To PCT mile 638.4 (stats here).
Again both the night and the morning were windy. With some stupid reasoning I delayed getting up because of this. The wind did not die, and I got up 5am. It was my intention to get up earlier to make sure that there would be water in the forthcoming water cache. Without the water caches this stretch is the driest section of the whole PCT. But the reports say that the 2 water caches, in what you should never rely, are well stocked with water.
I got moving quickly and met Micah again. He had camped few miles further, and we were having same pace. When we got to the water cache, it was hard to fill your bottles because of the wind. It was also hard to piss.
We left the place together, but then I heard the call of the nature. This caused that we leap frogged each other the rest of the day. When he had his break, I went past, and then the other way around.
The day was anything but merry. The wind was brutal, increasing in magnitude from previous days. There were two hard climbs with narrow paths through the rocks, and I felt that it was actually pretty dangerous. I imagined how a much lighter person would handle this. I do not claim to be the most agile person, but still. More than once I lost my footing, and felt that it does not require that much for a person to lose much more than her cool on a weather like this. On positive side, it did not get hot today either, but I would rather had welcomed the heat instead of this.
After the days final hard climb I took a break at the first suitable spot. Soon Micah, Mammoth, Pizza and a fourth hiker joined. We cursed the wind together and shared an enjoyable social moment. My mood, which had been dark because of the increasing pain in the bottom of my left foot, improved. Mostly because I knew it would be downhill from here on and it seemed that we were now on the other side of the mountain and the valley, protected from the wind.
Mammoth told us about her encounter with a mountain lion the previous night. She was night hiking, and the mountain lion had circled her. The were a jackrabbit next to her, that she first did not notice. After ushering it away, the mountain lion also disappeared. There were lots of talk about mountain lions that night, and people felt a bit uneasy cowboy camping.
I asked Micah if he could think of a trail name for me. I still do not have one which is no surprise as I have not walked with anyone long enough. He gave it a thought. We ascended the mountain together, I followed because I wanted to reach the next tent site but was not in a mood to keep a pace myself. Micah wanted to go even further so he was in a hurry. My day ended at mile 26.5, where the wind still was blowing. There was cover from the trees, so it was not nearly as bad as earlier. More careful investigation revealed that also Ben and two other hikers camped there. Micah continued, which is a shame because it means that I might not see him anymore. Tomorrow morning I am heading to Ridgecrest where I should get my sleeping bag and wall charger. It plays havoc to my schedule as I am there on Sunday, but no can do. I hope to see Mikko also there, who has been resting for few days. I got a message from him, but could not reply because of lack of reception.
Even with the threat from the wind and mountain lions, I decided to cowboy camp. I do not want to go through the trouble of setting up the tarp, and not see the stars during the night.
 |
| My previous nights camp spot, disassembled. |
Again both the night and the morning were windy. With some stupid reasoning I delayed getting up because of this. The wind did not die, and I got up 5am. It was my intention to get up earlier to make sure that there would be water in the forthcoming water cache. Without the water caches this stretch is the driest section of the whole PCT. But the reports say that the 2 water caches, in what you should never rely, are well stocked with water.
 |
| A big water cache to save hikers from carrying a ton. |
I got moving quickly and met Micah again. He had camped few miles further, and we were having same pace. When we got to the water cache, it was hard to fill your bottles because of the wind. It was also hard to piss.
We left the place together, but then I heard the call of the nature. This caused that we leap frogged each other the rest of the day. When he had his break, I went past, and then the other way around.
The day was anything but merry. The wind was brutal, increasing in magnitude from previous days. There were two hard climbs with narrow paths through the rocks, and I felt that it was actually pretty dangerous. I imagined how a much lighter person would handle this. I do not claim to be the most agile person, but still. More than once I lost my footing, and felt that it does not require that much for a person to lose much more than her cool on a weather like this. On positive side, it did not get hot today either, but I would rather had welcomed the heat instead of this.
 |
| The biggest animals I've seen so far here. Wild cows? Guess not as their ears are tagged. |
After the days final hard climb I took a break at the first suitable spot. Soon Micah, Mammoth, Pizza and a fourth hiker joined. We cursed the wind together and shared an enjoyable social moment. My mood, which had been dark because of the increasing pain in the bottom of my left foot, improved. Mostly because I knew it would be downhill from here on and it seemed that we were now on the other side of the mountain and the valley, protected from the wind.
Mammoth told us about her encounter with a mountain lion the previous night. She was night hiking, and the mountain lion had circled her. The were a jackrabbit next to her, that she first did not notice. After ushering it away, the mountain lion also disappeared. There were lots of talk about mountain lions that night, and people felt a bit uneasy cowboy camping.
I asked Micah if he could think of a trail name for me. I still do not have one which is no surprise as I have not walked with anyone long enough. He gave it a thought. We ascended the mountain together, I followed because I wanted to reach the next tent site but was not in a mood to keep a pace myself. Micah wanted to go even further so he was in a hurry. My day ended at mile 26.5, where the wind still was blowing. There was cover from the trees, so it was not nearly as bad as earlier. More careful investigation revealed that also Ben and two other hikers camped there. Micah continued, which is a shame because it means that I might not see him anymore. Tomorrow morning I am heading to Ridgecrest where I should get my sleeping bag and wall charger. It plays havoc to my schedule as I am there on Sunday, but no can do. I hope to see Mikko also there, who has been resting for few days. I got a message from him, but could not reply because of lack of reception.
Even with the threat from the wind and mountain lions, I decided to cowboy camp. I do not want to go through the trouble of setting up the tarp, and not see the stars during the night.
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