PCT Day 18: Anza Borrego Desert to Paradise Valley Cafe

PCT Stats: Day 18

Daily Mileage: 10.92
Starting Mile Marker: 140.89
Ending Mile Marker: 151.89
Weather: Sunny and hot, temps in mid 80s.
Pack Weight: 22.90
Nights in Hammock: 7
Nights on Ground: 8 (hammock broken, new one en route)
Nights in Hotel: 3
Health: Softer insole is paying off! Did 12 miles at fast pace, no breaks to see if relief was a fluke and no issues so far!

Let’s Test My Food With a Fast Pace and Little to No Rest Breaks

We had about 12 miles before made it to Paradise Valley Café, so I decided that this would be a nice little stretch to push my right foot and see if my pain came back or if in fact my new insole was really fixing the foot pain issue I’ve been experiencing since day one of my thru.

Once we arrived at Paradise Valley Café, after a much faster pace then I have been keeping previously, my right foot still felt awesome! Yay!!!

Once again, I came across some awesome water caches, but stocked up and previous water source and did not need to take any water from them.

A nice little stop at Malibu East, which had a hiker box, water, a surfboard and even a library!

Yay for Burgers, Beers and Resupply!

Getting to Paradise Valley Café was awesome! Besides having an awesome burger and beers and catching up to everyone, I had a handful of resupply packages that I picked up as well. There were critical things I needed like a new hammock, a new sleeping pad, a new ground cloth, and a few other things. One huge bummer was that my hammock did not come with adequate suspension to use it. It was missing what are called, continuous loops, which my tree straps and suspension use to connect to my hammock. DAMNIT!

Finally got my new hammock and it didn't have the hardware I need to use it! SO pissed. — Finally got my new hammock and it didn’t have the hardware I need to use it! SO pissed.

Arriving in Idyllwild for some Down Time!

Arriving in town is always awesome, but it’s even better when you go straight to the grocery store and get some food, treats and beer. The only issue was that since I arrived on Friday night, almost every hotel was booked! Fortunately I ran into Subway and Gypsy Soul and not only did they give me a free piece of pizza on the street, but they gave me the name of the hotel they were staying at the had an empty room!

As I left the grocery store and confirm my reservation for my room, I was even offered a free ride by some EMTs in the back of their ambulance…… what? Subway and Gypsy Soul were laughing as I pulled up to the hotel and was let out of the back of ambulance, high five! Time for downtime in Idyllwild!