Day 9

Mile 162.7 (Cedar Spring) to Idyllwild

PCT Miles: 16.7 (26.7km)

Total Miles: 179.4 (287km)

I didn’t sleep very well with all the wind and the anticipation that today I would have the most challenging day on the PCT so far. Oh boy if only I knew…

I decided to have a coffee and a tea to warm me up before I left camp. One of the obvious advantages of camping close to a spring is that you have unlimited water. I wanted to wait for the wind to become less intense and for the cold and condensation on my tent to dissipate a bit.

Wearing for the first time my fleece and my gloves 🧤 I left camp at 8. 1 mile hiking up back to trail 🤬 and then off I went to… the middle of the storm.

To be fair, it didn’t rain (or snow or hail) but the wind was so strong and so cold that at some times I had to stop hiking just to keep my balance. Today I was not hiding under the trees for shade. I was hiding behind rocks or bushes for wind protection.

Not only it was a steep climb of more than 2000 feet to a maximum elevation on 8800 feet in was also not carrying so much water. I was hoping not to drink too much since it was not so warm. The problem is that the ascent took much more than I thought. It was super steep (and windy!!). Not only the physical effort was huge, I tried my best to keep it slow to prevent altitude sickness.

There were trees and branches and rocks spread all over the path. To be honest it really made the hike more fun (jump over or crawl under a tree, finding ways of going around impenetrable blobs of branches, etc) but it also made it so much slow. I was hiking under 1.5 mile an hour and that was simply not going to work.

Around lunchtime I passed this group of 4 people. As I usually do, I quickly stop to introduce myself, wish them a good day and carry on with my bike. Hi, I’m Bruno, I said. Toni, Noelle, Tenor and Virginia they replied! Have I nice day, I wished to them. You too, they replied. Oh by the way there’s something on in your fanny pack, Toni yelled. I noticed that

my headlamp was on for some reason. The light was very faint, so it probably was on for the whole

morning (and past evening?). I turned it off and yelled back: thank you!

At mile 169, I saw what I was absolutely not looking forward: snow and ice on the path. The first test was actually a steep cliff edge. Remembering the first rule (don’t die!) I decided to put my micro spikes on. But before, time to read the manual as I had no idea what I was doing… It turned out to be pretty straightforward and there I was, all micro spiked and ready for some ice and snow action!

Everything went fine. There was not thaaat amount

of snow and I felt safe all the time. It was just impossible to look down at the cliffs. Every step in inclined snow took me forever, which I don’t regret.

Even the sun decided to show up (after I was above the clouds). It was still very cold and windy but sunny. Maybe too sunny. I started drinking much more water and I was so relieved when I found a spring from melted snow running alongside a rock wall. Time to refill!

Because it took me so long to hike today, I decided not to go to Idylllwild and instead camp on top of the mountain. I heard that the descend to Idyllwild was a bit steep and there was a considerable amount of ice and snow. Better to do it tomorrow morning when my body is rested.

I couldn’t wait to make camp. I didn’t have more lunch food and I ate all my snacks during the day. The only thing left was a knorr spaghetti and a couscous, both I had to cook. I was really looking forward to a warm meal!

At 5 I finally found the last place to camp before the descend to Idyllwild. It was a beautiful place with a beautiful view to both sides of the mountain. I was alone and there was not much protection from the wind though, so I pitched my tent with some struggle. I used big rocks to secure my tent stakes in place. Everything good, time for some well deserved rest and warm food!

What a crazy day! While I was pitching my tent I thought that this was probably the most adventurous and challenging hike day I’ve ever had. So exhausting but so rewarding!

It indeed ended up being the most adventurous day of my life. But not for what had happened already, but for what was still to happen…

to be continued…