[pct-l] Thru-hiker on Hwy 74 (Pines to Palm)

[gottago at lindajeffers.com (Linda jeffers)]

While driving from LA to Palm Springs I detoured up very windy Hwy 243 to
Idyllwild hoping to find a hiker or two.

 

Stopping in at the newly renovated Idyllwild Forest Service Office I was
told that no hikers had come into town as of yet. I was informed that hikers
would encounter 3-4 feet of snow (if not more) on the PCT and that a bit of
snow was expected to fall tonight. In Idyllwild (around 5000') it was about
55 degrees but quite windy. The ranger recommended snow shoes for the snow
in the mountains. 

 

After driving around town a bit (before checking out the boot store!), I
headed for Palm Springs. On Hwy 74, as I drove past the southbound road to
Anza, I spotted a lone hiker in the distance hiking along the south side of
the road westward, not far from where the PCT crosses Hwy 74. Yippee.

 

I pulled over and asked where the thru-hiker named Bob (Yom Tom) was headed.
He said to Anza. But later changed his mind and took me up on an offer to
drive him into Palm Springs. He really didn't know what to do about
continuing his hike because of the high levels of snow in the San Jacinto
Range. He mentioned taking some time off and flipping heading southbound
from the northern border. As Bob lives in San Diego he was going to call his
wife to come pick him up. 

 

Bob had thru-hiked the PCT back in the mid 80's with some college friends.
On this hike he said that the weather had been ok from the border
(successfully weathering a couple of rainy days sleeping under his tarp)
until a day or two ago when high gusting winds made standing upright
difficult. 

 

Bob took a zero in Mt Laguna completing the Campo to Hwy 74 section in 8
days. He said that he is going much lighter than he did when he hiked the
PCT the first time in the 80's. I believe his base weight is 12 pounds. He
looks like a very seasoned, strong hiker.

 

Bob had seen some weekend backpackers around Mt. Laguna but had only seen
two other thru-hikers - two girls with heavy packs that he believed where a
day behind him. Bob said that they were going to brave the trail through the
snow.

 

Meeting Bob was great fun for me. After dropping him off at a motel in Palm
Springs, I wondered what he would decide to do. Decisions! Always decisions.

 

Gottago