Sunday, May 3, 2026. Sunny, clear, low 50s, going up to upper 60s.
Up at 6:00. Packed and on trail at 7:00. Carrying 3 liters of water.
Normal desert hiking day. We reached the infamous cistern at 10:10 and 8.1 miles. The water here is nasty, but I have had to use worse than this. Fortunately, I still have 1 liter and can skip the cistern as we are stopping at the DeBenedetti’s ranch in just a mile or so.
There are 5 hikers here at the cistern: Natalie, Gandalf, Jacob, Niaal, and Emmett. All are headed to Little Bear Hostel 4.4 miles north.
We got to DeBenedetti’s ranch at 10:40. They are trail angels 15 minutes off trail. Lovely people. Water, soda, shade, snacks, power, toilet, nice seats, friendly dogs. Super nice people. We hung out and chatted for two hours! Orange Man, Brad, Titus, Kellie, Emmett.
We all got a soda, cheese stick, and two oranges upon arrival. Kellie was cracking up at the image of Orange Man peeling an orange with an orange knife wearing an orange bracelet. Some people amuse easily.
TJ and Mash arrived as we were leaving.
We had a hard slog the next 5 miles to get to Little Bear Hostel. Steep uphill and zero shade.
I arrived at 3:50 and 16.45 miles for the day. My feet were killing me. Little Bear is a self-service hostel with hot dogs, beer, soda, snacks, and a toilet.
The temps dropped big time, and a storm rolled in. Brad, me, Gandalf, and 3 others slept in the garage. Kellie, Natalie, and Bobbie (aka Infinity) slept on the floor in the kitchen area.
We had a quick 50th birthday celebration for Brad when we got here. Natalie, Kellie, Gandalf, Emmett, Infinity, me, Brad, Jacob, and Niaal.
A quick note on Emmett. He has taken a vow of silence while on the trail. His goal is to become more present and mindful in life. He has not spoken in almost 2 weeks. He writes very eloquently. His new trail name is Presence.
Overall, it was a good day. I’m very happy we stopped at DeBenedetti’s and stayed at Little Bear Hostel. We are all looking forward to a huge breakfast at Paradise Valley Cafe tomorrow followed by our first zero day in Idyllwild.
Technical Notes:
- Pop Tart 340
- Chomps Beef stick 100
- Cheese stick 160
- Orange 70
- Hot dog x2 500
- Seltzer 300
- Cupcake 130
- Ramen 360
- Spam 170
- Propel x 0
- Water liters: 2
- Miles: 16.42
- Time: 9:13
- Up: 2218
- Down: 2776
- Calories consumed: 2330
- Calories burned: 3301
- iPhone battery used: 30%
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