Group of thru-hikers at Nitzy’s Reset Ranch on my last night there.
PCT Day 15 to 19 – Injury time.
April 19 – 23, 2025
Total PCT miles: 0
Non PCT miles: 0
Total: 0 miles / 0 km
Total elevation gain: 0
Total elevation loss: 0
Steps: 0
It don’t look good….
I woke up around midnight feeling pain and stiffness in my right ankle. I tried to pretend it wasn’t there, to distract myself from the anxiety starting to fill my mind. Eventually I had to look and see just how bad the damage was. I grabbed my headlamp took of my sleeping socks, my heart sank and my eyes began to water.
My ankle was swollen and not just a little bit. There appeared to be some bruising but it was hard to tell in the light and it hurt. My ankle was sprained and I was again facing the possibility of leaving the trail at the exact same place I did in 2018. Well at least I had hiked 2 miles further than I had in 2018 and seen a small section I had skipped due to that injury.
I had promised myself one thing when I started the trail this time. I would not rush into decisions about staying or leaving the trail unless leaving was an obvious choice. So I layed in my tent alone save for the random car that had pulled in hours ago, the occupant probably sleeping in the back, trying not to make rushed or rash decisions.
I won’t lie I did look up how much it would cost to fly back home from Palm Springs while exploring options of places to stay in the area. Unable to quiet my mind I got no sleep the rest of the night and as the sky began to lighten I started packing up my home in preparation of the 2 mile hike south bound to the I-10.
It was a slow and painful walk. I tried not to scream at the world but at times I could not hold back the tears. I passed two hikers who I had seen the previous day. I told them that I knew I was going the wrong way but must have looked like hell because they seemed genuinely concerned. I called Mel and failed at putting on a brave face.
Once it was a reasonable time I reached out to Nitsy, a trail angle who runs a small hiker hostel nearby asking if she had space for an injured hiker. I will be forever grateful that she did. A few hours later I was picked up by Mission. She hiked the PCT last year and had stayed at Nitzy’s Reset Ranch. This year she had taken a week off work and was helping Nitzy. As I’m sure one could imagine taking care of PCT hikers by hosting them at your house every night is an exhausting affair. Nitzy had planned to take this week off to recharge herself but with Mission’s help stayed open. I’m eternally grateful for this. Had I had to stay in a hotel by myself while I recovered I’m not sure I would have ever found my way back to the trail.
Urgent care clinic in Beaumont CA
Along with several other hikers we went to In and Out Burger, a popular stop for thru hikers in the area. I was then dropped off at an urgent care clinic. Now personally I didn’t think I had broken it and had I been back home I likely would have skipped this part. But considering I was in theory planning on walking another 2400 ish miles on this ankle I needed to know for sure nothing was broken. If there was a fracture I’d be going home.
I found it amusing that when I arrived at the clinic staff advised me, almost apologetically, it would take up to 2 hours to see a doctor. With the same injury back home I’m sure I’d wait much much longer. 300 USD later I’d seen the doctor, had an x-ray and was ready to go with no fracture found. I texted Mission who picked me up now with 2 other hikers in the car and off to Walmart prior to going to Nitzy’s.
Nitzy’s Reset Ranch is more than an Oasis on the trail and has everything a weary or injured hiker needs to recover. For a reasonable price you get a place to sleep, shower, laundry, loaner clothes, and 2 meals a day. More importantly your not alone with your thoughts all day and night long.
By Wednesday my ankle was significantly less swollen and I was feeling much better. I debated leaving to Big Bear and getting back on trail but decided a few more days of recovery was probably the smart choice. The bus from Banning to Big Bear only runs three days a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) so Friday would be the day.
Shelf I built while at Nitzy’s.
Over the 6 days / 5 nights I spend at Nitzy’s I got to meet lots of hikers and kept myself busy helping out with chores. I even built a shelf Nitzy wanted out of a old piece of wood. It’s been nice being able to call home whenever I wanted and eat like a king. The food here has been nothing short of amazing and I’m sure I’ve gained some of the 10 lbs I lost over the previous two weeks.
New ankle brace.
