Got up and didn’t get moving until later in the morning. Chose sandals for once — reasonable given the distance, but the occasional pebble finding its way between foot and sole is a reminder of why they’re not standard kit. No plans to cover serious distances in them.
Reached Paradise Valley Cafe after a short while. They do burgers. Others were enthusiastic — I thought they were fine. Good, but not remarkable.
Found a ride from there to Idyllwild with a few other hikers. Once there, things got a bit frustrating. I needed a new headlamp — lost the last one somewhere — but the selection wasn’t great. Everything was battery-powered rather than rechargeable, presumably to keep the weight down. Not ideal, but I picked one anyway.
Went to the ranger station. Closed today and tomorrow. Hoping they restock the self-serve permit forms before I need them. Looked into the permit situation online — still annoying. Overnight permits aren’t issued casually, so I’ll just push through that section without stopping.
There’s a campsite in town but I walked slightly out to the Idyllwild Bunkhouse instead. The shower took so long to warm up I thought there was no hot water. There was. Good to be clean again. The kitchen mentioned in the listing turned out to be a microwave, some plates, and a sink. No stove, despite what the word “kitchen” usually implies. Fine. PCT hikers get a discount, which helps. The bed is decent.
Seeing what I can get done tomorrow before moving on.
