Day 45 & 46, Sunday & Monday, April 7 & 8. Idyllwild—(Double Zero)

We slept in. At least I thought we did. As usual, Bunny and I were the last ones up. I went downstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee while we watched some TV. A few episodes of the office later I asked Kevin what time it was. He said 8:20. There’s no way. We got up on a Zero day before 7. We stayed up last night past 9 and still got up early. What is happening to us? Are we becoming morning people?

Today was not filled with high expectations for major accomplishments. We only needed to get enough food to get us to Big Bear City and get some fuel. We had until 4 to get this done. At 4, we were expecting Jayne and Andy to show up so we could all go out for dinner. My only other task was to find a dog friendly restaurant because they are bringing their puppy, Zoe, with them. I didn’t really expect this to be a problem in a city where the mayor and his two lieutenants are all dogs. It turns out, it’s harder to find a non-dog-friendly place here. This is my kind of town. 

Wolf iced his ankle on and off most of the day. It only hurts him when he twists it a certain way. The bonus for us is that if he starts going too fast now, all we have to do is “tap” his ankle to slow him down to our speed. We did have a talk as a group today and we told everyone they didn’t have to wait for us because we know we are slowing them down. Kevin said he wasn’t in a hurry because once he makes it back to Agua Dulce, he’s going to wait until the snow melts enough in the Sierras for him to continue on. Wolf said he only wants to make 10-15 miles per day with all the snow coming up. Ivy said she just wanted to try to get back up to Acton by the end of the month before she has to go back to Alaska for her separation. Bottom line, they’re not going to ditch us yet. 

We were all on our own for lunch. Kevin and Wolf bought some chicken at the grocery store. Kevin ate his before going to a movie at noon. Bunny did some gift shopping and ate her leftover pizza. Ivy also went shopping and presumably got something to eat. I decided to try the Red Kettle which turned out to be a boon for all of us. I wasn’t wearing my Town Hiker uniform of Crocs, puffy jacket, and shorts. I went incognito and left my puffy behind and carried my iPad. I sat down at a table by another group of thru-hikers that I didn’t know. I might possibly have been eavesdropping because I heard them talk of a local who said to spread his name and number around for rides back to the trailhead. I leaned over and asked if I could take a picture of his name and number. They couldn’t believe I was a thru-hiker with an iPad. I’ve said many times, I’m not an ultralighter. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing food, packing, and blogging. As it got closer to time for Andy and Jayne to arrive, I moved to the porch so I could see them arrive. They got here right on time. Ivy and Kevin had gone to have a personal audience with the mayor so they weren’t here. Ivy had just sent a picture of the mayor to Bunny, so she was getting all dolled up to meet him. Just Wolf and I were here to greet them. 

Bunny and I had met Jayne and Andy on a fairly miserable day early on. They were turning back just shy of Mt Laguna because Andy wasn’t feeling well and they were a little worried by the snow. We had stopped and talked to them for about 15 minutes in passing, but we had hit it off. They started reading my blog and, amazingly, are still willing to talk to us. We’ve been writing back and forth for a few weeks, so we were excited that they would come all the way up to meet us for supper in Idyllwild. They knew we were traveling with Wolf and Ivy, but didn’t know much about Kevin. We met him in Warner Springs, but he’s only recently caught up to and started hiking with us. 

Zoe is their 9 month old golden-doodle. She was scared of me at first but immediately took to Bunny and Ivy. She’s a sweetie! The 8 of us walked down to La Casita Mexican and got a large table outside. We had a great time getting to know each other better. We talked about the possibility of them joining us in Northern California after we jump past the Sierras. I think it’s going to happen. 

Unlike us, Jayne and Andy are both retired and they’re the same age we are. They live in San Diego but are thinking of downsizing to a van and seeing more of America. They still haven’t been to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. They are living the dream life that I would have liked to if only I had made some smarted decisions along the way. Yes, we are doing what we want, but add in financial stability (and a dog) and I’d have no worries (other than premature graying, underarm odor, smelly feet, obesity, feminine hygiene…the whole gambit of television commercials I’ve seen today). Or maybe I’ll just binge on Netflix and forget commercials and life will be fine since I’m not being told differently.

When we got up Monday morning, the plan was to go to the Post Office to mail extra stuff home then head back up to the trail. I came downstairs at 7:30 and saw Wolf trying to put on his shoes and socks. The swelling had not gone down at all, so I suggested we take another zero day. It was the smart thing to do. The last thing Wolf needed was to hike up 3500’ and find out he couldn’t walk and then have to hike back down.

And then the justifications began. Another day of rest would be good for Kevin’s knee. Bunny would have time to send a card to her son since she just got his address. I would be happy to have an actual day of rest now that we’ve got all our chores done and I’m up to date on the blog.

Idyllwild is a great place to spend an extra day. There’s plenty of restaurants which we went out for immediately—why waste an eating opportunity? After the Post Office, we demanded that Wolf rest and treat his ankle. Step 1 was to work on internal healing which was best accomplished through a visit to the local winery tasting room. Ice will be step 2 once the wine has been consumed.

Monday night is American Legion food night in Idyllwild. Food is already inexpensive and good, but I’ve never had the chance to visit one with a full bird Colonel. I’m all for coattails.

EFG