PCR Bike Tour Day 5 of 39 Idyllwild to near Warner Springs California. Fog and cold, Garner Valley and Wild Camp

A nice sleep and rest helped me to recuperate from the days before hot and steep climb. almost good as new, I got up early to see all but one of the hikers had already left, and it was before 7 AM. So I had the whole picnic table to myself to queue up all my stuff and load it onto the bike.

It was already warm and so I figured the day was going to be another hot one. I took off my bike to search for a healthy breakfast. I believe that’s the key, get a lot of nourishment in the body early. I found Mama’s egg house but when I got there they looked closed. Oh no, but I went to the door, they unlocked and said they were just opening.

So I was able to get a good helping of breakfast and sit outside. I like to eat outside to keep a close eye on my transportation and gear. When leaving, one of the other patrons asked if he could take a picture of my bike. We chatted a little bit and I was able to exchange my card to find this blog. Unfortunately I didn’t catch his name.

It was still warm and sunny when I left but after a mile, it quickly changed to a cold wet fog. It was so wet that the trees were dripping like rain and the dew was soaking me. The visibility was horrible and I had to go very slowly down the hill. This lasted for several miles and it was a little unnerving.

Finally when the downhill flattened out near Lake Hemet the fog lifted into a beautiful scene of the Valley. This was a really peaceful and relaxing ride through this area.

Upon reaching the turn to Highway 371, the wind picked up, clouds rolled in and cold returned. Compared to the blistering hot 80s and 90s from the previous day, the temperatures down to 55° was cold and unexpected. Although Highway 371 was pretty much all downhill, it wasn’t the most pleasant ride because it had a lot of traffic and mostly no shoulder.

At the bottom of the mountain I took a left at Aguanga and made a slow but steady climb. This road was also narrow but significantly less traffic.

Tonight I’m planning to “wild camp” where there is no water. In the area I was riding, I wasn’t seeing any services. I was getting a little concerned because I wanted to make sure I had enough water. I stumbled upon a place called Garage 79. It didn’t look open, but there was a street type vendor with Mexican food next to it. Unfortunately they said they would not be open for an hour. I didn’t want to wait around but the Garage 79 was open. I bought a pop and a couple of waters. So that I’m not a freeloader, I try to buy something at the stores and then after, ask if they can fill my water bottles. This was successful.

I was still feeling fresh when I reached my planned stopping point and considered continuing. But my next planned stop location was too far and I didn’t know if I’d be able to find someplace else. The place I’m staying at is one of the trail heads for the Pacific crest Trail. I don’t know if you’re allowed to camp here, but I figured since most of the hikers camp somewhere along the trail, it should be okay. I didn’t really find a great spot but I did find something that would work. Since I’ve been sitting here, at least 6 hikers came by. It’s still cold outside but my tent and sleeping bag or more than adequate to be comfortable.

Today’s difficulty is a 5 out of 10. Overall, it was a very pleasant (but cold) and interesting ride. The total distance was 56.8 miles in 2900 feet of climbing. This passes 200 miles and 18,000 feet of climbing total on the tour so far.

I plan to get an early start tomorrow as it’s another big climbing day. Hopefully I can find a good breakfast to start the day.

Here is the detailed GPS for this ride.