundy left slightly ahead of us, so he could go at his own pace. We were aware of some incoming bad weather, but expected it to just be slight rain, nothing a Londoner couldn’t handle. I Made a bet with Highwater for a snickers bar that it would rain. Looking at the sky, neither of us thought it would rain at all, but the weather forecast said there was 80% chance, so I liked my odds.

Unfortunately, I won the bet spectacularly. For several hours, we were hiking in the sun, with a storm covering the mountains adjacent to us. It looked like the storm was going to pass us by, but at around 1 pm, it hit us.

Nails next to the storm- Photo Courtesy of Highwater

It started with a slight drizzle, but quickly turned into heavy hail. We got hit by about 2 inches of hail in less than an hour. to my utter despair, I found out the hard way that my “waterproof” jacket was not waterproof at all. All 3 of us got soaked to the bone, in almost freezing conditions. We had been trying to push to the point of the trail closure before stopping for lunch too, so we were all starving by the time we arrived. We tried to stop under some trees about a mile before, but all decided to push on and eat when we hit the closure.

Nails and the storm- Photo courtesy of Highwater

When we finally arrived, we were shivering and were borderline hypothermic. We didn’t have the energy in us to keep us warm. My freezing cold jacket and clothes were soaked through, clinging to me, and draining what little warmth I was producing. I took off my jacket and wrapped myself in my Tyvek groundsheet to try to warm up. All our joints felt frozen stiff as we deployed our stoves to try to cook some hot lunch. Every movement was painful, and our hands were drained of all strength. It took quite a while to heat the water in those temperatures, but when we finally had our hot meals, although still shivering, we felt slightly better. The hail and rain decided to stop as we were eating, and the sun made a teasingly brief appearance.

Freezing our arses off at the point of the trail closure- Photo courtesy of Highwater

Me wrapped in my tyvek groundsheet- Photo courtesy of Highwater

Still frozen and stiff however, we decided to move on and hike down towards the highway. I have never seen 3 hikers move so slowly as we hobbled and winced down the side trail along the diversion. We slowly sped up as we decreased in altitude, and warmed up from the movement and food digestion. 6.2 miles and 2000 feet decline later, we arrived at the highway. A kind man took pity on us, and gave us a ride into Idyllwild. We were greeted by a drunk but merry Burgundy who took us to a cabin that a few other hikers has rented. They fed us spaghetti and beer, and welcomed us into their heated shelter where we showered and exchanged stories of the bad weather. It seemed that everybody else had got a ride straight into Idyllwild from Paradise Valley Cafe to avoid the weather, and were amazed that we hiked up the mountain considering the conditions. Some called us brave, some called us foolish, but it was definitely an amazing experience. We camped in the town campsite that night, still damp and cold as all the beds in the cabin were full, and it was too late in the day to sort out a room of our own.

The zero we took was definitely well timed. We spent the day relaxing, stuffing our faces with pizza and beer, and doing laundry. Nails, Highwater, Foxtrot, Grapefruit, another lady from London called Kat and I decided to chip in for a cabin between us last night, and we had the most luxurious night yet on the PCT. A fireplace, real beds, a fridge, sofas- it was heaven. We all dried out our gear, got cleaned up and relaxed. There were 6 of us between 3 beds and 2 sofas, so it was a little cramped, but cosy. I sent home my ineffective rain jacket, along with a few other pieces of gear that I have not been using, to save weight. I decided to make a poncho out of my Tyvek groundsheet, which hopefully will keep me dry in similar future situations.

In the Cabin with my new poncho- Photo courtesy of Highwater

The weather is still bad today, and I am considering taking another zero if the weather does not clear up by this evening. If not, it is supposed to be clear by tomorrow at the latest. Highwater and nails have set off despite the rain, but I am confident I can catch them up in a couple of days. I feel guilty about taking 2 zeros in a row, but I would rather be dry and warm. Bad weather is supposed to be very rare on the PCT. It may be raining here in town, but the trial is back up another 2000 feet, so will likely be snowing/ hailing up there. Also, Burgundy left for LA yesterday to see a concert with some friends, and will be back in town tomorrow or the next day, so it would give him a chance to catch up with us too.

Burgundy and Highwater have kindly let me use a lot of their photos, as I have not been taking as many as I should. I will try to take as many as I can. Burgundy has a blog of his own, so I feel it is appropriate to link it here. He has some great pictures on there.

http://calvinhikes.blogspot.com/

Thanks again for reading and I’ll update soon!