To PCT mile 77.3 (stats here).
The night was not that nice. I was worried because of my feet, and the blowing wind kept me awake. It knocked down my hiking poles (acting as tent poles) few times, and the tarp kept touching my quilt. Even though I felt the urge to piss many times, I only got up once to do it. The starry sky was magnificent.
Mikko woke me up 4:40am. I did not notice my 4:30am alarm as the watch was not in my wrist. Garmin Fenix 5x seems to go down from 100% to 50% with one days of hiking, with normal GPS and 8 hours of activity. I decided to use that for logging instead of the Inreach Explorer, as in this way I do not need to do any additional exporting. It just means I need to charge the watch every day. Explorer only consumes 10% of its battery for doing the same job, but then again the logging interval is much sparser, 1 point per minute. Then again, I feel it is much more accurate with its big antenna.
The start of the hiking went well. With with careful treading I felt no pain in my feet. But after a while, the familiar pain started. I started to utilise the hiking poles and they were really helpful when descending. I could take lots of weight away from the legs which made the pain bearable. It seems that I can only properly feel one pain point at the time, so my right shoulder was not an issue even though I felt that too.
I had my second cat hole digging session while having a break at a water cache. The cache was not marked on the map and was trail magic by someone. It helped us to avoid an additional 2 mile walk to a water source. People around the trail really do help the hikers. What comes to the pooping, the land was hard and it took a while to dig. Totally worth it though, as you feel afterwards that your step is light as a feather.
Along the way, we heard that many hikers are going to hitch from Sisters Crossing to Julian. This is a famous trail town, a first proper one along the trail. Spending the night there was not in our itienary, but as I had feet problem, and we both already had a list of stuff that we did not want to carry, we decided to do this anyway.
When we got to the crossing, we saw a figure sitting near the underpass. This was a legendary trail angel, Magic Man, who offered us a beer and some nice chatting. Luck was on our side as in no time another legend, Ghost, arrived with his car and offered us a ride to Julian. I told about my problems and he offered me a ride to a nearby town, Warner Springs, 20 miles away, to check for new shoes. He also informed us about Julian, what's what and lots of wisdom about doing the hike right. He dropped us in front of a hotel, and we agreed that he would pickup me next morning for the shoes.
We were happy to have a shower. Interesting how dirty you can become in three days. I went through of puncturing my blisters, sorting my stuff to send away, and doing hand washing for my clothers. I would send away the kindle, another of my boxers, extra batteries for the camera, running shirt and a strap. Mikko went to get pizza from a nearby restaurant.
The pizza was for 6 so Mikko gave me two slices. It seemed that he already has his hiker hunger. On top of that, he devoured a salad. I do not mind the cold soaked food but properly prepared food has its own special feeling.
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| Early start means a nice sunrise but more importantly, cool going. |
The night was not that nice. I was worried because of my feet, and the blowing wind kept me awake. It knocked down my hiking poles (acting as tent poles) few times, and the tarp kept touching my quilt. Even though I felt the urge to piss many times, I only got up once to do it. The starry sky was magnificent.
Mikko woke me up 4:40am. I did not notice my 4:30am alarm as the watch was not in my wrist. Garmin Fenix 5x seems to go down from 100% to 50% with one days of hiking, with normal GPS and 8 hours of activity. I decided to use that for logging instead of the Inreach Explorer, as in this way I do not need to do any additional exporting. It just means I need to charge the watch every day. Explorer only consumes 10% of its battery for doing the same job, but then again the logging interval is much sparser, 1 point per minute. Then again, I feel it is much more accurate with its big antenna.
The start of the hiking went well. With with careful treading I felt no pain in my feet. But after a while, the familiar pain started. I started to utilise the hiking poles and they were really helpful when descending. I could take lots of weight away from the legs which made the pain bearable. It seems that I can only properly feel one pain point at the time, so my right shoulder was not an issue even though I felt that too.
I had my second cat hole digging session while having a break at a water cache. The cache was not marked on the map and was trail magic by someone. It helped us to avoid an additional 2 mile walk to a water source. People around the trail really do help the hikers. What comes to the pooping, the land was hard and it took a while to dig. Totally worth it though, as you feel afterwards that your step is light as a feather.
Along the way, we heard that many hikers are going to hitch from Sisters Crossing to Julian. This is a famous trail town, a first proper one along the trail. Spending the night there was not in our itienary, but as I had feet problem, and we both already had a list of stuff that we did not want to carry, we decided to do this anyway.
When we got to the crossing, we saw a figure sitting near the underpass. This was a legendary trail angel, Magic Man, who offered us a beer and some nice chatting. Luck was on our side as in no time another legend, Ghost, arrived with his car and offered us a ride to Julian. I told about my problems and he offered me a ride to a nearby town, Warner Springs, 20 miles away, to check for new shoes. He also informed us about Julian, what's what and lots of wisdom about doing the hike right. He dropped us in front of a hotel, and we agreed that he would pickup me next morning for the shoes.
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| Ah, beautiful sights, you can't avoid them. |
We were happy to have a shower. Interesting how dirty you can become in three days. I went through of puncturing my blisters, sorting my stuff to send away, and doing hand washing for my clothers. I would send away the kindle, another of my boxers, extra batteries for the camera, running shirt and a strap. Mikko went to get pizza from a nearby restaurant.
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| When you got the chance, you over do it. |
The pizza was for 6 so Mikko gave me two slices. It seemed that he already has his hiker hunger. On top of that, he devoured a salad. I do not mind the cold soaked food but properly prepared food has its own special feeling.
Ah! There were the stars!
ReplyDeleteHuikeeta meininkiä :)
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