To PCT mile 168.6 (stats here).
My alarm was set to 4:30am but I only got up with a struggle 10 minutes later. When it started to lighten up a bit, I noticed that Mikko was on the other side of the trail. Hed had not reached the point he was telling me about yesterday. It was 10 miles further on the trail. Even though this is not a competition, and most definitely I do not feel like it is, I am a bit content that I am not that much slower.
I departed earlier than my companions and after few miles I needed to take a side trail down to get more water. There would be no water sources for a long time and the climb would be the biggest so far. Not until when coming back up from the side trail with my heavy carriage, and seeing Auston coming down on the opposite direction with only water containers in his hand, I realised that I should have left my pack at the junction as he had. Lesson learned. Lots of wasted energy.
Todays climb was to more than 8000 feet. At the end, there was a fire closure. One needed then to come down a side trail an equal elevation difference.
We leap frogged with Auston, and had a chat every now and then. I did not drink enough and felt a bit dehydrated. I did this to also to conserve water as it was a long way to the next reliable water source. The side trail did not have any water source markings. My urine was dark yellow and I did not feel that energised.
When I got down from the mountain, I was disappointed to notice that the reroute included some road walking after all. It was still 10 miles to Idyllwild. An older Austrian hiker decided just to hitch to the town, but I thought that this needs to be a continuous foot path to Canada, so I just walked.
Auston caught up with and we walked along a private camping ground. I was thinking of getting water from there but there was no obvious way without tresspassing. Seeing a guy with his kid at one point made me to strike conversation with him. He kindly offered to fill my bottle for me. During that, Auston disappeared, and short after I stopped for a half an hour break. Plenty of water and a small rest. I had conserved the water too much as I still had almost 2 lites even before getting the extra liter.
Walking on the asphalt worsened the pain on my feet and again my pace was really slow. After the campground, the trail went uphill along a mountain bike path. It was quite unpleasant to walk. I was determined to get to town before evening. I wanted to have time to sort out lodging and do stuff like writing. Having a zero next day was a relief in my mind, but I wanted to have a good start for that by not arriving too late.
I took my final break few miles before town and turned my cellphone on. I got a message from Mikko that they arrived already at noon and had taken a cabin where I could join. I happily agreed. Just at the same time, a guy with his pick up van stopped and inqueried about the path ahead. He was just checking around the neighbourhood with his kids, and curious where the dirt road was leading. We ended up chatting about hiking and the PCT, and he offered me a ride to the cabin. A super nice guy, and I feel very fortunate to meet him. Almost feels like divine guidance, how he just happened to stop by there where I was laying. There was no other cars and only few people. Thanks Ian!
I was amazed that Mikko and Diego (an early trail name Mikko gave to the taiwanese hiker) arrived here already at noon. They said they were practically running down the mountain. They arrived to town 6 hours before me. Later I came to learn that they got a ride right from where the asphalt road started, so this made sense after all. At that point they were maybe 1.5 hours ahead of me. Still a huge difference. Kudos to them.
Spending the evening in the cabin was nice and went quickly as expected. Diego gave me super interesting treatment for my physical problems. In real life, he is a doctor in chinese medicine. Thanks Diego! Before hitting the sofa, I managed to check some photos and I was determined to start writing the blog tomorrow while having my first zero from walking.
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| Another benefit of an early wakeup, a beautiful sunrise. |
My alarm was set to 4:30am but I only got up with a struggle 10 minutes later. When it started to lighten up a bit, I noticed that Mikko was on the other side of the trail. Hed had not reached the point he was telling me about yesterday. It was 10 miles further on the trail. Even though this is not a competition, and most definitely I do not feel like it is, I am a bit content that I am not that much slower.
I departed earlier than my companions and after few miles I needed to take a side trail down to get more water. There would be no water sources for a long time and the climb would be the biggest so far. Not until when coming back up from the side trail with my heavy carriage, and seeing Auston coming down on the opposite direction with only water containers in his hand, I realised that I should have left my pack at the junction as he had. Lesson learned. Lots of wasted energy.
 |
| Near a fire closure area, where no hiker should tread. |
Todays climb was to more than 8000 feet. At the end, there was a fire closure. One needed then to come down a side trail an equal elevation difference.
 |
| Coming down from above to this valley was not that motivating. |
We leap frogged with Auston, and had a chat every now and then. I did not drink enough and felt a bit dehydrated. I did this to also to conserve water as it was a long way to the next reliable water source. The side trail did not have any water source markings. My urine was dark yellow and I did not feel that energised.
 |
| Something else that is not that fun: roadside walking. |
When I got down from the mountain, I was disappointed to notice that the reroute included some road walking after all. It was still 10 miles to Idyllwild. An older Austrian hiker decided just to hitch to the town, but I thought that this needs to be a continuous foot path to Canada, so I just walked.
Auston caught up with and we walked along a private camping ground. I was thinking of getting water from there but there was no obvious way without tresspassing. Seeing a guy with his kid at one point made me to strike conversation with him. He kindly offered to fill my bottle for me. During that, Auston disappeared, and short after I stopped for a half an hour break. Plenty of water and a small rest. I had conserved the water too much as I still had almost 2 lites even before getting the extra liter.
Walking on the asphalt worsened the pain on my feet and again my pace was really slow. After the campground, the trail went uphill along a mountain bike path. It was quite unpleasant to walk. I was determined to get to town before evening. I wanted to have time to sort out lodging and do stuff like writing. Having a zero next day was a relief in my mind, but I wanted to have a good start for that by not arriving too late.
I took my final break few miles before town and turned my cellphone on. I got a message from Mikko that they arrived already at noon and had taken a cabin where I could join. I happily agreed. Just at the same time, a guy with his pick up van stopped and inqueried about the path ahead. He was just checking around the neighbourhood with his kids, and curious where the dirt road was leading. We ended up chatting about hiking and the PCT, and he offered me a ride to the cabin. A super nice guy, and I feel very fortunate to meet him. Almost feels like divine guidance, how he just happened to stop by there where I was laying. There was no other cars and only few people. Thanks Ian!
I was amazed that Mikko and Diego (an early trail name Mikko gave to the taiwanese hiker) arrived here already at noon. They said they were practically running down the mountain. They arrived to town 6 hours before me. Later I came to learn that they got a ride right from where the asphalt road started, so this made sense after all. At that point they were maybe 1.5 hours ahead of me. Still a huge difference. Kudos to them.
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| The last I am to see a dear friend on this trail? Mikko is a lightning compared to me and not going to take a zero tomorrow as I am. |
Spending the evening in the cabin was nice and went quickly as expected. Diego gave me super interesting treatment for my physical problems. In real life, he is a doctor in chinese medicine. Thanks Diego! Before hitting the sofa, I managed to check some photos and I was determined to start writing the blog tomorrow while having my first zero from walking.
Zero? Like a free day? Hero!
ReplyDeleteWell, zero refers to the fact that you do not walk any PCT miles. But it feels hardly that it is a free day. Goes running errands and you feel more stressed than walking PCT.
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