To PCT mile 307.9 (stats here).
It felt very cold in the morning and I delayed getting up until 5:10am. There was frost on my quilt so it was below freezing during the night. I was okay though, so the quilt works relatively well. When disassembling the camp, I needed to put my gloves and beanie on and keep rubbing my hands together to keep the fingers working, though.
Because of the cold I started hiking fast. I made 10 miles by 9am, and went past the other people from my camp site. The speed was not fast enough for F. and Andy. F. spent the previous night in Big Bear Lake, with a famous trail angel, but now overtook me even with a much later start.
The trail was pretty much downhill most of the day, so I managed to do 20 miles before 1pm. Because of that, I relaxed the pace. I spotted some people camping among the four wheelers so I went down to ask what is the deal with the crazy looking vehicles. It is a common past time for people to rent those out and drive the hills.
The people were nice, and Ron invited me to join their Memorial Day celebration picnic. I was offered some pasta salad, water, and fruit. Ron even gave me a small towel of his favourite ice hockey team, and I got a ziplock bag full of water melon, strawberries and blueberries. People surely are nice around the trail.
I met two hiker couples that I've met before on the trail. They were both going to the hotwater springs, which is a famous gettogether place for hikers and locals alike. It is a natural spa, where you can find many pools with water that is warm all the way up to 100 degrees of fahrenheit. Guthook tells that if you are just into hiking, this party place might not be for you. I decided to check it out, so I picked up my speed to do the extra 6 miles or so for the day that I originally did not plan for.
The girl from the other couple was really fast and paced me well. I've noticed that when I am totally alone, I tend to be sluggish. But if somebody is going fast, I get a bit competitive and want to be able to keep up.
The springs was mostly filled with young local people that did not do hiking. Most of them were smoking pot or drinking, and after setting my camp I kind of regretted staying there. I thought that sleeping would be hard. Luckily, this was not the case. A quick dip in the hotwater was my first natural bath of the whole trip. So far I have not liked the idea of swimming in a creek or river where people might take water. Maybe I am making this too hard for myself?
It felt very cold in the morning and I delayed getting up until 5:10am. There was frost on my quilt so it was below freezing during the night. I was okay though, so the quilt works relatively well. When disassembling the camp, I needed to put my gloves and beanie on and keep rubbing my hands together to keep the fingers working, though.
 |
| One way to take a break in walking. A pretty good one. I should copycat this. |
Because of the cold I started hiking fast. I made 10 miles by 9am, and went past the other people from my camp site. The speed was not fast enough for F. and Andy. F. spent the previous night in Big Bear Lake, with a famous trail angel, but now overtook me even with a much later start.
The trail was pretty much downhill most of the day, so I managed to do 20 miles before 1pm. Because of that, I relaxed the pace. I spotted some people camping among the four wheelers so I went down to ask what is the deal with the crazy looking vehicles. It is a common past time for people to rent those out and drive the hills.
The people were nice, and Ron invited me to join their Memorial Day celebration picnic. I was offered some pasta salad, water, and fruit. Ron even gave me a small towel of his favourite ice hockey team, and I got a ziplock bag full of water melon, strawberries and blueberries. People surely are nice around the trail.
 |
| Some great trail magic from this family. |
I met two hiker couples that I've met before on the trail. They were both going to the hotwater springs, which is a famous gettogether place for hikers and locals alike. It is a natural spa, where you can find many pools with water that is warm all the way up to 100 degrees of fahrenheit. Guthook tells that if you are just into hiking, this party place might not be for you. I decided to check it out, so I picked up my speed to do the extra 6 miles or so for the day that I originally did not plan for.
The girl from the other couple was really fast and paced me well. I've noticed that when I am totally alone, I tend to be sluggish. But if somebody is going fast, I get a bit competitive and want to be able to keep up.
 |
| This is a family blog so nudity is not included in this hot springs pic (there was plenty). |
The springs was mostly filled with young local people that did not do hiking. Most of them were smoking pot or drinking, and after setting my camp I kind of regretted staying there. I thought that sleeping would be hard. Luckily, this was not the case. A quick dip in the hotwater was my first natural bath of the whole trip. So far I have not liked the idea of swimming in a creek or river where people might take water. Maybe I am making this too hard for myself?
Comments
Post a Comment