tiffany's pct journal


ENTRY 49.
California Section B: Interstate 10 (Cabazon) to Warner Springs - Part III.


Days: 142 - 143.
Dates: November 22 - 23.
Trail mileage: 2501.3 - 2543.6.
Distance: 42.3 miles.


After grabbing another latte in the morning (and, yes, another slice of vegan banana bread), we got a ride from a trail angel Waist Deep knew to the Paradise Valley Cafe, just a mile off the trail where we had gotten off on Highway 74. There, I got a delicious vegan burger and fries.

heart made of rocks
I love you too, trail!

We could have walked the mile back to the trail but decided to try and hitch back the mile. We were able to get a ride pretty quickly. 1 whole off-trail mile saved!

view from the trail
The last time I'd be getting back on trail after a zero

I didn't get a whole lot of miles in that day because of the late start, but it was a very nice day with not a lot of elevation gain. The weather was wonderful, and I was happy to see there wasn't any snow on the ground, even though it had snowed all day the day prior.

beautiful weather
Some beautiful weather after the storm

I ran into an interesting sitting area on the trail, with a sign welcoming SOBOs and a small library and trail register. And some cardboard cutouts of some famous guys too, for some reason.

sitting place on the trail
I felt quite welcomed

I camped alone that night, and woke up to a ton of condensation on everything. My sleeping bag and tent were soaked. It's never fun to wake up like that, but luckily, it was a sunny day. I don't usually stop for lunch (I just eat while I walk), but I decided to take a lunch break on a nice ledge midday and air out all of my stuff.

sunset
Yes, I was going to miss this

I camped alone again that night, about a mile from Warner Springs, which was going to be my last resupply. I woke up early the next morning to get to Warner Springs and pick up my package at the post office.

sunrise
Early start to the morning

When I got there, I found Waist Deep, Ctrl+Z, and Katie all camped out next to the community center. Waist Deep and I left while Ctrl+Z and Katie were taking down camp, and we walked the mile or so to the post office on a trail behind the community center. When we got there, we were surprised to find Ctrl+Z and Katie already there, because they had gotten a hitch.

We got breakfast at the grill (my last trail town meal!), then a hitch back to the community center. The community center is a great space for hikers, with tons of outlets everywhere, a lot of space to lay out all of your stuff and figure out resupply, and even a small section where they sell a few resupply items.

map in front of the community center
A cool map in front of the community center

I ended up hanging out at the community center for 4 hours or something charging up my stuff, repacking my bag, and talking to Patrice, the woman who runs it. I've got to say, I wasn't all that motivated to walk anymore! But at this point I was 110 miles from the end, and I knew that was just a few days now.


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