5/5
19 miles (190 to 209)
16 miles of downhill!  This was actually a lot more difficult than we anticipated.  We were near the peak of San Jacinto and dropped down into a windy valley full of wind turbines, home to the small towns of Whitewater and Cabazon, described to us as "the pitts".  There were a few things that made this day difficult. It was physically difficult because we had a large waterless stretch, so we started the downhill with 5 liters each, adding a lot of weight.  Mentally, we could see the valley and town we were heading towards for the whole day, and it took forever to get there, knees aching.
When we reached I-10, we hitched about 5 miles from the PCT on a service road to In-n-out in cabazon.  I was starving and I did some good work, glorious.

the view from somewhere near idyllwild

5/6
17 miles (209 to 226)
We slept at ziggy and the bears last night, an elderly couple who hiked the pct and now host hikers. About 20 or so hikers slept on carpet in the backyard "lined up like sausages". It was incredibly windy. I don't think anyone slept well between the noise of the shade tent rattling above us and the gusts of wind inflating our sleeping bags. It was still a nice place to stay, it would have been just as windy camping elsewhere.
We woke up hungry even after each eating two burgers and fries at in n out last night. After hiking through fields of wind turbines we crossed a creek! We haven't crossed many creeks yet, and this was a very welcome site.  We stayed at the creek for hours, soaking our feet, washing off, and eating lunch.

clay hating the wind

5/7
20 miles (226 to 246)
Up up up, we climbed from about 3000 feet to over 8000. The temperature dropping as we went. The climb was fairly gradual with water along the way, our packs fairly light with a resupply in our near future.  By the time we reached our campsite for the night, it was freezing.  We set up our tent quickly near the coon creek cabin, a historic doorless windowless building of sorts.

5/8
20 miles (246 to 266)
We woke up to a dusting of snow and frozen water bottles this morning.  It was hard to get up and out of our cozy sleeping bag.  We packed up quickly and retreated to the cabin for shelter from the snow and hantavirus as we made some mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon bits for breakfast.  We booked it into town today, excited for real food and a visit from clays dad and stepmom.  Also, it was freezing out, literally freezing as the wind blew and snow swirled through the air.  Breaks were short and we hiked fast, making into big bear before 5. We got picked up by the first person who passed us on hwy 18 and we got dropped off in big bear lake to eat.  We met up with Clay's family who will visit and camp with this weekend as we eat and rest.

a dusting

"trail magic". magic dumpster = food in the woods