Day 8 | mile 111.4 - 129.2

I stayed up until 11 the previous night to write my CASA report, order new sunglasses lenses, and organize my Idyllwild resupply. Sleeping in a bed with a pillow was a luxury, but I didn’t even sleep that well.

Woke up with Selby at 5:30. We started chatting and woke up everyone else. We downloaded books and music while we still had WiFi. I made my camp oatmeal to save money on breakfast. Lounged around and stretched. We had to wait for the post office to open before heading out.

At 8, I went across the street to mail my stuff. They weren’t open, even though their hours at 8-6. Finally, at 8:20 they unlocked the door. I shipped my beanie, my stupid lightweight toothpaste container, lotion, and a BeFree filter I found on the trail home. Food and sunscreen to Idyllwild. It wasn’t too expensive. $15 for both.

Selby’s shuttle was at 9, so all 4 of us walked to the community center. We walked by beautiful horses. Selby taught us the peach pie song. I was getting really sad and trying not to cry. Sriracha was going to stay in town a little longer, and Annah and I were going to get a ride with Selby back to the PCT.

Selby gave a note to take with me. And every time I thought about it it made me want to cry.

We said our tearful goodbyes and hugged (even though Selby doesn’t like hugging). Annah and I hit it right away and got right back into the groove.

Hiking felt amazing. It was a long climb today. And 88 degrees and sunny. The first part crisscrossed the Agua Caliente creek. It was beautiful. We took a short break and filled up at the last crossing.

Took a break in the shade at 12:30 for lunch. I had a bagel with cream cheese that Alex shipped me. Sooooo good. We spent an hour lounging in the shade, it was so good.

In the afternoon, Annah listened to a podcast and I walked in silence counting all the lizards I saw. There were so many. It was beautiful hike. I took pictures, but failed to capture what it actually looked like.

We quickly busted out 16 miles to Mike’s place where we could get more water. I think Annah wanted to stay there (a lot of hikers camp at Mike’s due to water availability), but I wanted to push on.

It was perfect weather for cowboy camping, I thought. And it’s about time we see a sunset on the trail. We summited Comb’s Peak and set up a cowboy camp. 

Even though we had the most gorgeous 360 view of the desert, I started feeling sad as soon as we stopped. I just miss home. Selby was really good at not letting me think about home. It was tent, dinner, blogging, sleep.

Then we got service, and I got to talk to Alex and that helped a lot. I’m pretty sure Annah thinks I’m a pitiful loser who can’t spend one night alone.

We made dinner. My dinner was disgusting. I tried to improve it by crumbling ritz crackers on top, but it only marginally helped. I made a ramen.

Tomorrow we hike 23 miles to get a burger at Paradise Valley Cafe!