PCT: CA Section B - Warner Springs to Highway 10
Day 9 - 5/15/25 - Lot of Elevation
Distance: 19 miles, ~ 4000 ft elevation gain
Weather: cool, sunny
End Location: Tent spot at mile 131.5
Lessons Learned: sunset hikes are cool but hiking in the dark is not
Left at 7:45am
Didn’t put coffee in resupply so had cherry mio with caffeine and collagen, not bad - kind of like a cherry milkshake
Hiked 3 miles up to the upper portion of Agua Caliente Creek, ate mangoes and nuts and BBQ potato chips at 9:50am
Filled up water, carrying 3L (I’ve been following the 1L for every 4 miles rule) for the 12 mile hike to Water Tank at mile 127
What is the opposite of pain?
Is it pleasure? Or just being comfortable?
Stopped under some shade around noon for lunch, burrito filled with sweet and spicy tuna and BBQ potato chips, actually delicious
I was also glad to have some of my favorite snacks again that I put in the resupply box
cheeze-itz and watermelon sour patch kids, yum
It was a tough day, nearly 3500 ft elevation
There is knowing and there is experiencing
Experiencing can lead to knowing but not the other way around
Manzanita trees in bloom were being pollinated by bees, pretty pink flowers
Reached top of climb 1 around 3:15pm, amazing breeze and view of a mountain, luckily the trail does not go over that one
Took off hat and enjoyed the breeze
A person interested in everything has something in common with everyone
A hiker passed me, “Stoked”, we talked about the tough ascent, he blazed on
3rd rattlesnake encounter, ran past, didn’t look back
Hiked 4 more miles to Mike’s Water Tank, saw Stoked there, we chatted, really nice guy for NorCal seemed like we would get along well
But he’s trying to finish in under 90 days, no shot I could keep that pace, so wished him well 🫡
Ate dinner, delicious carrot and quinoa cold soak salad back, added chicken
Hiked another 5 miles to camp while the sun was setting, beautiful colors of blue and orange painted the mountains in the distance
Eventually got dark and I put my headlamp on to see
The sunset hike was great but hiking in the dark was not (lesson learned)
Made it to camp around 8:15pm, set up in dark
Went to bed around 9pm, was nervous because I camped with food bag in tent due to exhaustion
Day 10 - 5/16/25 - Camp just before Paradise
Distance: 18 miles
Weather: sunny but windy
End Location: Little Bear Hostel
Lessons Learned: utilize trail angel’s hospitality
Woke up 6ish
Realized I was camped with Noah and Jen from the night before, and Czech girls from 2 night before
Apologized for getting to camp so late and being noisy
Packed up, ate, left around 7:30am
Hiked 8 miles to well water, run by trail angel
Morning was lovely and crisp, sun coming over mountains, could tell it was going to get hot
Thought about my last job and thought about what I want to do after the trail
The Anzo Borrego Desert heat was brutal
I arrived at the trail angel oasis around noon
That had potable water, hot dogs, real dogs, popsicles, and an ice cold pool
I ate some hot dogs and took a dip in the pool, refreshing
Then ate some more hot dogs, drank a ton water, read my kindle while other devices charged
Their insta is: DeBenedittis-place_pct
Nice guy, Mike runs it
Wet my shirt and buff then left around 3:30pm
Hiked 6 more miles to hostel
Tough hike, lots nearly 2000 ft elevation gain
Made it to Little Bear Hostel at 7pm
Grabbed and beer and a Drumstick
The patio they share was lovely, a black cat with socks sat on my lap and I pet her as I ate my ice cream
Even the dog that was barking came over for some pets
Made instant mash potatoes, added packet chicken and cheeze-it snack mix for crunch
They had hot dogs available to cook but after eating 4 earlier, I was hot dogged out
Little Bear pulled into the driveway as I was finishing my beer
His mom and two little girls were with him
They turned on the lights for me and his mom gave me a brownie she had made earlier, delicious
Talked with Little Bear for a bit, turns out the cat’s name is Socks, laughed a bit because I was already calling the cat that on account of its feet
Drank some collagen protein powder for the sore muscles
Went to bed in the horse barn / hostel around 9:30pm, felt nice to have some real shelter
Had best sleep in a while
It makes sense to utilize the trail angels’ hospitality and resources available to you (lesson learned)
Tab for Little Bear Hostel
Ice cream $3
Beer $4
Coffee: $2
Total = $9
Sent $15 for hospitality
Day 11 - 5/17/25 - Paradise Valley Cafe and Stormy Weather
Distance: 17 miles
Weather: windy but sunny
End Location: Live Oak Spring
Lessons Learned: If the weather talks to you, listen
Woke up around 6am
Stretched, rolled out shins and muscles
Made hot coffee, put collagen in it for sweetness and protein
Read in sleeping bag in horse barn while rain subsided
Left around 8am
5 miles to Paradise Cafe
Only carried 1L of water since sufficiently hydrated
I listened to music and thought about the people I loved throughout life
Why do we leave to ones we love?
