
The three amigas (Sister Sally, Miracle Marilyn and the Bloody Blonde) planned to meet at the permit area at 5:4 5 AM yesterday -- women plan, life laughs.
At 4 AM, I turned on my kitchen sink faucet to heat up water for drip coffee and was blasted with spray. It took a while to turn down the deluge to a drip. Marilyn was also running late -- she had to change her driving route due to the toll road being closed. Hmm...this wasn't starting well.
After texting Sally that we were behind schedule, we hit a rock on highway 243 that blew out Marilyn's right front tire



Finally met Sally at the permit station, drove to the TH and started hiking up the Seven Pines two hours later than planned. The "trail" was very difficult to follow (deadfall, brush overgrowth, stream crossings, etc.) but beautiful and peaceful. Route-finding made for a slower, more mindful pace -- which is exactly why we chose Seven Pines. We didn't meet any other hikers until we reached the Deer Springs trail. There was no water at Deer Springs crossing


Celebrated a great day with dinner at the Lumbermill in Idylwild.
Miles of smiles,
Ellen