Day 10: mile 145.4-161 (plus 2 more to eat a delicious meal!)
Mary’s was a whole new place when I woke up. The sun was shinning, and it was warmer by 9 am than all of the day before. Yessss! Ahhh so tempting to stay and relax at the picnic tables, but I knew I needed to head out if I wanted my day to work out as planned, and I did because that included a stop at Paradise Cafe for a veggie burger and some sweet potato fries! I used the amenities and headed out into the sunshine.
I made great time getting down the trail (almost passed a horse!) and was at Paradise Valley Cafe by 11:30. They weren’t serving lunch until 12, so I enjoyed a beer from the brewery I worked at in college while I waited. How random and awesome! …and refreshing! My burger and fries were oh so good! It took everything I had to save half my burger so I didn’t feel like puking on the trail from being so full. After staying longer than I intended, I headed out and was back on the trail.
I looked at the water situation last night and knew there wasn’t anything for just about the last 20 miles to Idyllwild (my next resupply). This meant I’d have to load up on water, which means weight up the steepest uphill yet, boo! I’ve been spoiled so far with all the water from the rain and snow this year. Generally only carrying one liter, two at most. I piled on 4.5 liters for the rest of today and tomorrow. It felt excessive, but between cold soaking two meals, and the full day of hiking tomorrow I suppose it’s s worth the extra 2-3 pounds.
I hiked up the mountain enjoying the views, until I got about 2 miles from my campsite, then my stomach started hurting. ☹️ Unsure if it was the food, me hiking with a full belly, or even the unlikely possibility of altitude sickness (I was almost at 7,000 feet), I pressed on. The last 1.5 miles were a little rough. Once I got to camp, stopped moving, and took my pack off I started to feel better, yay! Happy I was feeling better, and happy I felt safe eating the other half of that veggie burger I’d been looking forward to. My stomach didn’t feel 100% after I ate the other half, but I’m still not blaming the burger, it was too delicious. I popped 2 Pepto chewables and called it a night.
Looking forward to getting to Idyllwild tomorrow, I’ve heard amazing things!
Goodnight!
XOXO Becks