Is it because we are afraid that as we change, they won’t love us the same
Do we leave as a defense to protect ourselves?
The strongest love changes as we change
Life is a cosmic evolution of complexity
What is the final state complexity?
As I crossed the top of table mountain, the clouds got trapped and the sun shined
At a great view spot, I took a break and put my feet up, just past the mountain in my view was Palm Springs
I had 2.8 more miles to go, perfect breezy hiking weather - was hoping to make it to Paradise Valley Cafe around noon
“I’m loving this cloud cover” a hiker said to no one
“Me too!”
I startled him, he hadn’t known I was there
His name was Mike, he’s putting up numbers, trying to walk to Idyllwild (26 miles away) tonight
When I made it to the trailhead, well known trail angel Grumpy was just pulling up in his blue Subaru and honked at me as he let some other passengers out
“Hey I’m Chase!”
“Doesn’t matter to me, I’m not gonna remember that” he said
“You must be Grumpy” I laughed
“How’d you know?”
I’m not sure if it was the sheltered sleep, the collagen, the beer, the instant mash potatoes, or the coffee, but my Achilles didn’t hurt and I felt great during that 6 mile hike
Grump dropped me off at Paradise Valley Cafe (PVC)
Mike had beat me there but couldn’t get a burger because they weren’t serving lunch yet when he ordered
Fortunately, I got there right at 12pm and ordered the Gus burger (burger with bacon served on Texas toast) and added avocado
Millie and Jen got dropped off by a hitch and joined me - the ordered rootbeer floats
They had hitched from PVC a day or so before and met in Idyllwild where they took a day off
Their plan was to go to Cedar Springs (12 mile hike) and I said I’d join them
We started hiking around 2pm and quickly left me in the dust (I hike slow)
As I gained elevation, saw mean clouds on the horizon
After about an hour, the clouds and winds reach me
It wasn’t raining but I put on my rain jacket and gloves to stay warm
As I passed Live Oak Springs at 5pm, the wind howled over the pass, but I continued on
I had 4 more miles to hike to Cedar Springs and a good more elevation to climb
My legs felt great and I thought I could make it there just before dark
After I hiked another 1.5 miles, it was 6pm
The storm had gained more energy and it was time to make a decision
I looked at the path in front of me and 40 mph winds howled at me to turn around
When the weather talks to you, you listen (lesson learned)
It started raining a bit so I put on my pack fly
I made it back to Live Oak Springs around 7
It was my first time backtracking but I think I made the right decision, it would’ve been a close call making it to Cedar Spring before dark and I was happy with my decision to play it safe.
