Today’s Miles: 27
Total Trip Miles: 808/2660
My morning starts with a 1.5 mile road walk to a side trail that links back up with the PCT. There are hardly any cars out this morning and the flat smooth pavement feels nice underneath my forever sore feet.
I get back to the PCT no problem and take a little break. I rub my shoulders which are already a little irritated from my current humongous pack weight. It’s a 20 mile stretch to the next water source and I’m carrying 3L of the wet stuff. I also have 4-5 days of food for this 102 mile stretch to Ashland. But it’s good food. I picked up my resupply box at Crater but also supplemented some stuff from the genera stores, including two pieces of fruit, cheese, and a turkey sandwich.
12 miles into the morning, I stop in a rare shaded patch of this burn for a break. As I’m eating, I hear an exasperated hiker talking to himself about being lost. His voice is coming in the opposite direction of where the trail lays. He sees me and with relief gives me a shout and walks over. He tells me he has been unsuccessfully looking for water off a side trail for the past half hour. I still have a bunch of water and am not too far from my next source, so I offer and him half a liter or so. “Think it’s enough to get you to Crater?” I ask him. He says no, but takes the water anyway.
After the waterless stretch, I pass by a series of small flowing creeks in the afternoon. At my feet, there are armies of tiny jumping frogs. Maybe 50, maybe 100, jumping on and off the trail. I take care to avoid these small minuscule bodies, side stepping around them.
I have one last section to hike tonight before I camp. An unexpected climb leaves me feeling very dizzy and weak. Feels something like my blood sugar crashing. I sit down and eat a bag of trail mix and an orange and feel better. Also, I start going downhill which helps.
At night, I call my sister from my tent and see how she is doing. She’s starting her teaching credential program in the upcoming week and it’s good to hear her voice. It also reminds me that it is mid-August and schools are starting up again. It’s a strange thought. Being out here feels like living in a parallel universe to the real world, hiking this dirt trail that goes on and on….
