DAY 13 - THE 178 MILE MARK

Dad called around noon today and sounded good. He was in Idyllwild (just southwest of Palm Springs) and getting ready to hit the trail again. He had a good rest last night - yes, in a bed!! He expects to cross Hwy 10 in approx. 2-1/2 to 3 days and then will head towards Big Bear. He got stocked up with food this morning to last him around 5 days. They did have to do a detour around a portion of the trail that was deemed pretty treacherous (a matter of life or death, as he put it), so was glad to hear about that decision. He reassured me that he wasn't going to take any chances. We will look forward to hearing from him in probably 3-5 days. He did mention that some have quit the hike already for whatever reason, but that he continues to go at his own pace and ends up meeting everyone at camp in the evenings. All for this time!