To PCT mile 2535.1 (stats here).
The night was good. The tent site was even, covered and there were no noises. I got up 5:45am and moving 6:30am. The weather seemed damp and cool, so I utilised my rain jacket. I wondered if I should put the rain pants as well, but decided not to. This was a mistake. It is a better strategy to start with too much and then peel off, than act too little, suffer the consequences, and act too late.
The day started by a long ascend through the forest floor. The undergrowth was wet and the bushes and leaves scraping my bare legs felt irritating. In no time my shoes were completely soaked and the forest just seemed to continue. The small drizzle of a rain continued and the sky was covered by dark haze. Stuff in my backpack was well protected by two garbage bags but the backpack itself was soaking. I am starting to feel that a rain cover for the backpack is a good idea, even in ultralight setup.
The ascend was long, totalling 3000 feet. I was forced to resign my hiking poles in to my pack as my fingers grew so stiff. The weather did not encourage to keep breaks nor take care of my feet, so I continued hiking. Eventually my right feet was hurting bad. Some time before getting to the peak of the first climb, a woman hiker came to the other direction. She asked me to be careful going forward as her friend was ahead pooping. I was stunned that where could he be doing that as the path was narrow and on steep ridge. A minute later a guy came towards me. I hoped that he had not pooped in the middle of the trail.
Throughout the day, I kept seeing the group of three fast hikers, two guys and a woman, that I already saw the day before. They were way more faster than I were, but apparently took enough breaks for me to be able to match their average pace. It was nice to see other hikers, and especially the same ones. Even as we did not communicate, this made the somewhat hard weather more bearable as you felt that you are not the only one out there to experience it.
When the first hard climb turned to be a descend, the weather improved. The rain stopped, there were cracks in the cloud coverage and the wind quieted down. The trail in the next valley was not covered by siding undergrowth so the feet had a chance to dry out a bit. After the long descend, another steep ascend followed. I had my chocolate coffee and was able to take a zen attitude with my aching feet. I felt tranquility and at peace. Climbing up went fine. At the top I saw Happy who I met already a bit earlier. He had told me how he prefers Altra's Timps for his choice of shoes as well over Lone Peaks. My troubling feet were a subject of a talk. I am starting to feel that I should just shut up about how I actually feel as I keep repeating myself over and over again.
I was forced to hike late. I did not want to camp way up the mountain, and the next suitable tent site was way down the next valley. My relaxed pace meant that I was not there until 9pm. The camp site seemed full and there were people sitting around the fire ring, eating their dinner. It turned out that the pot smoking youngsters were not planning to stay there, though, and I got the last good spot to myself. I was glad as I really dislike the smell of weed around a tent site.
Guthooks told me that there might be mouses around the place, but I was too tired to hang my food up in a tree. I got to sleep around 10pm and was happy that the miserable morning morphed out to be eventually a decent day. It makes a huge difference whether you need make your camp in rain and cold or not.
The night was good. The tent site was even, covered and there were no noises. I got up 5:45am and moving 6:30am. The weather seemed damp and cool, so I utilised my rain jacket. I wondered if I should put the rain pants as well, but decided not to. This was a mistake. It is a better strategy to start with too much and then peel off, than act too little, suffer the consequences, and act too late.
 |
| Luckily, unlike Guthook told you, the bridge was good enough to cross without getting your feet wet. Well, even more so. |
The day started by a long ascend through the forest floor. The undergrowth was wet and the bushes and leaves scraping my bare legs felt irritating. In no time my shoes were completely soaked and the forest just seemed to continue. The small drizzle of a rain continued and the sky was covered by dark haze. Stuff in my backpack was well protected by two garbage bags but the backpack itself was soaking. I am starting to feel that a rain cover for the backpack is a good idea, even in ultralight setup.
The ascend was long, totalling 3000 feet. I was forced to resign my hiking poles in to my pack as my fingers grew so stiff. The weather did not encourage to keep breaks nor take care of my feet, so I continued hiking. Eventually my right feet was hurting bad. Some time before getting to the peak of the first climb, a woman hiker came to the other direction. She asked me to be careful going forward as her friend was ahead pooping. I was stunned that where could he be doing that as the path was narrow and on steep ridge. A minute later a guy came towards me. I hoped that he had not pooped in the middle of the trail.
 |
| Finally, on the next valley, the fog is breaking down. |
Throughout the day, I kept seeing the group of three fast hikers, two guys and a woman, that I already saw the day before. They were way more faster than I were, but apparently took enough breaks for me to be able to match their average pace. It was nice to see other hikers, and especially the same ones. Even as we did not communicate, this made the somewhat hard weather more bearable as you felt that you are not the only one out there to experience it.
When the first hard climb turned to be a descend, the weather improved. The rain stopped, there were cracks in the cloud coverage and the wind quieted down. The trail in the next valley was not covered by siding undergrowth so the feet had a chance to dry out a bit. After the long descend, another steep ascend followed. I had my chocolate coffee and was able to take a zen attitude with my aching feet. I felt tranquility and at peace. Climbing up went fine. At the top I saw Happy who I met already a bit earlier. He had told me how he prefers Altra's Timps for his choice of shoes as well over Lone Peaks. My troubling feet were a subject of a talk. I am starting to feel that I should just shut up about how I actually feel as I keep repeating myself over and over again.
 |
| Maybe I did not feel like a rock on the 2nd ascend, but much more calm and steady than in the morning. |
I was forced to hike late. I did not want to camp way up the mountain, and the next suitable tent site was way down the next valley. My relaxed pace meant that I was not there until 9pm. The camp site seemed full and there were people sitting around the fire ring, eating their dinner. It turned out that the pot smoking youngsters were not planning to stay there, though, and I got the last good spot to myself. I was glad as I really dislike the smell of weed around a tent site.
Guthooks told me that there might be mouses around the place, but I was too tired to hang my food up in a tree. I got to sleep around 10pm and was happy that the miserable morning morphed out to be eventually a decent day. It makes a huge difference whether you need make your camp in rain and cold or not.
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