Since I had service & got to camp early, figured I would do a post! Doing a full week at a time is a bit much, so here are the past few days. Thanks for following along!
Life is GREAT. Body feels fantastic, the views have been outstanding (and so different each day), and I’ve made some great hiking pals!
I am filled with gratitude. I’m hiking the PCT, something I have wanted to do for so long. It’s wild to be out here, to hear to birds chirping every morning, to be called “hiker trash” (an enduring term), and to just walk all day every day. So much time to just appreciate the natural world.
Miles completed in this section: 54.25
Miles completed overall: 395.25
Day 23: Agua Dulce to a Windy Saddle (20 miles)
Woke up before everybody else (40 people camped here, at serenity’s oasis) so I could drink coffee and poop before anyone else! I had an awesome breakfast, I love fruit tacos!
Keys and I packed up and left at 7am sharp, to start our 2 mile road walk up to the hills. Then another 6.5 up a grassy mountain, to our “first lunch” spot!
Here, we met up with LadyBug, & all three of us had a great time hiking around while we went upppp and downnn the hills! We met up with some Australians at one point, and they came up with another trail name for me: “dehydrated potato” hah!
Second lunch way 10/10. I lugged an avocado out, and YEAH it was worth it!
At 20 miles, I hit my campsite and the boys continued on to theirs (4 miles further). Keys is meeting up with his girlfriend for the weekend, so he is on a time constraint! We got a quick photo before they took off- grateful to have made such good friends!
DAY 24: Windy Saddle to Upper Shake area (19.5 miles)
Motivating yourself to wake up (and get out of bed) at 5:30am …and go hiking in a rainy downpour is HARD.
But I did it, and got some amazing views from my efforts.
It was the coldest day on trail, by far. Downpour rains, sideways hail, and high winds ALL day. There were a lot of “you got this. You are strong. This is an experience. Take the good with the bad.” …motivational speeches to myself.
I’m glad I was alone all day, because if somebody gave me an “out” to camp a few miles early or hitch to town, I may have done it. Sticking to my (planned) mileage is something I really take pride in …& even on tough days like this.
I’d pass by a camp, with hikers huddled in their tents. Lots of WET. Lots of uphill. But very pretty and a 20 miles that I can honestly say “toughened me up”!
I was a bit worried about blisters, but my new pair of trail runners didn’t hold the water in and WOW… no new blisters!
Got to camp around 4pm, and wow I have never set up my tent faster! After such a freezing cold (insanely wet) day, I was REAL READY to snuggle up in my dry clothes in my sleeping bag! To reward myself for pushing through, I had my very favorite dinner.
That night, I used the rest of my fuel canister (the one i have had since April 11-yeah they last a long time! And yes, I have a second fuel canister) to heat water for my nalgene. I put this at my feet, put little hotties in my shirt, and tucked all my dry clothes around my body. This kept me warm all night, and it was 30 degrees and VERY wet. Good test of the gear. At home I was fine in 10 degrees, BUT it wasn’t wet at all.
I tried to dry out all my wet clothes.. with very little luck!
DAY 25: Upper Shake area to Horse Trail Camp (14.75 miles)
After a bitter cold night, i didn’t feel too guilty sleeping in till 6:30 and was very slowly getting ready. Got word from my pal, Ladybug he had survived the night and potentially was able to meet up. My phone was dead, since my charger is acting up and (no sun= no solar panel)…so not too many photos from the morning.
I ended up catching him as he was leaving camp (about 7.5 miles into my day) and hiked with him my remaining miles. Before i saw him, I only ran into 3 people the entire morning. We had great conversation on quantifying ecosystem services, wild-land fire, our families, and more. It’s been super great getting to know him, since we barely talked the first few weeks!
The day started out quite windy & misty, with lots of small hill climbs. Once the fog lifted we were blessed with a partly sunny sky & a warm (ish) breeze! It was warm enough for me to even take my jacket off & just wear a tank top! (Say whatttt?!) This section of the trail was burned, so there were lots of downed trees and washed out sections to navigate.
My “hiker hunger” is definitely coming in strong. Started the morning off with three huge spoonfuls of almond butter, a honey stinger, oatmeal, and coffee. Then I had a pro bar, and 6 spoonfuls of almond butter. took some electrolyte supplements & then enjoyed some mid-day (very bland) tuna with 2 more spoonfuls of almond butter. Once I got to camp I scarfed down a milkyway & scurried down to the stream to filter water. Tonight I will enjoy “chicken pot pie” which is not that good, but I’d rather save my tasty meals for days where I need some love. It’s funny, a trail angel asked me how the trail changes your mindset… I mentioned how the first week was really spent trying to make sure everything was working well, and mainly focused on survival. The second week was a lot of “untangling of the mind”. I would now say, the third and fourth weeks are mostly spent thinking about what you’re going to eat next haha! I swear I’ll eat a granola bar and a MILE later I’ll be thinking of where I can take my next food break. Not to mention the talk of town food with my fellow hikers. Currently craving sushi, but I’m a few days out from that!
Camping alone tonight again, and I realized I hadn’t really discussed how that’s going for me. It’s fine! I’m honestly (most of the time) in the middle of no where so there really haven’t been any people except hikers (who are generally decent human beings). As for wildlife, honestly not worried at all. I haven’t seen a single bear, and REALLY humans are way scarier than other animals. With wildlife, you can really predict their actions… (do I look like food? Is their baby near? Am I threatening them?) …humans not so much. Can you tell I’m the introvert who finds the cat at house parties? 😉
Another nice easy day tomorrow, and then EARLY am the next morning we will conquer the 24 miles of the Aqueduct (no water sources for 18 miles) from Hikertown.
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