May 23rd - Forbes Saddle to Idyllwild

The winds finally died down over night and we were able to have a relatively calm morning to hike. We had heard that the upcoming section of trail was "tough". It actually wasn't too bad. Yes, there was some elevation gain and we were going from 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet, but it was over 15 miles. However, we were finally out of the desert and we felt right at home in the cooler temps.

The trail was absolutely gorgeous. Almost the entire day was spent traversing rocky terrain. It reminded us of hiking in Colorado and at times the Eastern side of the Cascades. We loved the smells of the pine trees and flowering bushes. Tom got a kick out of watching all the hummingbirds - they were EVERYWHERE!

We took things slow, but by the end Tom was hobbling. The good news is the blisters are healing well, but the shin splints are still fired up. I had to work some PT magic in order to make it the last mile down the trail. Luckily, a nice trail angel (Bonnie) picked us up on the road leaving the trailhead and drove us to Idyllwild. She gave us a tour of town and everything. (We didn't have the heart to tell her we had already been to town before and knew our way around.)

After showers and a stop at the laundromat, we made a bee-line to the local pizza joint. It was a tortous 45 minute wait for pizza, but was worth it in the end. We polished off a 16 inch pepperoni pizza and salad between the 2 of us...and still weren't completely stuffed. Guess we finally have the thru-hiker appetite. Now we're hanging out at the coffee shop and Tom is fielding questions from some adoring fans. :-)