Not lions, or tigers, or bears...but SNAKES, Oh my!

 11 April, 2022 (Tuesday)

Kristi: "Sleuth is Yogi’s friend who serves as one of the Admin on the special PCT2022 group you are in Mom... She’s in the blue shirt. She’s probably Aunt Shanny’s age. I’m hoping to walk into town and meet her and some of the other girls for donuts. That is Darn Tough in the light blue, and Mudslide in the tan."    

    This is what Kristi posted yesterday. She was taking a 'zero' day (meaning zero miles) to wait out a storm. 

   Kristi: "I made it to Paradise Valley Cafe and was able to get some FOOD!!! I called my mom to talk to me the last 1.5m to the cafe. I kept thinking I just want a calorie and to wash my hands in a sink!! I repeated that many many times. Then I got a hitch in with my friends Metric and Trix to Idyllwild where I met up with my friend Morgan with @blazephysio”

This is Honey. 💗

“We went and did a home stop to one of the hiker AirBnb’s where Honey gazed at me so obediently while I ate my burger. I ate the 3rd and last helping of my burger this morning for breakfast staying hydrated and fed has indeed been the hardest part for me so far. I’m so grateful for town days when I can sleep and eat. Off now to do laundry and find some donuts and a grocery store"

.   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .   .

   Sometimes as thru hikers they have to make tough calls to take ‘zero’ days (meaning hiking zero miles) and stay in town. Most of the towns along the PCT have hostiles that are much cheaper than getting a nice room in a hotel. Although sometimes along the route that may happen if the hostiles are full. But in Idyllwild Kristi was able to find a spot for about $30. a night. She is headed next into the San Jacinto mountain range and some of the trails are very steep, and the trail precarious. They use the word ‘treacherous’.

    I have watched YouTube videos of the passes they speak of and agree 100% that they do not need to be up there with wind gusting like that. I’m thankful for all the reports on conditions and the FB groups (of hikers themselves) that report on real time conditions. Those updates are taken seriously and passed along. 

   Kristi didn’t take her clamp-on ice spikes as she didn’t think she’d need them hiking through the desert. So she wasn’t going to have us put them in a resupply box till she got to Kennedy Meadows and out of the desert. Remember, ultra light means packing nothing that isn’t imperative. However,  the reports from hikers ahead of her was that there are places along the trail with ice, and sometimes knee deep snow plus 70 downed trees that you have to sometimes traverse around. After this new round of storms Kristi bought some clamp-ons to go into the San Jacinto. 

   About the 🐍 snakes. Yes, there are snakes! A hiker named DeLong shared this photo with the group yesterday saying she saw three that day. This fella she almost stepped on as she came around a corner. Yikes! 

This guy doesn’t seem to happy.😳 😜😩

   Yes Kristi has seen them. And one night she heard one in the distance (too close) and still Cowboy camped that night. She said she prayed, and went to sleep. 😰🤭😑😴