I’m excited, concerned, stressed to be returning to trail tomorrow. I have a fancy new ankle brace that I’m reasonably confident will give my ankle the extra support it needs to hike all day (75/25). I’ll take lots of breaks and try to take it easy. Regardless of what happens I’m proud that I have hiked 210 miles of the PCT and I’m getting back on trail after the same injury (different leg) as 2018 took me off trail. Knowing my friends and family back home are cheering me on means a lot.
Nitzy (left) and Mission (Right) just before heading back on trail!
I’ll never be able to thank Nitzy and Mission enough for all their help.
Today was a long day. I had forgotten how painful the hike off San Jacinto mountain was. I woke up at a relatively reasonable time for a thru-hiker and was on the trail by 0630. The morning was cool and crisp making for perfect hiking weather. I was excited to pass interstate 10 where I ended my hike in 2018.
The day involved over 7000 feet of elevation loss and promised to be a long tough day. Unfortunately it did not all go completely to plan. I had two more instances of twisting my right ankle. The first time just 0.5 miles into my hike and the second time about half way through the day. Both with some short lasting pain, the second worse than the first causing me to fall to the ground. I was able to continue on the pain subsiding with no obvious swelling. I’m really starting to get concerned about if I will be able to complete this hike given this is now three times I have twisted it. I’m hoping that I get to Big Bear Lake without any more issues and can get an ankle brace.
As I descended San Jacinto the trees slowly turned into shrubs that got shorter and shorter removing all shade from the increasingly hot day. There were great views of the mountains on the other side of the valley that I’ll be climbing up over the next few days. The number and length of switch backs is a bit much. From where I camped last night to the road I’m sure is less than 1/2 the distance as the bird flys vs the switchbacks. I crossed paths multiple times with a 77 year old doing a section hike. I can only wish to be healthy enough to do the same at his age. We both crossed the 200 mile marker together but he slowed down and I continued on.
I was so happy when i got to the bottom of the mountain and there was amazing trail magic to be found. A1 and Shark, PCT hikers from last year were there serving burgers, cold drinks, and had all the things a thruhiker could want! They said they remembered how brutal this section was so they came out to make our experience better.
From there it’s a few miles to interstate 10 where I ended my hike last year. If it wasn’t Coachella weekend I probably would have found a hotel for a night or two to rest my ankle. But the cheapest one to be found was a two star hotel for 300 USD. I briefly debated camping under the I-10 but it would have been a miserable night sleep. So I’m nstead I took my first steps into the unknown onto trail I’ve never walked and new adventures.
If I’m being honest I still haven’t been able to answer if I’m here because I want to be or if it’s because I’ve been telling myself for so long I want to be. I’m hoping I figure this out soon. You would think that with all the time one has to think on the trail you could sort it out. But your so busy worries about basic necessities to address these types of concerns.
21.6 miles with 7009 ft of decent was a day. Tomorrow it’s going to be hot so it will be an early morning.
Looking back at Mt San JacintoRandom artOnward to areas ive never explored!!!!
Zero days are glorious and after 11 days of hiking with no rest this one was well deserved. The term zero days just mean no hiking but unfortunately it doesn’t mean you don’t have a list of town chores to complete. There’s laundry, gear maintenance, resupplying for the next leg, calling family, loading up on calories and other random tasks. Because of all this there really isn’t a lot of rest time.
Idyllwild is a really cool small mountain town that is very hiker friendly. The people are amazing and everything you need is easily walkable. The only down side to town days and zero days is they get real expensive real fast. Even more so when your paying in Canadian Dollars or arrive in any town near Coachella on a weekend.
Day 13
My left calf is still bothering me despite all the stretching and self massage I could manage. If it was cheaper to stay in town I would have definitely considered another zero.
I made arrangements with a local trail angle named Grumpy to give me a ride to the trail head at 0930 am this morning. This gave me plenty of time to have a good breakfast and ensure i had everything packed and didn’t need to rush.
I was at the Devil Slide trail head at 10am and started the 2.5 mile 2000 ft climb back to the PCT. Name aside the trail is actually really nice with reasonable switch backs going all the way up. I reached the PCT at saddle junction and was on my way. There definitely was less snow and slush than when I descended from here just the other day.
