This entry covers Saturday, April 9 from Sky Ranch @ mile 127 to PVC @ mile 151.9. Miles hiked = 24.9.
Mike Herrera’s place (aka: Sky Ranch): very restful sleep on the RV couch. The 3 girls used the bedroom. Woke at 5a to lots of stars = sunny hiking day. Packed & ate breakfast (instant BF, cocoa, EmergenC). Hiking at 6:15a to a wonderful dawn sky.
Trail was mostly dry. Made my first “10 (miles) before 10 (a)”. Stopped briefly at Tule Spring for water & lunch.

Did not cross another hiker all day. But did come across some great trail magic in the afternoon with a lending library, stocked cooler, and a surfboard sign-in.
Weather was partly sunny and mild (low 60’s f) until mid-afternoon when more cloud cover and cooler temps arrived. My recall of the last hike through here was sketchy of course so a lot of new photos were taken. 3 decent climbs were spread out thru the day and the trail was well pitched & switch backed.
Arrived at the trailhead on Hwy 74 @ 4:15p and amazingly there was a trail angel (Major Tom) waiting since he saw me coming. He dropped me at the Paradise Valley Cafe (PVC) where I had a tasty burger & shake for dinner.
It took about 10 minutes to catch a ride up to Idyllwild to check into the Silver Pines motel.
Shower/shave & relaxation followed. All in all a very good day especially with the big 24 miles. Now to watch the weather and plan how to hike the fire alternate. Maybe a slack pack since I’m already in Idyllwild. That would mean taking just the bare essentials back to the PCT trailhead (TH) for a quick day trip over the alternate.
ADL (All Day Long)
I enjoyed re-reading this post after spending the last 4 days in this section. Started at Highway 74 (mile 151.8) and hiked south to Warner Springs (Highway 79, Mile 101.4) and back for a total of 80 miles. Still quite a few thru-hikers going through, although fewer than when I saw you hiking out of Lake Morena on your Day 2. Like you, I encountered rain on the climb out of Agua Caliente Creek. I was beat after 4 days – all the more credit to you thru-hikers that are able to do it for months.
Hope you’re still having a great time on the trail.
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Hi. Thx for your comments. So far this year on trail has been spectacular. Did hit a bit of a bump as you’ll see from recent posts. Enjoy. ADL
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Sorry to read about the snow difficulties. Glad that you’re safe and sound. I look forward to reading about your continued adventures once conditions improve.
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