Zero miles.
We took a Zero day in Idyllwild to rest. We cooked breakfast in the airBnB kitchen, and did our resupply around town. I got new liner socks, a fuel can, and some different insoles. My trekking pole had broken on the way down the mountain, so I got some Gorilla Glue and fixed the connection piece.
We ate lots of town food and coffee, and I barely needed to resupply any hiking food because I was carrying so much since Warner Springs, enough for the next 7 day section. I made quesadillas with low carb tortillas and got extra to pack out with some cheese and salami.
We ran into other hikers throughout town who had come in from different exit points. It's easy to pick them out even if they don't have their backpacks. We're usually wearing rain pants, random assortments of leggings and shorts, or thrift store finds while all our clothes are in the laundry. Dirty runners, hip pouches, and sun burnt faces. I have a town dress, but it was chilly at night and I wore long johns underneath with my runners. Style really just goes out the window when you're hiker trash.
We weren't sure if the laundry machine was broken or our stuff was just that dirty, but nothing seemed to come out very clean. Oh well.
Even though town is comfortable, everyone is antsy to get back on trail. You get used to making miles each day, and the trail feels like home. A thin line of dirt through the wilderness that you'll follow through the highs and the lows, shared with so many others from around the world who each have different circumstances that brought them here. But we all have the same goal, and a love for the simplicity and challenges of trail life.