I had made the decision to not climb Mount San Jacinto due to a number of reasons: didn’t want to do the 2000 feet additional accent, it’s not part of the Official PCT, i had already done it in 2018, and I only have 5 days of food to get me to Big Bear which is about 90 ish miles away on trail. In 2018 I spent the night at the summit and had crystal clear views with an amazing sunset. Today everything seems hazy so I’m confident my old memories of the peak would be better than any new ones I would make today.
Fortunately there is a lot of water on this part of the trail due to the recent snow and ongoing meting but for some reason I decided to carry much more than I needed. I do really need to get better at determining how much water I actually need so I can lighten the load from time to time.
Eventually I reached near the area where in 2018 I made the decision to call of that adventure. It’s wild being here again it feels familiar but doesn’t look at all how I remember it. Memory is a funny thing.
I met up with a group of hikers who have dubbed themselves the Coyote pack. They named themselves es thus because apparently coyotes often go off on their own and rejoin. Which is fitting for how a trail family works. I made camp with them tonight and they are an interesting group including a paramedic from France. Were at a designated camp site that has a fire ring so someone started a campfire Which is an unusual occurrence on the PCT. It’s cold tonight – low of 4 degrees here at 8000 ft and two of them are cowboy camping. Hopefully the fire keeps them warm.
Tomorrow is 20 miles all down hill. I’m sure my legs will protest the entire time!
Today is a good day because it’s a town day. But first I must embrace the suck that are the mountains before me.
I was packed and hiking at 0600 thankful that I had slept at lower elevation and that my newly acquired ground sheet keeps my tent a little cleaner. The wind died down last night and it was a cool morning excellent for the hike ahead. I had only 1.25 liters of water to make it to the Tahquitz creek located at mile 172.
I didn’t hike this part of the trail in 2018 as I had limped off somewhere before this point. The first 2 miles were all uphill and I managed to make relatively quick work. From here the trail continued up along the side of the various mountains. I understand now why these trails can be treacherous. I’m not sure I would hike them if there were snow and ice. I was moving quite slowly for several miles as I fatigued but was not wanting to rest due to lack of water and the strong desire to get to town. As difficult as the trail was it was incredibly beautiful with amazing views of the sounding mountains and valleys bellow.
Somewhere around 8000 ft, thanks to the storm that passed here two days ago, the trail started to become snow covered. Fortunately this part of the trail was more in land and not sketch. I arrived at Tahquitz creek and was rewarded with nice cold glorious water and enjoyed a snack. There were several other hikers here all discussing if they were going to summit Mount San Jacinto or not. Of the group only 1 was planning to do so. Personally I have yet to decide if I will or not.
From here it was mostly downhill to Saddel Junction where I will take the trail down into town. On my decent I started to get some pain in my left calf like a strong cramp that continued to get worse until I had some difficultly walking. I slowly passed the parking lot and started walking into town. Fortunately the first vehicle that passed me stopped and gave me a ride to my hotel. They were a lovely couple from San Diego on vacation here in Idyllwild.
I checked into my hotel at around 1500. Later than I had hoped but early enough for me to enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Blaze, a physical therapist who follows the PCT hiker crowd was in town so I bought some compression sleeves for my calves from her hoping it would help prevent future issues.
In the evening I enjoyed a whole pizza to myself. I had gone back to my room when I realized I had lost my power bank. I found it a several hiker I knew at the restaurant and chatted for a while. Tomorrow I’ll do town chores, laundry and resupply before starting back on the trail Friday before the Coachella madness hits the area.
If you look closely you can see the trail. Mayor Max!
It was exceptionally cold out this morning. It must have rained a little more last night because my tent was wet. This combine with the cold weather made packing everything up painful but the Paradise Valley Caffe (PVC) and breakfast were calling my name so off I went. Slowly the sun started to crest over the mountains finally providing some warmth. The high temperature today is only 10 or so degrees but I’ll take it over a heat wave.
