colleen stinchcombe

PCT miles: Alternate mile 7.7 to Idyllwild
Miles: 7ish

Woke up and my ankles were probably the stiffest they’ve been so far. I walked back and forth on the cement at the bathroom and did some downward dogs and slowly got them to loosen up. Got my things packed up and said goodbye to Rawhide and got walking. Almost immediately the clouds descended on me and I was walking up through mist, only able to see about 100 feet in front of me. 

Such a change from the hot days we’ve been walking through. Eventually I was above the clouds and got a pretty awesome view.

I got to the road and managed to catch a hitch from some locals, Dana and Virginia. They drove me to where Rawhide was having breakfast with other hikers (The Red Kettle) even though it was out of their way. Unfortunately I later realized I’d left my umbrella and my trekking pole in their car. Oops. 

We hung out in the lounge of the Silver Pines Lodge for a few hours. In the afternoon it started raining. We got in our cabin and Nirvana, Amelia and Karma came over and chatted for a while before we went to Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which was fine but not excellent. Afterward I tried to find myself something to eat and was told that the local Mexican restaurant was quick, so I walked there in the foggy rain for 15 minutes only to find out they were closed. But a couple had walked in looking for food and I asked them if they would drive me back to Silver Pines, and they did, which was very kind. So I just went to bed without dinner. No biggie.

We woke the next morning to snow, which came down for most of the day but didn’t stick much in Idyllwild. We got more breakfast and then came back to the lodge and we’re chatting with other hikers when I realized I was still feeling pretty socially overwhelmed, so I excused myself and went and took a nap and tried to relax a little. 

Later, I went into town to resupply and realized I was too hungry to think straight so got some lunch and couldn’t finish it, so texted Rawhide and she came and ate the second half of my BLTA and avocado. I really can’t figure out food out here. I’m hungry but super salty, fatty, carb heavy foods seem to give me a bit of a stomach ache. 

Rawhide headed back to the cabin and I attempted to buy food for my resupply. I needed 6.5 days of food and knew it would be a challenge. I did my best and then went back to the cabin, where Rawhide and another hiker we’ve been bumping into named Rosie were laying out their food. Rosie didn’t think he’d been eating enough and so was paying really close attention to his calorie count, and the amount of food he’s carrying is crazy. But I’m sure he needs it. After laying out my food I realized I was short by 3 lunches and 3 dinners, and Rosie still wanted more food, so we went back to the store. Resupplying is hard. It’s hard to know what you’ll crave and whether you’ll actually take the time to make them. 

After I came back again, Rawhide went to the lounge to call her mom, so I had the whole cabin to myself. I took a shower, which turned into a bath, and I did what I’d been wanting to which was sing as loud as I wanted. Singing is a really quick way for me to tune into myself and it gets me out of my head. It felt really nice. 

Karma, Nirvana and Amelia got their own cabin for the night and invited a handful of people over to eat dinner. After I got out of the bath I saw that Nirvana had texted me asking me to get a few things at the store, so I went to the grocery store for a third time for the day. But it was honestly really nice to walk through the town on my own.

The dinner they made was delicious and pretty healthy and my tummy was glad not to be eating trail food. 

A funny quote from the night – Nirvana was a little tipsy on wine and grabbed the last strawberry, and then messed up his words a little and said this: 

“This strawberry is going in my luscious mouth”

Mousetrap was quick to say: “Oh, what a treat for the strawberry”

It was one of the bigger laughs of the night.

Tomorrow we get back on trail, although I’m not in a hurry to get up early because it will be cold and we don’t have to worry about it getting warm in the middle of the day. We’re not sure if we’re going to go for San Jacinto or not yet – we’re going to see how we feel when we get up there. A day of rest has made my ankles a lot happier and less stiff, so hopefully they get strong soon and won’t be as hard to work with in the mornings.

Also, I managed to find a solo trekking pole at the lodge so at least I’ll have that. I’ll need to replace the umbrella elsewhere. I really liked my umbrella.