There were many other campers at Live Oak
Another hiker camping there, Grim Reaper, gave me some cookies he had been given at Idyllwild
After setting up my tent, I ate dinner with Grim Reaper, Frazier, and Gavin - ate ramen
Went to bed at 8pm
The storm got meaner throughout the night and rained harder
I slept well and hoped that Millie and Jen were okay too
Day 12 - 5/18/25 - To Apache Spring
Distance: 14 miles
Weather: sunny, clear
End Location: Apache Spring Fork
Lessons Learned: don’t under estimate elevation
Woke up 7am
Left Live Oak at 8:15am - 1.2 mile hike up and out
Resumed trail at 8:55am, much better weather today - clear and sunny
The ridge line was beautiful, I was glad I delayed and hiked it today instead of last night in the storm, would’ve missed out on a lot of views
Made it to Cedar (I barely know her) Springs around 12pm, had lunch - tuna with bbq chips burrito - and filled up water
Amazing area and campground, the grove of Cedar trees provided shade for my break
Got a bit of signal and got text from Millie that they were alive and well
They ended up setting up camp a mile (159) from where I turned around (158), glad they were okay
Hiked 8 more miles to Apache Spring
Felt like the hardest hike I’ve done yet
Almost 4,000 ft elevation gain
Legs felt good but the thin air of the San Bernardino mountains took my breath away in more ways than one
Set up camp at the fork instead of carrying all of my gear down there (good call)
It was the cherry on top of an already tough day
Fun the fun little 1 mile hike descending almost 1,000 ft and then back up, brutal
Day 13 - 5/19/25 - To Idyllwild
Distance: 13 miles
Weather: sunny and clear
End Location: Idyllwild
Lessons Learned: no such thing as a free beer
Part 1
Woke up 6:50am
Made hot breakfast, oatmeal from hiker box (unusual for me)
Down to 1 tuna packet and some granola for the day
Took some vitamins for morale
Start hiking 8:20am
10 miles to Saddle Junction, additional 2.5 miles to town
“Blister in the Sun” stuck in my head
Hiked 6 miles over ridge lines and switchbacks, steep drops below framing the dangerous vistas
Turned back and saw the various peaks and ridges I had hiked over
Ate my last tuna packet, no tortilla - last of my food (not counting the edibles and shrooms)
An accomplished feeling and town food encouraged me to press on
Once I turned the mountain, green coniferous forest blanketed the hills
A gradual decline and 1 more incline to Tahquitz Peak and I’d be in Idyllwild
Say Maylin at Saddle Junction - random but funny, we chatted for a bit - she day hiked Devil’s Slide
She told me to “Be easy on those knees going down”
Devil’s Slide was brutal
Started the steep 2.5 miles of switchbacks at 3:40pm
My shins tend to hurt more going downhill more that uphill so this was brutal
Reached parking lot at 5ish
Nice day hiker, John, gave me a hitch to town in his Tesla - thank god, I was cooked
Part 2
Got a themed room at Idyllwild Inn for $114, fireplace and bathtub, called “French Country”
Showered, heaven
Went to pharmacy for tiger balm - bought 3 (2 to put in boxes I’d be mailing)
Saw Sarah and Jacob at the store, grabbed Jacob’s number
Went to BrewPub for food and drink
Filled up on the Crispy Brussels sprouts but ordered a burger anyways
Now I have lunch for tomorrow
Met Jacob and Sarah at Taryn’s Place
They were with a French hiker, “Chopsticks”
Got his trail name because he forgot utensils and used two sticks to eat the first few nights
There was live music at Taryn’s, a man playing the acoustic guitar and a women with a fiddle
Jacob, being from Houston, joked, “If you’re gonna play in Texas, you gotta have a fiddle in the band”
We drank 3 beers each and a guy at the bar bought us another round after hearing about our travels
He and his friend had E-bikes and let Chopsticks take it for a joyride
They offered to let me ride it but, fearing injury due to inebriation, declined
Jacob had bought a French baguette at the store and we made a plan, put it in the hiking pole section our bags and enjoy it at the summit with some sharp cheddar
Left Taryn’s and stopped by store to get Doritos and Talenti ice cream, many hikers use the screw top package to make overnight oats
