Day 9: Idyllwild Zero Day

If you haven’t caught up with the thru-hiker lingo yet a zero day is basically a ‘rest’ day with zero trail miles walked.

But a zero is not really a rest day a such. There is so much to do.

Today’s mission was to:

• Visit the post office, pick up my bounce box and forward it onto the next location (Wrightwood)
• Do my laundry
• Unpack, clean gear (like my cook gear and back flush my water filter)
• Get food for the next leg
• Study up maps for the next leg, work out the best route to back on trail and confirm the water report
• Most importantly, eat healthy, eat a lot and drink lots of water

Mission accomplished and now I have the rest of the day to relax.

Food is comparatively cheap (excluding the exchange rate) over here for the quantity and quality which I’m impressed with. Makes it easier for me to tip the wait staff. This mornings breakfast including unlimited coffee, $15. Way too much food.

Idyllwild is a great little town established at the base of Mt San Jacinto. It’s a vibrant, bohemian sort of town with lots of craft shops, nice eateries and loads of cabin type accomodation. It’s chilled and laid back. A very friendly town to PCT hikers with a big banner across the Main Street welcoming the class of 2018. To give you the vibe of this place, the town major is a dog, Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller.

There are plenty of PCT hikers about doing the same thing as me today. Most of the people I’ve been walking with will arrive in town tonight having elected keep hiking yesterday and take a zero tomorrow. There are always new people to meet everyday and it’s likely the same crowd will keep popping up right throughout the trail.

Here is the view from outside my cabin:

Taking it easy. Back into the game tomorrow.