May 8th San Ysidro creek to lost valley

I had a nice peaceful nights rest with the creek trickling next to my tent. I had a nice easy 7 mile hike to warner springs where I was going to grab breakfast. I got so caught up in the hike across the beautiful open prairie that I missed a major landmark on the trail. There is supposed to be an arrangement of rocks that looks like an eagle on a quarter. By the time I realized I missed it I was 2.5 miles past it.

On the bright side I made it to town at 755 and breakfast started at 8 so all I had to do was drop my pack wash up and eat. It was nice almost all the other hikers around my were there so we had a good time chatting and catching up. The breakfast was put on by the warner springs community center.

While I was there I learned about the detour in the trail due to a fire thst I'd run into in 50 miles. I had to change my resupply plans which actually worked out for the better since I wouldn't have to purchase anything in warner springs. The detour has me getting off trail at mile 151 and hitchhike 17 miles to the town of Idyllwild then taking a dirt road back to the trail skipping miles 151 to 178. I had planned on going to Idyllwild anyway but I'll be going there a day early. Which meant I had enough food.

I decided to stick around after breakfast and grab a shower and lunch then hike 10 more miles to a spring for the night. The shower was desperately needed since the dust from the desert was caked on thick enough that I almost looked tan.

On the way out I walked through a private campground that had one of those rope courses. I was tempted to go play on it but decided not to since they were letting the PCT walk through their property. I did however come across a campsite that had a tire swing and I couldn't resist playing on it. Of course while I was playing around another hiker shows up and catches me in the act. But hikers are a different breed and he ended up joining me playing around on the swing. We continued hiking to the lost valley spring and ran into my first rattlesnake on the trail. It was a cute little one perched up on a sunny spot near the trail rattling it's tail at us. Not scary and mean like that guy on the AT.