I used it as an excuse to eat a tub of ice cream, but I guess I’ll try the overnight oats as well
Had a fire in the room when I got back and called a friend, fire alarm went off due to stupidity and not closing the fireplace glass gates
Went to bed after I dealt with situation around 12:30am
Day 14 - Zero Day in Idyllwild
Woke up hungover and sore around 7am
Made coffee and ate leftover burger for breakfast
Did some laundry
Went to Post Office to pick up resupply box
Sorted out what I would need for next few days
Sent rest of stuff in a new box to Tehachapi
Assessed gears and checked out at 11am
Went to store, got lunch and produce, bananas and kiwis and apples
Ate salad with chicken on porch of Idyllwild Inn
Had a hazy headache ( = headache from too many hazy IPAs)
Saw Chopsticks
Walked to campsite got there at the ranger’s lunch break, but he said I could setup and then come pay after
Set up tent, watched videos on setting up guidelines to storm proof tent in case I get caught in another storm and can’t descend to safety
Met hiker named Hannah, she told me how she had set up her tent without poles in the storm and just went to sleep 😂
Nice gal, taking it slow - started a week before me
After tent was set up, I wandered around town
Got Bluetooth headphones, DEWALT - 20 hour battery life - $40
Cute Siamese cat at the store named Captain
Walked in a record store with my new headphones in hand, didn’t realize the irony until I left 😅
An old man that liked classical music ran the place - was listening to Shopan’s 3rd B minor
Walked around some more, felt good to be a tourist and have no agenda
Went to a vintage store, met another Hiker named Trail Chef - runs a YouTube channel, eccentric guy from Portland, OR - he likes trying a little food from everywhere when he’s in town
Went to Atomic Cow, got a root beer float and burger, yum
Left and saw Maylin and 360 - the gals with the camper van - admiring the mayor of Idyllwild, an adorable fluffy and pudgy golden retriever named Max
Took a picture with him, gave him and his assistant/girlfriend (another golden retriever) some pets and hugs
I joked, “Behind every great man is a greater woman”
On the way to gear store, stopped in Idyllwild Gardens, a lovely hangout spot with plants and sapling of every variety, wish I would’ve found it sooner and hung out there all day with my kindle
Went to gear store, got electrolytes and the exact pants I had been imagining I needed - Outdoor Research convertible pants, they unzip at the knee for ventilation and just to turn into shorts
My calves have been getting demolished by thorns and overgrowth
Went to an Italian restaurant, Fratello’s, for dinner
2 hikers, Nick and Sami (“Chef”) that had just sat down invite me to join them
I ordered the gnocchi pomodoro, they got the fromagia pizza and bruschetta
Nick didn’t like the blue cheese
They had just descended Devil’s Slide and were taking their full zero tomorrow
They were very well equipped hikers, had watches that connected to Strava and shows their daily routes in 3D and are basically blogging using that
I had 2 glasses of wine, Sauvignon Blanc
We left and went to store, got some last minute things
Then I went back to campsite and went to bed
Day 15 - Side Quest Accepted: Mount San Jacinto
Distance: 16 miles (4,500 ft elevation gain)
Weather: sunny, clear
End Location: Strawberry Junction Campsite
Lessons Learned: bring glasses if night hiking (again…), camp closer to summit junction
On a clear day, they you can see the ocean from the top of Mount San Jacinto…
It was a clear day.
Woke up 6am, cold out
Stretched in tent
New pants are clutch, didn’t feel need to just start hiking because I could bear the cold
Made breakfast, granola with dried blueberries and apricots with vanilla collagen protein powder in newly acquired Talenti ice cream container, shook to blend - delicious, will be my new breakfast from now on
Made hot coffee with more collagen for froth
Chatted with Peter from Holland, loquacious fella
Packed up tent and bag and hung out for a bit
Left camp at 9:40am
Hitched by stop sign, got the first car that came by to take me to Deer Springs, nice lady named Sue (a sign!)
