Day 12 Wed April 30th

Woke up to a cold wind, blowing fog and chilly temps! Packed up and got moving to stay warm by 0630. We made it to the road by 0930 and started walking the 1 mile to the Paradise Cafe (famous for their Jose burger) The cafe opens at 11am and by that time, there were 15 other hikers waiting patiently for FOOD! It was at the cafe that we found out that there is a wildfire burning out of control over the next 35 miles of trail and by the time we left the cafe......the PCT was closed over that area! Good thing we went for the Jose burger! So, we are now in town (Idlywild) for the night at a campground, going to check with the fire dept tomorrow and see if the trail will re-open or if we have to skip it for now and come back to it later. Just did laundry and got our mail (thanks, gram&grampa, gram&papa, Fam and Tina for the letters!!) fun stuff! We were not supposed to be here for 3 more days, so I'll check the mail again tomorrow and then put the forward in for Big Bear City.
Did I tell you?! We saw poison oak the very first day on the trail?!! And a mountain quail!

Day 11 Tues April 29th

0630 start from trail angel mike's house. Sun was up and bright by 0645! Today was nicer than yesterday...there was a breeze! Watched gypsy and her 17 year old brother jarrow hike together in the morning sun, what a great experience for them both. Took breaks where ever we could find shade. Came to a large water cache at the end of the day that was much appreciated. Ended up walking about 16 miles and camped among some large boulders with mountain lion tracks all over the place..... Delicious dinner of tortellini, dehydrated spaghetti sauce and brocolli! yummmm!

Day 10 Mon April 28th

The bed, the pillow, clean clothes, man it was hard to get up this morning. Back on the trail for 7am, walking past the gas station selling regular gas for $4.25 and realizing that it is a good summer to go for a walk! Hot day with very little breeze, maybe it's because we took 2 days off, but today was a rough one. Neighbor's watch read 91 degrees! Made it 17 miles to a trail angel's house (mike's) and crashed there for the night. Neighbor is very happy with his Leki poles, at the kickoff, he asked the leki guy to clean them and they ended up replacing 2/3 of the whole pole for free! Walked through a large burn area today, made for some creative beautiful pictures. Camping with asaf, sly, wasa, tailwind, cuppa joe, southern man, ursa minor, jellybean, medicare pastor, gyspy, jarrow, patch and low bridge tonight.