Idyllwild is a peaceful, very dog-friendly little town in the San Jacinto mountains in Southern California. It is quiet and a great place to camp for a night and go on a hike. There is also great food, a winery and it is the home of the Candy Cupboard – the main attraction in the center of the town that has been there for generations.
It is a very popular place for hiking (on the PCT route) whether you want to do an hour or two or an overnight hike in the high country (which we did not).
Lots of dogs out there hiking looked very professionally kitted out with their own little backpacks carrying their water bottles etc. It was very hot !! Spike was grateful to find shade, water, and even a patch of leftover snow in a shady spot!
It was after a hike here that we went out and immediately bought a snake bite kit.
We were walking along happily when we looked down and between us and Spike was a massive snake in the path. Spike had obviously walked straight over it !!!
Thoughts and Things
Idyllwild is a major hub on the Pacific Crest Trail. It is the first large town North-bound hikers can stop at and it is about 150 miles from the start of the trail on the Mexico border. After hiking here a bit we were well educated on how some dogs hike (a lot more sophisticated than ourselves) – they carried their own little backpacks!
We also realized that we were not prepared at all for snake bites on the trail! A snake bite kit is a good thing to carry on a hike in the wilderness!