[pct-l] Idyllwild Enter/Exit

[Cris]

Jason,
I used to live in the flatlands below Idyllwild and hiked there a lot.  The
Devil's Slide trail is beautiful and I truly love it as everyone says but
the Deer Springs trail IMO could be more useful to get into town --even
though you give up a chance to get a ride in lieu of the road walk--.  From
Saddle Junction it is 1.2 miles farther to the junction with DST. From there
it's 4.1 mi down to the highway 243, just northwest of town by 1/4 mile
maybe? As far as a hitch from Humber Park to town, if you happen there on a
nice day the trailhead parking is usually full.  If it's a cold and drippy
day, I wouldn't count on it.

Back to lurking and planning my next section...
Cris
...mountains don't tolerate fools...
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> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:55:56 -0700
> From: jason moores <jmmoores at hotmail.com>
> Subject: [pct-l] Idyllwild Enter/Exit
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Message-ID: <COL109-W10DF980C68CFF436842EAFC1AB0 at phx.gbl>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"
> 
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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? Has picking up a
> box here been a problem in the past? I don't care for the idea of waiting
> for hours in a parking lot in the desert, for a box, particularly if it's
> possible that the place is randomly closed.
> 
> >From Pines-to-Palms Yogi sights a 33.6 mile water warning (on trail), and
> then lists some less than appealing off trail possibilities. Is there a
> cache breaking up this area or a truly reliable water source?
> 
> How bad is Devil's Slide? Does anyone know how much altitude gain/loss
> there is per mile? Or the gradient %.
> 
> Now that I think of it, is any of this area still closed after last year's
> forest fires?
> 
> I know this may seem like a lot of thought to be putting into what should
> be a simple and enjoyable resupply. It's just that the first few hundred
> miles is all we are truly planning in any detail. After Big Bear we'll be
> winging it with abandon. It's important to me that we keep our miles and
> weight at a reasonable level as we deal with the aches and blisters
> associated with the first 200 miles. I'll take as much time and effort to
> transition into the trail as is reasonable.
> 
> What have others done through this stretch? Or, what are people planning
> to do this year?
> 
> jason
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
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