Last spring a large wildfire burned across a 15.4 mile section of the PCT from milepost 162.6 to 178, and the area remains closed to hikers this season. Most hikers are hitching rides around the closure from Paradise Valley Cafe to the mountain community of Idyllwild. From Idyllwild, hikers regain the PCT by hiking a side trail of 2.7 miles/1800' elevation gain to the ridge of Mt. San Jacinto at mile post 178, elevation 8500'. For the next 13 miles, the PCT winds along San Jacinto, crosses over to Fuller Ridge and then loses nearly all of the elevation in a 6 mile descent to a crossing of Interstate 10 west of Palm Springs.
From Chuck's blog:
I really enjoyed hiking with Backup and Horizon. They are both very kind, resourceful and sharp kids. Horizon and I share a Scouting background(both Eagle scouts), both in Explorer Search and Rescue--and Horizon even considered applying for a staff position at Camp Sheppard during our efforts to revive its High Adventure program a few years ago. He is a solid, steady soul. Backup tried the PCT in 2012 but had to quit after about 400 miles due to injuries. This year she is applying all she learned on that first attempt to guarantee her success. She is starting at a slower pace, paying close attention to pains and potential repetitive use injuries, and taking zero days to allow muscle and sinew to heal and toughen. She is fun to talk with, has a great sense of humor, is kind and considerate...and is very smart. I will miss hiking with them as they pull ahead of us in the coming days.
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