I arrive at PVC just as they opened at 0800 an shuffled in with a few other hikers. They caffe allows hikers to camp on their patio or in the back. One hiker I met had done just that and reported it was really loud due to cars most of the night. PVC is known for having the best burger on trail but unfortunately their lunch menus doesn’t start until 1100 so I settled for breakfast food. I will say their portions are very hiker friendly.
In the hiker box I found a giant piece of tyvek. I had been debating getting something to use as a ground sheet for my tent as I’ve already put a hole in it and to help keep it cleaner. Two other hikers wanted some as well so we cut it into pieces to share.
Rocket man!
Just as i was leaving PVC I ran into Rocket Man. He said he had enough and he was getting off trail. I wished him well and off I went.
The hike today involved a significant amount of elevation change with difficult water access. There are three points along the trail where you can get water. But all involves a one mile hike downhill. I carried 4 liters out of PVC and with the cool weather I’m hoping I’ll be fine till a spring located on trail another 11 miles from where I’ve camped.
Here along the ridge on the left everything is green and to the right everything is brown and you can see into Coachella valley. At some point I passed the spot where I sprained my ankle in 2018 and eventually passed the spot where I hobbled off the ridge to hitch hike into town. So now I’m on parts of the PCT I’ve never seen. There were beautiful views of Mount San Jacinto and the valley bellow.
It snowed up here over the last two days but almost all has melted. I passed some trees that were raining ice that has built up during the storms. I decided to gather a bunch just in case I’m wrong in my water calculation!
I still have 11 miles to go until I reach the turn off for Idyllwild. I had hoped to make it further. But the next few miles involve significant elevation gain to 9000 feet. It will be warmer where I am and I’ll have fresh legs tomorrow for the climb. I really hope to make it into town at a reasonable time.
Everything hurts when your thruhiking. Every part of your body aches even parts you’ve never felt pain in before. What changes is what hurts the most and is thus taking your immediate attention. Is it your back, your left leg, your right pinky finger. The key is recognizing a) is this a concerning pain and if so should I or can I do something about it.
It’s important to take care of the small issues before they become significant issues even when the small issues are easy to ignore. That small rock in your shoe will become a blister, that small hole in your gear will eventually make it unusable. But if you deal with the small thing early a later crisis will be potentially averted. That said you’re often so exhausted and caught up in trying to make miles that it’s easier to ignore. In some ways thru hiking teaches the importance of sweating the small stuff when it’s important.
I woke up early and did my best to pack away my wet gear without getting anything else wet. There was a chance of more rain today that thankfully did not occur as it’s going to be cool during the day and near freezing tonight with significant wind.
I was feeling sluggish this morning and didn’t think I would make paradise valley cafee before they closed at 1500 hrs so I changed plans. Part of the reason for the change was as I was walking along the trail minding my own business I was startled by a growling sound. I tired to find the source of this sound and it took me longer than it should have to realize my stomach was in fact the source. I was starving!
Back in 2018 there was a hiker oasis in the area run by Mary I believe. It closed down due to criminal activity on her property. In its place multiple spots seem to have opened up. I set my eye on Little Bear Hostle as it promised hot dogs.
Little Bear Hostel
Little Bear Hostle is basically someone’s house that runs on the honor system. Cook yourself hotdogs, help yourself to drinks, snacks and ice cream and pay before you leave. There is also an outdoor shower and places to camp outside or set up your sleep pad in shelters. I’d really like the meet the individual that owns this place. Based on the things that were lying around I’m sure he’s quite interesting.
5 hot dogs and a few soft drinks later I was on my way. I debated spending the night but I’m doubtful I would have gotten much rest in a shelter with people making noise and if I’m going to sleep in my tent I might as well get closer to Paradise Valley for breakfast tomorrow. Also these kinda places become vortexes. Next thing you know you’ve been there for two days and spent a fortune! One of the hikers I met was currently on their second day there.
The hike today and the surrounding mountain views were beautiful. I called it an early day and stopped hiking at 1600hrs.
It’s going to be cold tonight. But I believe I am well prepared for it. This will be a good test to see if I need any equipment while I’m in Idyllwild.
