Today ended up being an unplanned zero, but I think we needed it. My arm and shin are still super sore from my slide yesterday. Ibuprofen will hopefully do the trick! Once we were awake, Marquis and I took full advantage of the breakfast buffet downstairs, they even had a waffle maker.
After packing up and leaving our comfy room, we went by a gas station. I got new water bottles (that water yesterday was truly gross), and then we made our way down to the highway entrance ramp. We tried hitch hiking there for over an hour. Honestly, maybe longer, but anything more than 30 minutes and I’m ready to call it quits. It was hot and miserable out there!
When we finally decided to give up and started walking back towards the gas station to order an Uber, a man pulled up for us! He saw us and literally got on the highway, turned around at the next exit up, and came back for us! How sweet! He took us a good 30 minutes down the highway and dropped us off at the next road crossing we’d need to get back to the trail.
When we got out, believe it or not-Rudi and Rebecca were there! In the middle of absolutely no where, a couple I met back in Siead Valley were trying to hitch to the same place as us!! We hugged and chatted and all 4 of us kept our thumbs hiked out. Within 10 minutes, a couple pulled up. They had drove past R&R earlier and turned around for them. Marquis and I were going to let them take the hitch without us, it was for them anyway, and they’d been here much longer than we had-but they all agreed to figure out a way to shove all 4 of us in!
So, packs in the truck and in the passenger’s lap, Marquis, me, and Rudi in the backseat, with Rebecca in Rudi’s lap, we made it work! We all laughed the whole way to Idyllwild. I swear, the trail always provides and you never know when you’ll see a familiar face again.
We got dropped off at the post office. Marquis had ordered a new pack and some other things he needed, and with it being Friday, we had get it today, otherwise we’d end up staying in Idyllwild until Monday morning. No thank you. We have places to be! So, he got his stuff and sent old stuff home. We went to the campground and claimed our spots, then moseyed about town.
I’m in love with Idyllwild. It is adorable and right up my alley. We found an Italian restaurant and I really couldn’t help myself. I wanted a good meal, dang it. So, wine, caprese salad, and mushroom risotto it was, all while sitting outside on a patio in perfect weather! I loved every minute of it. They also had live music.. two older gentlemen playing jazz. My only wish was that we could have turned their volumes down, just a tiny tad, because they played the hell out of those instruments-they just played them really loud. Lol-tell me you’re getting old without telling me you’re getting old, am I right?
After dinner we wondered around some more, and I shopped a little in all the cutesy stores geared for people just like me. Their perfect, overspending consumer. No regrets! Ha. We also got ice cream and found R&R in the town center. We talked with them and a local for awhile before the 4 of us headed into the grocery store for a light resupply.
Back at the campground, the 4 of us celebrated the day with a few beers and some awesome stories. Tomorrow morning, Marquis and I will hitch back to the trail and R&R will zero. I’m not sure if we’ll get to see them again, but I’m sure happy we were able to spend some time catching up with them today. It’s just so funny how the trail works sometimes.
It’s loud at this campground, completely pitch black except for the car headlights that shine through the fence as they go down the road on the other side. There’s tons of regular campers here, some music playing and campfires burning. I hope I sleep ok. Time to give it a go either way, goodnight!