10 April 2021
Zero Day in Idyllwild
No PCT Miles Hiked!

Today has been super mellow. Half Cookie and I are staying at the Idyllwild Inn with lovely cabins and free laundry.

For breakfast we ordered take-out coffee and pastries at the main place downtown and enjoyed the quirkiness of the town while we waited.

We then walked across town to a trailhead which I thought would be a shortcut to the Suicide Rock Trail. But it was closed due to some work by the Forestry Service, so we did a little loop in the open part and returned to town.

It was good to see the Forest Service out today. My friend Elbow Maven asks “The PCT seems super well maintained? Is that true throughout? Or is it state by state?” Well, actually I have not been showing just how tough it is this year after the pandemic dramatically slowed the pace of maintenance.

I know this acutely because I am now quite sunburned on my legs and very sensitive to these sections where plants like whitethorn ceanothus have taken over the trail. Ouch!

The Pacific Crest Trail manages a volunteer trail maintenance program (I have taken their basic course and volunteered a couple of times) but also coordinates professional efforts with National Parks, National Forests, State Parks, Bureau of Land Management and other public lands, and Native American Reservations.

It’s a pretty amazing effort, and I am sure that by the end of the year the PCT will start getting back to its usual state, but it will probably continue to be a tougher-than-usual slog for my thru-hike.

Anyhoo, back in town Half Cookie and I went over to a neighborhood with some ancient pictographs under a huge boulder.

All in all, we got in a good 5 miles of wandering, which was just perfect for keeping the day restful.

For lunch we met Goose for pizza, then Half Cookie and I hung out at our cabin until it was time for dinner. BLT and Salmon Caesar Salad. Yum!

Then a bad movie, a BBC special on elephants, and now bedtime!

Today’s Hike-U

Ode to Half Cookie
My favorite thing
About my needed rest day:
Time with my best friend