Today was my first zero, which is a day with no miles logged on the trail. I have a dilemma; hiking in the snow yesterday clued me in to what a slog it could be going north from here, and the weather report says we are in for more snow in the next few days. So I have a few choices. I can hang out here in Idyllwild until the storms blow over and the snow recedes, I can get picked up and take a week or two off the trail, or I can do some hiking locally or down south until the trail clears.
Tonight is my last night in the hotel, and then I move over to the nearby state park to camp. I walked over there today and found out it is only $3 per night for hikers, and $1 per shower. I should be able to ride out the storm there, and besides, my feet still need a day or two before they are ready for hiking.
I spent my day tooling around Idyllwild. My hotel does a complimentary load of laundry, so I spent the morning in my rain shell while my clothes were being washed. Later, I decided to go to the ranger station and sporting goods store to get the latest on trail conditions. The ranger station didn't have much info, but they did tell me about a guy with an Australian accent who tried to hike out this morning. Apparently the trail was snowed in north of here and he had to turn back. The owner of the hotel had mentioned the same thing, and said the guy was staying a few rooms down from me. While I was at the sporting goods store checking out, the guy behind me asked if I was through-hiking. I couldn't help but notice his heavy Australian accent.
His trail name is "Wolverine," because he looks a hell of a lot like Hugh Jackman. He told me that the PCT trail crew I passed back outside of Mt. Laguna was staying at the campgrounds. He was heading over with beer to thank them. I grabbed a six pack and joined. The crew was very nice. They work 10 days on trail and 4 days off in Idyllwild. They are each team leaders, meaning when the season starts they will each be leading high school students out to do trail work. Apparently they are out here as a team honing their skills. We all went for beer and pizza, then saw "The Hunger Games" at the small local theater.
The crew leaves town tomorrow, but Wolverine is here for another 10 days or so until his friend arrives. His friend is starting the trail now and apparently knows this area, and is thus able to guide them through the snow. I'm meeting Wolverine for coffee tomorrow, then I need to figure out my own plan.
