So the primary goal of this day once they get to Paradise Valley Cafe (PVC) and IDYLLWILD. It was a good stopping off point, there was a big storm coming on Sunday and Monday that I’d rather not be out on the trail for.

So after enjoying the sunrise, I headed north.

Debennedetti’s Place is a well-known rest stop off the PCT in this area. But being 3/4 of a mile off the PCT unless you need water, a rest, or to jump in a cool pool because the weather was very hot there was no particular reason to go. The temperature being mild with a cool wind, made this an easy skip for me.

BUT at mile 143.1 I encountered my first on trail ‘trail magic’ (besides the water caches and rides to/from trail heads that were most welcome)!!

In addition to water, there was a chest of cold Diet Coke and snacks!

Heaven on Earth!

The host also made and appearance and tried to tempt me with a hot burger, but not wanting to take an extended break here, I declined.

But she was insistent, and after go ing back for some more drinks and snacks, he brought a burger back up for me. What an angel!

As the day wore on, I started to think that I might not make it all the way to PVC. Also, like was unable to get a hotel for Saturday night. I did get one for Sunday and Monday night, but the weekend and apparently something called Coachella was going on nearby so a hotel room for Saturday night didn’t seem to be possible.

I’ll go all the way to PVC camp in their backyard or I could stay on the trail for another night. I found a nice campsite about 2 miles from PVC, so I decided to camp there for the night. It would be an easy hike to the highway and PVC the next morning.

So, 13.3 miles on the PCT today.

In the morning, I didn’t have to cook breakfast, so packed up and finished the 2 miles to highway 74.

The skies really showed that bad weather was coming. Hopefully not until I had a roof over my head.

PCT mile 151.8 completed!

I had thought that this was the end of PCT California section “A”, but discovered the day before that WARNER springs was actually the end of section A and that I had been hiking the first part of section B since leaving Warner Springs. So, I didn’t celebrate finishing section A then.

Ah well, that just meant I was further along than I had thought! 😊

After hiking along the highway to PVC and getting breakfast, I hitched a ride into IDYLLWILD to start my much needed Zero Day.

The rain started a half hour after I checked into my hotel room and was in the shower.