I chose to do Deer Springs because I dreaded the steep ascent of Devil’s Slide
Started hiking around 10am, hot already but should be clear the whole day, perfect weather for summit
Hustled the 4 miles up (2000 ft elevation gain) to Strawberry Junction Campground, making it there around 1pm
I debated whether to continue hiking or just set up camp but ultimately stuck to my plan
By 2pm, I had camp set up and everything but the necessities for the summit attempt out of my bag
I brought my jacket, my rain jacket, my jet boil, a mountain house meal, and a few snacks and left around 2:15pm
I hiked 5 miles with 2500 ft more elevation gain and made it peak of Mount San Jacinto at 6pm
I screamed, hollered, yodeled, and yahoo’d at the top
As I set up for dinner, I dropped my jet boil and its content down some rocks
“That didn’t sound good”
I wasn’t alone and slightly embarrassed with all of my exclamations
Another PCT hiker was up there, named “Cheef Propel” (because he likes smoking and can’t pronounce propel, or likes propel - I couldn’t really hear him)
We shared our thoughts on the beauty and discussed our path far off in the distance
After climbing down some rocks to get my jet boil items, I boiled water to make Chicken Friend Rice (Mountain House Meal)
Wanting to leave by 6:30pm, I scarfed down my food
I saw what I thought could be the ocean but maybe I was imagining it
I felt like I was on top of the world
I had a 5 mile hike back down to camp at Strawberry Junction
Even though I knew I would be hiking in the dark, I still forget my regular glasses (lesson learned again…)
The sunset during the hike down was incredible
The whole forest turned gold and eventually pink and I saw the sun dip below the mountains in the distance
It was hard to not stop and take picture every hundred feet
It got really dark around 8pm and I put on my flashlight, but I still had about 2 miles to go 😅
I quickly filled up my water bladder at the creek and kept going
As I maneuvered over a downed tree, I cut myself slightly
So now I was hiking in the dark, bleeding a little, and alone
I got my knife and pepper spray out and prayed that no animal would smell the blood, dabbing the wound while I walked to prevent dripping
It was a small cut and scabbed up pretty quickly
I finally made it back to camp at 9:40pm, dressed my wound, filtered the water, tiger balmed my legs, and passed out
Was it worth it? Yes, but next time I’ll camp closer to the summit junction
Even though FarOut didn’t say there was campsite, there were a ton, and would’ve saved me a lot of down climbing and backtracking (lesson learned)
Day 16 - Descent back to the Desert
Distance: 17 miles
Weather: sunny, clear, hot
End Location: tent site at mile 200
Lessons Learned:
Woke up 5:45am
Went back to bed until 6:45am, sun was beaming in, had to get out of tent fast due to sauna effect
Packeted up, made breakfast and cold coffee
Stretched and enjoy the view
Left 8:45am
“Fragile area, no camping” must be Italian 🤔
Stairway to heaven
Filled up 2.5 miles in at a cold mountain creek, cameled a bit and drank a good amount, very cold and tasty
There is marginal water in 7.7 miles, bringing 2.5 liters in case no water
Saw Hannah, asked if I had enough water, I almost missed the creek I had been looking forward to for the past 8 miles, thank god she was there - saved me some backtracking
At 5:30pm, drank rest of my water and filled up 3 liters, feel so much better and sun is behind the mountain now with a breeze
Hiked another mile to tent site
Jesse and Emily were there but there was another spot open, they said they made sure
Windy as hell, woke up 3-4 times due to wind
Day 17 - 5/23/25 - to Cabazon
Distance: 14 miles
Weather: sunny, hot
End Location: Cabazon
Lessons Learned: carrying more water is better than not having any
Woke up 5:45am
A ton of sand / dust in tent brought in from the wind last night
Jesse and Emily left
I stayed ate granola and coffee, stretched
Left 6:50am, 14 mile descent to I-10
There’s an In-N-Out that I wanted to hit in Cabazon and a resupply box that I also had to pick up before 4pm
Made it to other tent site at 8:10am, would’ve been close call yesterday in terms of sunlight
I had 8.5 miles to water through the hot desert and only 1.5 liters of water left
Had to ration carefully, but it was so hot
Took lunch break around 10:30am, tuna burrito, quick break - wanted to hike fast before weather got hot
Had great views of Mount San Jacinto, felt wild know I was on top just a day before
Hiked 5 more miles with half a liter
The 2 last miles I had droplets which I used just to keep my mouth moist
Carrying more water is better than not having any
Finally reach water, it was 100° out at the bottom of desert
Drank 2 liters of water with electrolytes and hiked a mile down to road
Called an uber to post office (I wouldn’t have made it in time if I walked to 1-10)
Picked up package and added a stop for In-N-Out
Got two double cheeseburgers, animal fries, a root beer, and a strawberry milkshake
I scarfed down the 2 burgers but forgot I don’t really like animal fries, still ate half of them
Hannah walked up to In-N-Out
Plan is to uber by to white water conservation and camp there, maybe wash off in the river
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