Connect up a missing link of the personal Pacific Crest Trail route,
south
from
Vista Oaks,
via
North
Black Mountain
Trail and
Mellor Ranch 4S05
Junctions,
to the
Bay Tree Spring Bends --
and, as such, have now walked pretty much from the San Andreas Elizabeth Lake Road Crossing in the Liebre Mountains to Fobes Ranch Trailhead in the Desert Divide (just one long stretch from this latter south to around Warner Ranch in order to finish up an on-and-off transit of The Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California).
Before
this,
up and out with John to White Rabbit,
a
supply run,
East
on
I-
10,
South
243
up
the
Banning
Grade
above
San Gorgonio
Pass,
past
McMullen Flat and
Cabazon Peak, to the walk.
After,
continue on to Pine Cove and Idyllwild,
stopping at both San Jacinto State Park and the local San Bernardino National Forest Visitors Centers.
Continue down to Mountain Center,
then west on
74,
plummeting
to
Hemet,
and north 79
(a brief delay due to a
miniscule conflagration),
up
bouldery-
erosive-
granitic-
underappreciated-
winding
Lamb
Canyon
to
Beaumont.
Back on 10 briefly,
but cannot resist the San
Timoteo
Badlands
via
60,
a
very
rustic
Redlands
Boulevard
towards
the
rail-crossing
and
still-
semi-
rural
Live
Oak
Canyon
ascending
back
to
Yucaipa.
Albondigas soup
and
Mexican coffee at Jose's,
remodeled since last fall --
off
to
the
local
library
briefly,
for
the
LA Times,
then
with
John to take in Abducted by Aliens, Troubadour Songs, and Violin Concerto ("Ticklish") --
with
a
mid-evening jaunt a la
Black Angus
to
greet
Lisa. High back north, a tie for yesterday's highest, at again 105 -- and, once more, a bit milder south: 91 Yucaipa, but, ironically, 93, Idyllwild... 88th of summer (37th, 14th, and 2nd re 80+, 90+, 100+).
