Idyllwild has a wonderful Catholic Church with a dynamic Priest. Sunday was a relaxing day off and more time spent eating and listening to some local musicians. Lenora joined me that evening and we had a relaxing morning and then it was time to hit the trail again. Only got 7 miles in today because it took 3 hours to hike from Idyllwild back to the PCT. Dear Springs Trail is a 4 mile trail that takes you from Idyllwild at 5400 feet to the PCT at 8048 feet.

I am very slow going up hill, especially when it is fairly steep. Beautiful walk however. Lenora and I will probably return to Idyllwild to do some hiking because of the beauty and protection from the sun by the trees. After reaching the PCT it continues to go up and at one point I asked a couple if we ever get to walking downhill hill. She looked at me rather matter-of-factly and said, yes in 3/4 of a mile. Sure enough after awhile you reach an elevation of 8987 feet and then you start a descent. At this point I learned to be careful what you ask for because once you start going downhill, you do so for about 20 miles!!! I was seriously sick of going downhill at the end of that. So I decided to just start accepting the slope of the walk and stop hoping for things. So the plan is: when on a crest, hike to the valley, and when in the valley hike the crest, and repeat as many times as necessary until someone offers you a Canadian Beer. I stopped early and figured I could do the 20 miles down with ease the next morning. I was wrong of course. Here are some views for San Jacinto mountain.