Daily Mileage

0

Elevation

0

Campsite

Idyllwild Airbnb & Hotel in Palm Springs

Total Miles Hiked

151.8

Hours Spent Hiking

0

The Best Part?

🌟Face mask, lotion, and a hot bath

🌟Nice comfy soft beds

What Did I Learn?

👉It’s ok to not hike hard on the trail all the time.

👉Planning a flip is hard and the weather should definitely be considered.

👉Being a thru-hiker means doing a lot of chores.

 PCT Trail Journal: Days 15 – 18 Rest Days in Idyllwild & Palm Springs

Day 15: Rest Day in Idyllwild

Day 15 felt like a luxurious vacation day. I seriously felt like this must be how the uber rich live. Here’s how day 15 went down:

✨Good sleep in the softest, most comfy bed ever

✨Leisurely brunch with my girlfriends

✨Spa day at my Airbnb with a 2 hour bath, a fask mask, and lotion

✨Delicious homecooked meal with my other girlfriends help them celebrate their anniversary

I felt so good! 

Day 16: Idyllwild to Palm Springs

Sandy, the trail angel, was taking me over to Palm Springs at 4:30 pm. Woohoo! Thanks Sandy. Getting from Idyllwild to Palm Springs without a car is quite the endeavor.

This meant I had the whole day to kill. I laid in bed with coffee for hours. It felt amazing and just like home. Lounging in bed drinking coffee is my favorite thing to do and something I do a lot.

After my slow morning, I got taco salad and margaritas from the Mexican place. The rest of my afternoon was spent talking to thru-hikers. Omg, it was so fun! The day flew by.

I arrived in Palm Springs at 6 and opened the package from my old college friend, Jocelyn. The package was so thoughtful and perfect. Huge thank you Jocelyn. It’s like she was in my head and knew exactly what I wanted 💖.

My significant other arrived to hotel late. He was coming over from Phoenix. We said hello and then immediately fell asleep.

Day 17: Prep & Fun Palm Springs

Today was all about avoiding my chores. My significant other had to work so I laid in bed.

I was thinking about doing my boxes but then my friend, John, texted about getting lunch. I jumped on the opportunity to skip chores and eat lunch with my friends. They picked me up at my hotel and we grabbed lunch at a Greek place. We stopped at a fresh juice place because I was craving a smoothie. It was good!

Then it was thru-hiker chores time:

-I started working on finding a ride to flip up to Walker Pass. On the Tehachapi trail angel Facebook page, a lady named Cindy would be driving people down to Idyllwild. I reached out to see if I could get a ride back with her.

– I packed resuppy boxes. It took a long time to figure out how many days to pack food for. I packed 3 boxes for Tehachapi, Hiker Town, and Acton.

Then it was pool time! We slurped margaritas and went for a swim. It was not too crowded and nice to chill out. 

My peaceful vacation day in Palm Springs concluded with a delicious burrata salad and pasta at the country club next door 🤤.

Day 18: Saturday in Palm Springs

It was such a nice slow morning with my significant other. It was just like we were at home on the weekend. It was lovely. I even slept in a little until 7:30! It was super quiet in the hotel.

After breakfast we chilled in the hotel and I did more thru-hiker chores:

– went to Walmart to buy supplies. It took forever because I didn’t know where anything was located.
– mailed 3 resupply boxes to Tehachapi, Hiker Town, and Acton. 

I calculated the number of tuna packets I would need and some how ended up with extra. This makes me think I forgot to add some to one of the boxes. Oh well, I can just pay $3 for one packet in some trail town.

We just stayed in the hotel the whole afternoon. I got caught up on my blog posts and really enjoyed writing those 💗. I wish I could bring my computer on the trail. That would be bomb.

We met our friends at the Tropicale for dinner.  They had a lot of different varieties of food. We got the Greek platter for the appetizer, a burger with brie, and a fried chicken salad. It was delicious. We all shared a $24 chocolate cream pie that was also delicious. Worth it! I felt like a queen. 

This day was full of doing a whole lot of nothing and it felt great. It was a good day!

Trail Self-Reflection

PCT Trail journal days 15-18 Luxury day

✨3 Things I’m Grateful For

1. Nice beds
2. Trial angels
3. Salad

PCT Trail journal days 15-18 Dirty bath water

✨3 Things I’m Excited About

1. Palm Springs!
2. Seeing how much snow melts on San Jacin
3. Spending the day in Idyllwild

PCT Trail journal days 15-18 taco salad and margaritas

🌟How Was Today? Did I enjoy it?

These few rest days were so needed. I did things normal humans do and it felt amazing. Seeing my significant other and friends and getting that package from Jocelyn was such a moral boost. I felt so energized and ready to hit the trail after. 

PCT Trail journal days 15-18 Resupply package

⛺How Was My Gear?

I’ve been rocking my town dress (an ultralight backpacking dress from Lightheart Gear). I feel a little grumpy about it when on the trail because I have to carry it but do really like it when in town.

PCT Trail journal days 15-18 resupply boxes

💪How did my Body Feel?

No big body is hurting issues during these days. I felt a little antsy and wanted to walk. Plus the weather was so nice.

🍴How was my food situation?

Town food for days baby!

🤔What did I learn and how will I action it?

I think I am still over-packing food. They always say you pack your fears and I apparently am terrified of not having enough snacks. Later, I discovered I didn’t actually pack enough snax and it was rough. Don’t worry, I never did that again. 

Read Other PCT Trail Journals

✨Day 14, Day 13, Day 12, Day 11, Day 10, Day 9, Day 7 & 8, Day 6, Day 5 , Day 4 , Day 3, Day 2, Day 1

Map for Hiking the PCT

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