1st May 2025

I wrote this entry from the comfort of an actual bed; a coffee in hand, snuggled under the covers. Neither of us slept as well as we had anticipated the night before. We kept waking confused by our settings; mistaking the light from charging devices for another camper. Despite not sleeping, it was such a luxury to huddle down in three layers of blankets and two plump pillows.

We spent a lot of the evening before trying to hatch a plan for San Jacinto Mountain. A storm was rolling in, meaning we had to get out of high elevation in three days time, otherwise we were going to have a pretty uncomfortable night where the limits of our sleeping bags were going to be tested. 

We opted to rejoin the trail via Devil’s Slide, a path which people normally descend. As we’d be ascending it, we decided to rename it Stairway to Heaven. The trail would take us from Idyllwild to Saddle Junction. This meant we’d be missing 30 miles of official PCT. This filled me with conflict, but ultimately meant that we’d get down and out of the storm safely and, for novice mountaineers, this seemed wise.

As soon as the shops opened we purchased micro spikes and did a large shop at the grocery store for our resupply. With two new resupply box’s packed up, labelled and shipped, we checked out of our hotel only to sit out on the terrace eating a pint of ice cream each. There is good cause for this indulgence: we needed the sturdy, lightweight containers for overnight oats. Delicious and practical! 

At last we were on our way, heading up the hill, thumb out attempting to hitch to the trail head. After ten minutes, a kind local called Zara pulled over and drove us to our destination. The trail was lined with towering fir trees and white stone, the path littered with pine needles and cones the size of a foot. The tranquil smell of pine and damp ground was comforting, and it was hard to believe we were in the section of the PCT known as the desert. 

We continued along switch backs gaining elevation quickly and soon we reconnected with the PCT. We continued on, observing snow on the peaks of the surrounding mountains, and then walked through areas of snow on the trail itself. A few miles in we made camp between two white boulders with patches of snow above and below us. At the lookout we made dinner while watching the familiar pink glow of the sunset occupy the sky.