[pct-l] Idyllwild Enter/Exit

[Diane at Santa Barbara Hikes dot com]

On Feb 27, 2009, at 10:36 PM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:
>
> I was reviewing resupply options last night when I came to the  
> section on Idyllwild. I know that many hikers will hitch into town  
> on Pines-to-Palms Highway, then hike out on the Devil's Slide Trail  
> to Saddle Junction. I hadn't thought much about it, assuming that  
> we'll make it up as we go. Now after considering the idea I've come  
> to a conclusion. While we don't plan on being purists, we also do  
> not intend to skip 28 miles for no reason.
Last year for many of us, the after between Pines-to-Palms was closed  
because somebody started a fire burning toilet paper (don't get me  
started). There was an alternate route to walk, but I did not do it  
because I did not know the way and didn't want to get lost.
>
> While Melissa and I are doing what we can to stay in shape, we know  
> that we will be well below our hiking "peak" when we reach the  
> border. We are planning on shorter days for the first few hundred  
> miles of the walk. Say, 12/15 miles, whenever water access allows.  
> Also, we plan on resupplying as often as is reasonable to keep our  
> pack weights down. Lake Morena, Mt. Laguna, Julian, Warner Springs.
A good plan, but the water is usually about 20 miles apart.
>
> So, how do we navigate Idyllwild without loosing the miles. The  
> obvious answer is to just buck up and carry the extra two days of  
> food going in or out. Assuming that I do not want to carry this  
> much weight I see a few choices: 1. Send a box with two days food  
> to Paradise Cafe, hike on till Devil's Slide. 2. Hitch in on P-t-P,  
> hike out Devil's Slide, head south to P-t-P, hitch back to  
> Idyllwild, back out Devil's. 3. Hitch into and out of Town, hike 2  
> days to Devil's, resupply again.
One option is to pig out at Paradise Cafe and maybe even carry a to- 
go item with you. That'll buy you an extra day or half a day that you  
don't have to carry.
>
> Paradise Cafe is closed on Tue. and does not open until 11:00  
> Mon,Wed & Thr. I've read in Yogi's book that the hours here may be  
> erratic at times. Does anyone have positive or negative stories to  
> relate?
I had not heard of the Jose burger before I arrived, but reading the  
menu it sounded good. It is really good. Of all the food that sticks  
in my mind, the Drakesbad food is number one and the Jose burger is  
number 2. I didn't know about the hours. I guess I didn't arrive on a  
Tuesday, and I know I arrived in the mid-afternoon. Great biker  
hangout with some cool motorcycles to look at, too.
>
> How bad is Devil's Slide? Does anyone know how much altitude gain/ 
> loss there is per mile? Or the gradient %.
I loved hiking Devil's Slide. After all that boring, gentle, barely  
going anywhere, riddled with endless switchbacks of the PCT, a real  
hill was a delight. I was on fire climbing up that hill and felt  
energized at the top so I completed Fuller Ridge that same afternoon.  
(Although I would have stopped mid-way if I hadn't been hiking with  
Gary. By the way, anybody know what happened to Gary, the nurse from  
Mass, AKA Driveby? I searched for his journal, which was some other  
kind of blog system, and never could find it.)
>