Day 29 - Back in the Heat. 474.3 (20.8)

Mileage Breakdown: 1 mile road walk back to the PCT + 19.8 miles on the PCT. Back on the trail. I packed up and was on the road walk by 7:30am. The rest of the group was out much earlier. I often have found myself feeling rushed to get moving, but am realizing that taking it slower is a lot more enjoyable. And I'm ok with walking later in the day, in fact I prefer it.During the road walk, I made some phone calls home before I was out of cell range. Also there were some interesting houses. 

Between the road and mile 8 for the day (the next water source), there wasn't a whole lot of interesting stuff to look at. The haze limited any good views. Also I was on the constant lookout for rattlesnakes. None were seen. 

At the water source, I decided to enjoy the shade and eat lunch for roughly an hour. There were a few other guys there, we didn't talk much.  

This is what 4 Liters looks like. It's not a whole lot of fun to carry. But I'm glad it's not 6 (my maximum capacity). 

Pretty much the rest of the day was either, look for rattlesnakes or dodge poison oak. Some of the poison oak was very well camouflaged in the long grass. No rash as I'm writing this, so maybe I snuck by without contact. 

At mile 473, there is a bench under an oak tree. Leah and Anna were both there relaxing. I hung out for 30 minutes or so, then we all left for the last 2 miles of the day.

It was 6:09ish and the lighting was great! Met up with the rest of the group, at mile 474 and setup camp just before sunset. I decided to "mesh it up", a phrase I came up with to describe setting up my tent without the vestibule. 



Day 28 - Zero Number 2. 454.5 (0.0)

Woke up at 5 am... Needed to go pee, then I decided I wanted to eat my last piece of pizza. They have a scale here and it said I was 147lbs. That means I am down 10lbs from when I left Colorado. There are some here that have lost 15lbs. Spent the morning eating, cleaning gear, resting, stretching, etc... A lot of people went into town for breakfast. I stayed back with hopes of catching an early ride to REI. Unfortunately I didn't catch that ride till the afternoon. There were a lot of people wanting to go.

At REI I picked up some freeze dried food, a food bag, and hand warmers. I looked at a new backpack and would have bought it if they had it in my size... Probably for the best. I walked out of the store having only spent $50. I was proud of myself as I could have easily bought a bunch of neat gadgets I don't need (or want to carry). 

Back at Hiker Heaven, there was a whole lot of relaxing going on. It was awesome. 

For dinner the group went out to the local Mexican restaurant. I ate way too much food and I could literally feel my stomach stretching. I can use to calories. 

When we returned from dinner, the camp was setting up for a picture. We all lit up our tents with our headlamps and then went and stood around the fire.  Grabbed it off the pct class of 2016 Facebook page. 

Pretty epic if you ask me. 

Spent the rest of the evening organizing for a early morning departure tomorrow. 

Day 27 - Hiker Heaven! 454.5 (4.5)

The morning was simple. Packing up after cowboy camping is very simple.Only 4.5 miles to Agua Dulce, then a 1 mile road walk to Hiker Heaven. One of the highlight towns of the trip (according to my research). 

Just prior to Agua Dulce, the PCT goes through the Vasquez Rock picnic area. I will do my best to come back to this area tomorrow to climb it and take pictures. My mission this morning was to get to town. I was out of snacks and hungry. 

Arriving at Hiker Heaven was everything I could have wanted at that point. Setup camp then roamed the property to find where everything was. They have showers, laundry, Internet, outhouses and a relaxed atmosphere. This is the one place I planned a zero day just to relax at.

After getting situated, a few of us walk back to town to have some pizza. Ordered a salad, jalapeño poppers and my own 12", The Big Mouth, pizza.  On the walk back, a van pulled over and offered us a ride for the .7 left in the road walk. We had 11 adults in the van...

I spent the rest of the afternoon making phone calls, getting my laundry ready, and enjoying my time here. Also I took a shower! It had been 5 days since my last one. Made a beer/food run with ST and Riley, then the evening was spent hanging out with a bunch of hikers and updating this journal. Met both Buff, a older gentleman who's been on the PCT and other long trails throughout the world, and later So Hard who just earned her undergrad and is also living in Oakland. 

