Day 17 thru 19: Fire Closure and Idyllwild

April 21st to 23rd

Mile 154 to 179 (with some fire detour jazz thrown in)

“The PCT will talk to you and tell you what you need to do. And if not you can always do the AT.” -Animal Style

 

After a bit of a late night (we probably went to bed around 10), we also woke up late (around 6:30), cold and tired. Adam and I left the others and started the seven mile ascent to the fire closure. This was day five of hiking uphill in the heat; we are learning what it means to hike in the desert. As one hiker, Mitch, eloquently put it: ”This place sucks.”

We did not wait long at the top. Clint was right behind us, followed by Laura, then Animal Style, and to our surprise, Jetpack (Leah), who we believed had headed back down to the road in the morning due to foot pain. Nope – she strapped on her sandals over socks and kept right on hiking!

At the top, we all rested in the saddle of the mountain, took photos of the closure sign, and awarded two new trail names. Let’s rewind: Animal Style (Rod, 23 from Israel) was given his name by the trail angel who picked him up from the airport due to his enthusiasm for In-N-Out Burger and their secret menu, the Animal Style Burger. Jet Pack (Leah, 36 from Portland) was given her name due to her speedy pace and her ability to leave camp last and arrive first. I had been called “Edit” from Day 2 simply because the couple we rode with to the trail head remembered us as “Adam and Edit,” due to my job. I liked the zippy name, but I knew it wasn’t right to have one’s job as a trail name. In fact, it’s straight up wrong. So Clint (39 from Reno) offered me a new one: Fey. He explained that fey are otherworldly spirits in Scottish lore. They represent strengths and weaknesses; he said my strength is “drawing people out of themselves” and my weakness is the sun (aka hiking). He told me that if an old Scottish lady met me, she would say I was “of the Fey.” I Googled it, and the third definition read “quaintly unconventional.” SOLD! A bit complicated, but I like it. In exchange, I offered him the trail name that he finally accepted: Day Hike. The opposite of a thru-hiker is a day-hiker, and Clint always has the attitude like we’re just on a day hike – plus, it’s funny. You get it.

[View from the tent, our camping spot for the night, dust and sand looking like mascara on my foot!, the group chilling after a big climb, rando trail pics]

We then began our descent straight down the mountain. At two points in the first four miles, we expected to come across water, but there was none. We weren’t sure what to do, but just as we were crossing a back country road, a truck pulled over asking if we needed anything. The young guy took Animal Style with him back to his house to fill up water, and Day Hike accepted a hitch into Idyllwild. Now it was five of us.

The walk down the alternative route was rough – an unkempt road, steep and covered in rocks. By the time we made it to a campground seven miles outside of Idyllwild, we had hiked 17 miles.

The next morning, Adam elected to hitch the rest of the way in. Without even putting his thumb up, a car with two mountain bikes on the back pulled over and offered a ride – serendipity! The three women and Animal Style continued seven miles uphill on dodgy back trails into town. When we arrived at midday, we were welcomed by Day Hike and Adam into an awesome little cabin just across from the post office and grocery store! We awarded Laura (35, from the UK) a trail name: Spearhead since she had been the leader – both literally and in spirit – for the alternative route.

The evening brought rest, lots of snacking, and some lazy movie watching.

This morning, Adam finally received a trail name up to his standards: Boom. We had been calling him “Flow,” due to his great flow on the trail, but he wasn’t satisfied with this name because in his words, “my wife came up with it.” Day Hike offered “Boom” as a replacement since this is one of Adam’s catchphrases, to which he responded instantly, “I like it.”

And there you have it. We all have trail names. Call us “Fey and Boom.” :)

We’re making a veggie stir fry tonight, and tomorrow we are hiking out. We’re looking forward to seeing Adam’s parents after their nine months of international travel and adventures on Monday!