April 7, 2014
Up with the sunrise and on the trail by 6:45am. Stopped at the Hiker Oasis water cache (MP 143); Leon joined me there. Pleasantly surprised by a stash of trail magic at mile 145 (still in the middle of the... cold sodas, apples, oranges, etc. Onward to mile 152 and the Palms-to-Pines Highway where I (along with every other thru-hiker) detoured 2 miles down the road to the Paradise Valley Cafe for a tasty lunch (anything besides trail food is delicious at this point). Met other thru-hikers there: Jill & Marci from Seattle, Cooper from New Hampshire, and Justin & his uncle from SoCal; Matt & Luke arrived a bit later.
Due to the Mountain Fire closure (MP 163 thru MP 178), most hikers opted to hitch into Idyllwild. I decided to continue on the trail up into the San Jacinto mountains to the closure point; Leon joined me for a couple miles. I continued up to MP 158, for a daily total of 18 miles, where I camped at a pass/saddle/gap near Tunnel Spring with amazing views both east and west.
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| Leon anticipating the Jose Burger at Paradise Valley Cafe |
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