Day 26 - Birthday Magic. 450.0 (19.6)

Nobody was interested in leaving camp this morning. Even Early Bird (Formerly Alyssa) was not pushing out of camp before 7:00am. Today was Alex's Birthday. We all got up to sing happy birthday while he was still in his tent. We gave him a snickers bar with a candle in it.  The sun started to come out shortly before I started to pack up my tent. I left it up to dry out a bit, but the clouds started to roll back in so I decided to book it out of camp. I nearly ran the next 6 miles where the next water source was (at a Ranger Station) in just under 2 hours. Mainly to stay warm, but the trail also significantly dropped in elevation over these miles and running downhill is easier in the knees than walking slowly.  It was windy and cold, so I hurried to use the outhouse and refill my water. Back on the trail, it immediately warmed up as the sun broke through. I was hiking with ST and we both had to take off our warm jackets not a mile away from the Ranger Station. 

Around 11 miles for the day I stopped to dry all the things. My pack kind of exploded everywhere again (picture is after I packed most of my stuff away). Eventually I used my umbrella (first time of the trip!!!) because the sun was so intense.  Soon after I left, the group caught up to me. This also included a couple of Alex's friends who met him out of the trail, Reah and Lani.  

They flew past me at a break necking pace. I hurried along with the intention of going to the Acton KOA and getting some ice cream. When I arrived at a parking lot along the trail (mile 14), there was the group and a table full of good food. Raeh and Lani had brought a ton of food and beer to help celebrate Alex's birthday. It was a really good time. Especially after the 3 days of cold weather we just went through.  The entire time, we all joked that we weren't going to make it out of the parking lot and that we should just setup camp where we were.  After a few hours of relaxing, we were back on the move. Reah and Lani joined us for the night out. Our plan was at least another 4 miles. We made it 5.6, which was at an awesome seasonal creek bed. Cowboy camping tonight. Everyone made it to about 10:30 pm before crashing.  [wpvideo 4oeAZVr5]

Day 25 - Rain with a Chance of Sun. 430.4 (20.0)

I was in no rush to get up and hit the trail this morning. It still sounded like it was raining (though it really wasn't). I made breakfast in bed and looked at the topo maps for the day. The sun started to break through the clouds and I thought it was the best chance to stay warm while packing up. I opened my tent to an awesome view. Yesterday evening when setting up, the fog blocked out all views.

After walking a couple miles I finally had cell reception. It has been a while since I've had solid reception on the trail. I'm so busy and rushed in town that in forget to make them. I had a chance to talk to my brother and mom. But I was so cold by the end of those conversations that I had to run down the trail for a bit to get warm. Guess what? No more cell reception. After about 8 very quick miles, a rest area and water source was the stopping point for lunch and drying out some very wet gear (socks, shoes, tent). I took a nice long break so that my feet could rest. My left foot was feeling better, but still not 100%. I think it is hurting from a combination of long days, heavy loads, and worn out insoles. I should be able to pick new ones up in the next town. 

The next 6 miles were sunny and warm. I had a few good views of the flat desert below. But the area was completely covered with Poodledog Bush. This stretch is suppose to be the worst of the worst on the trail. In previous year, many hikers would take an alternate around this area because it was near impossible to get through without being exposed to the plant. 

Can you spot the Poodledog Bush?  This made this section difficult.

The last 6 miles of the day, I was still dodging Poodledog Bush when the weather rapidly changed.  The fog and wind were back, then it started to rain. I quickly put on my pack cover and rain jacket and nearly ran to the Messenger Flats Campground. I think my average pace was 3.5 mph for this section. Also there where Widow Maker warning signs everywhere.  When I arrived at camp, almost everyone else in the group was already setup. I was cold and caught a break in the weather. I setup my tent in, for me, record time. I think in less than 5 minutes I was in my tent changing my wet clothes.

I spent the evening staying warm, eating and writing this entry. Tomorrow it is suppose to be sunny and warm... I really hope the forecast is correct.