Our campsite for last night was at 7786′. We started walking in perfect weather down towards the desert floor. The descent was gradual and steady. And down.

The photo above shows the valley floor that we had to descend to.

Eventually we got to the bottom of the valley, at 1200′ and trudged through the soft sand of a creek bed, fighting against gusts of wind until we crossed under the interstate highway. At that underpass we found a very kind trail angel with water and mandarins.

We walked some more miles and finally camped even though it was a bit exposed and very windy. The snow covered mountain in the background is the one we had just descended.

We passed 200 miles today!

We were driven back to the start of Devil’s Slide Trail and started the ascent at 8:20 this morning. With blue skies, cool temperature and barely a breath of wind we started off in high spirits. The slope which had seemed so steep on the way down 2 days ago was easily completed and we rejoined the PCT and continued on up a further steep section through sparse pine forest with twittering birds and scampering squirrels and lizards.

The snow covered mountain in the distance is Mt San Giorgonio, the highest mountain in southern California. The PCT goes close to it to about the 9000′ snowline (see future blog post)After stopping for a sandwich we moved on up the trail which we anticipated would be a gently meandering path, mostly downhill to our plannerd campsite.Instead we were greeted with a steeply ascending track, often covered with snow and our passage was often complicated by bad turns onto false trails as we mainly followed the footprints of hikers who had passed before.The sometimes deep patches of snow were slippery at times and then occasionally our feet made deep holes leaving us knee deep in snow.After what seemed like endless miles, we finally came to our campsite as the sun went down. Our shoes and socks were saturated and our feet quite frozen with the cold. Setting up the tent, cooking and eating dinner were completed in record time and no doubt sleep will quickly follow. The wind has picked up and is whistling through the trees outside but hopefully the tent will remain standing and perhaps even our shoes will dry a little through the night.

The reason for going to Idyllwild was so we could stay in a motel for two nights. We stayed at the Idyllwild Inn, very handy to the centre of this quaint little town.

Never has a shower felt so good. As well as a comfortable bed, good meals and laundry, we have resupplied with things from the shops (including food and micro-spikes for the next section). Our boxes mailed from San Diego were waiting here, so we did some re-sorting.

We have now caught up with our blog posts. By the way, thank you all for your comments and encouragements – we appreciate them all even if we don’t respond to each one.

The morning dawned clear and the view over the valley below was beautiful.

More hiking along the ridges and at times we were slowed down where snow still covered the trail. At one point a tree had fallen just on the corner of a switchback. Losing sight of the path, we bush bashed for about half an hour till we got back on track.

At Saddle Ridge we breaked for lunch and had our permits checked by a ranger.

Then we left the PCT and took a side trail of 2.6 miles down to the town of Idyllwild.

Today was a hard slog! We headed up into the San Jacinto mountains getting up to 8000′. The first half of the day we walked entirely in cloud, quite cool and very windy. Eagle-eyed Ros noticed some footprints in the trail which we are pretty sure are from a mountain lion.

At times the wind was so strong that it almost blew Ros over. But the clouds disappeared and revealed fantastic views.

We walked up and up along a line of ridges to our campsite at mile 171. The metal box was some debris but it formed a great wind shield for our stove.

The day was not too hot and the walking was generally downhill. We made good progress and ended up doing another 20 mile day. Another factor in our good progress was the enticement of the “best burgers on the PCT” so we raced to get to the Paradise Valley Cafe at the closing time of 3pm. They were good! We shared a table with a couple our age who are hiking this section of the trail.

Our first real encounter with danger on the trail was with some local flora. Poison oak, if you touch it, can cause a very nasty blistering rash. Because it is a delayed reaction, you can have an extensive contact before you realise the danger. We were camped for the night beside a lovely creek, the site only spoiled by the presence of poison oak. Fortunately it had a convenient label and we had been warned about the danger.

Apart from that, our campsite was very nice beside a small creek, which we crossed a few times before climbing higher. We got to one part of the mountain covered in granite boulders, reminiscent of Girraween.

By about lunchtime we reach Mike’s Place, which has somewhat of a reputation among PCT hikers. The term ‘Hiker trash’ is used affectionately (by hikers) and not so affectionately) by other members of the public. Mainly because we are dirty and smelly.

We filled up with water and because the temperatures were a bit lower, ended up putting in a longer day of 20 miles.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow. We continue to be thankful for safety and scenery.

Last night’s campsite:

This morning was gentle downhill run to Barrel Springs for another water refill for the next 10 miles to Warner Springs. Some more trail magic with fresh fruit – I had half a chocolate donut and fresh strawberries – who’d have thought. The lady that brought the food had a dog with its own backpack.

Along the way, more beautiful flowers and sweeping views. I will start a gallery under Photos.

And we passed 100 miles!

We did the obligatory photo stop at Eagle Rock then cruised into Warner Springs where there is a very hiker friendly community centre with a shop full of hiker food and goods, and bucket showers where we had our first shower for 5 days. And washed our clothes too – they have a collection of loaner clothes as most hikers only have one set of clothes (the ones we wear everyday). Once the clothes are dry and the phone is recharged we will walk on a few miles.

We will be writing about the people we meet on the trail but first a little about the one I brought with me. Robert has been the best hiking partner – carrying the bulk of our weight, navigating and organising our path and our breaks as well as doing all the photography and ‘tech’ stuff. In addition to all that he is a real gentleman – helping me on and off with my pack at every stop, hiking at my slow pace without complaint and putting up with my need for hygiene at frequent intervals. What a man!

A 5:40 start after a good night’s sleep and we were on our way, mostly following the contours around the San Felipe mountains. So beautiful in the early morning.

We walked 10 miles to 3rd Gate water cache. We restocked for the next 10 mile waterless stretch. Now we are resting under a shrub waiting for the heat to lessen before hiking some more miles.

Late edition: we walked till 6:45 and have set up a reasonable campsite. Along the way we walked right past a rattlesnake that must have only been 30cm from the path (and our legs). Later we saw another beautiful snake cross the path. (sorry about the order of the photos but I can’t work out how to do it my phone)

Today was beautiful but hot. We got going at 5:45 while it was still cool. We had breakfast after an hour, then frequent breaks whenever there was some good shade (not often enough). The sun umbrellas worked well but the heat still reflects off the ground.We arrived at a highway crossing and have spent nearly three hours under a bridge with other hikers. There is a water cache here so we can refill for the next 14 mile section.As well as this welcome assistance there were a couple of guys with cold drinks, biscuits, fruit etc. So generous!In a minute we will leave the cool shade of the bridge and do another 4-5 miles before camp.

Our camp for the night at mile 82.6,