Pictures: Idyllwild to Agua Dulce

Finally another picture update! I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your collective seat. It's always hard to choose which to post, but I hope this continues to give you a taste of the flavor of the PCT.

Also, a quick note on comments. I don't always respond to them, but I always read and appreciate them. Usually it's just because I have limited time to post/use the internet, either at a library, or at a hostel where other hikers are waiting to get online.

A triumphant Moccasin at the summit of a snowy Mt. San Jacinto.

Some other folks hanging out on San Jacinto.
That's Pepe Lopez on the left, and probably Sport on the right.

"oooh... ahhh..."

Mesa Wind Farm. Kind of a weird-sound-filled night sleeping here.
Wicked windy too, go figure.

Sacred Datura. If we eat the root, we can just hallucinate that we
hiked the trail and save ourselves a lot of effort.

Headline: Hiker soaks feet in the Whitewater Preserve pool,
kills fish downstream.



Hey guys, remember that time we had to cross Mission Creek?
No no, not that time, I mean the 15th time.



But why do they sniff the trees?
Because they smell like vanilla, dammit.

San Gorgonio Mountain



Setting up camp beside Deep Creek, which runs a few feet
off the right side of the photo

A little bit o' trail surgery.

The crew fording Deep Creek



The mountains gather shadows towards evening



Enjoying the benefits of a ridgeline campsite

"May your mountains rise into...

...and above the clouds."

Ooooh... my colon is going to hate me later. But gorging at McDonalds
was, in the end, everything I'd hoped it could be.

1,500 year old juniper near the top of Mt. Baden-Powell,
or as I like to call it, Mt. Baddy-P

View from ol' Baddy P. We could see all the way back
to Mt San Jacinto, way in the background to the left.

Drop and Roll crosses a snowfield, one of many that day.



One of the dreaded roadwalks.



Need I say more?

The best a pasty Irish boy like me can hope for is a dirt tan.

Maybe the most sublime 5 minutes of my life so far.

Towards the end of our 29 mile day, and the beauty never ends.
I love evening hiking.

Cool landscapes as we near Agua Dulce

Mousetrap tickles the ivories while Roadrunner serenades us
at Hiker Heaven, in Agua Dulce.

Update

Alright, sorry for the lack of posts. The reason I've not been updating this is that I had to get off trail for a while; my dad was in a pretty bad accident on his bicycle in Florida, so I flew back to be there for him and my family while he was in the hospital. The good news is he's going to be alright.

Anyways, I left from Aqua Dulce the day after my previous post, and plan to go back out there in a week or so, to Mammoth Lakes. I'll skip a good chunk of the trail, including the southern Sierras and Mt. Whitney, which sucks, but I'd rather meet up with my friends and hike the rest of it with them. I'll probably just have to thru-hike the whole damn thing some other year (I could just go back and do what I missed, but I want to walk from Mexico to Canada, and that's just what I aim to do... someday). I hope I still have my trail legs, and can keep up with everyone.

Well, that's all for now from southwest Florida.