I left Idyllwild on a beautiful sunny morning — climbing to 8000 feet over several hours to reach the spine of the San Jacinto Mountains.
As I hiked the slowly ascending switchbacks, I was struck by the beauty of the abstract patterns in the bark of the cedar, pine, and oak trees surrounding me.
I had packed microspikes in my Idyllwild resupply b0x, and when I crested the final ridge, I was glad to have them! The eastern slopes were snow-packed and the trail was icy.
By early evening, I had reached my solo campsite, and clouds filled the valley behind me. My tent was literally perched on the dividing line between two worlds. To the west, forested slopes descending into mist, and to the east the arid desert landscape surrounding Palm Springs.
I fell asleep to the winds whistling through the pines, and awoke around 2 am to what sounded like a jet engine over my head. Overnight, a storm had moved in, bringing high winds and snow squalls. And cold temperatures. My water bottles were frozen, and for the first time I skipped breakfast in favour of packing up quickly.
My sole goal for the next day was to escape the snow for the warmth of the desert floor below me. There were few hikers on the trail, and all of them, like me, were intent on getting as low as possible as soon as possible. The rocky switchbacks seemed endless, but as the snow turned to rain, rainbows pulled me down the trail.
Two more days of hiking and I was camped at Whitewater Reserve, a destination I had been looking forward to since I left the Mexican border.
The site of a former commercial trout hatchery, the Preserve was purchased in 2006 by the Wildland Conservancy, and now encompasses a 2800-acres nature sanctuary. For the weary PCT hiker, it is an oasis!
I was thrilled to find Madeline and Olivia from Sweden, who began the PCT on the same day as me, camped on the other side of the meadow. We happily swapped trail stories over dinner. By early the next morning, they were headed north again, but I decided to stay put.
The Preserve was thronging with birds. Just listen to this dawn chorus, recorded from inside my tent.
I spent hours watching Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western and Summer Tanagers, Hooded Orioles, Bell’s Vireo — 35 species in all — plus one furry interloper!
I had a choice to make — continue north for four more days to reach my intended destination at Big Bear Lake, where overnight temperatures were predicted to drop to -8, or stay here with the birds.
In the end, the birds won! After three days of birdwatching, I headed into Palm Springs to visit Jaimie, a friend from childhood (we were in the same Kindergarten class!), before catching a bus to San Diego.
In total, I hiked over 300 kilometres on the PCT. What did I learn? That I am happiest outdoors (no surprise there. ) That I can still do hard things. And that when the journey is over, I am grateful to be headed home to Banff (and Kevin.)
I think this poem etched into one of the rocks at the Whitewater Preserve says it all:
Thanks for reading!