Pacific Crest Trail
Day 144
Mike Urich camp to camp site - 25 miles Total - idk we are on another alternate lol Woke up in the middle of the night to coyotes screaming for about 5 minutes straight. They were close though as I swear I could hear footsteps from a four legged animal on the trail next to us. Either that or in the meadow but it was in a 100 yards from us. Apparently there were some other noises that I didn’t wake up to including a mountain lion and elk in the morning. I’ve been wanting to hear a mountain lion as I hear it sounds like a skin walker or a girl screaming. I only want to hear it though when other people are also camping with me which last night were a ton. We got moving slowly this morning. I tried packing my pack differently with my bear can upright at the bottom. It kinda dug into my tail bone but not awful enough that I wouldn’t do it again. Marc and I cruised through the miles like usual. Mostly in a green forest with gradual climbs. We met chaps and stitious at some water and caught up with them. I really like them! I’ve said that about pretty much everybody but there are a few I haven’t liked but I won’t say their names lol. They told us about the elk and how they saw it this morning. After we left within 5 minutes we heard crashing through the forest which were two elk (one teenager and one mother). I am baffled how they didn’t tumble over on the steep hill and snap their legs. The rest of the day was kinda a blur. I turned on music because I wasn’t feeling it. Somehting about being so close to the border and finishing this trip and the anticipation is dampening my mood. It feels so close yet still so far. It’s about two weeks left. I know I am going to immediately miss it but I haven’t showered or did laundry or stayed at a town for a longer than an hour and a half so I’m getting a lil tired and less motivated. Plus the anticipation of having so much up and down in the coming miles is making me less estatic even if it’s pretty as I know I truly have to work for this shit. It’s not like it isn’t easy, I have the trail legs but I want it to be an easy finish. Though I will be more proud for a hard finish. Idk lots of emotions happening especially towards the end. These next two weeks will be the hardest for me mentally just with all the good and bad emotions. Anyways, my mood changed once I realized there was an alternate that cut off 7 miles and 5000 up and down. I brought up to Marc and we immediately agreed to do it. Puts us closer to snoqualmie pass for an earlier arrival and cuts off 1/3 of a day basically putting us closer to the border. We grabbed water 0.7 before and a whole bunch of people from the pervious nights camp showed up which I mentioned the alternative to. The girls agreed as well as smitty. Diddy and baby legs were not about it so they did the trail. The first mile of the road walk was glorious. We were chatting it up and doing Harry Potter trivia which I was horribly embarrassing at. After the bridge and the girls stopped for a late lunch it was all uphill on the hot sun. I was going for the shadows to protect my exposed legs and sweating my ass off. It would’ve been worse on trail but the road seemed way worse. It was graded fine but it felt like we were working for it. Finally we peaked, Marc, smitty, and I and we cruised to the water source that we found. Great flow and great tasting water. We stopped for a lil snack break where I introduced smitty to sweet tart ropes. His life was changed for the better. Then we got moving before a car came the other way. The minute it saw us it pulled a fast five point turn like he had a dead body he was trying to dispose and didn’t expect to see three dirty ass pct hikers walking the road. So incredibly strange. We pulled up on the only good looking campsite close to the road and called it a day. The guys went 0.3 to water and brought us back some so very kindly. I had started dinner which was horrid. Cheddar broccoli soup initially sounded great until it felt like I was just eating cheddar gelatin. So nasty that I stopped to just eat candy lol. Gonna dig a hole to dispose of it tomorrow or just do the walk of shame and carry the trash into town. Do not recommend whatsoever. The girls came strolling by, trying to decide if they wanted to stay or keep going. They decided to keep going and then 200 ft away flipped a coin, which turned into them turning around and setting up camp around us! I needed the feminine energy desperately. We all ate around a circle and chit chatted. It’s so nice to have some new faces at dinner. Makes it more interesting and way more fun. Marc is one of my besties out here but we can only talk about so much. The girls guessed our ages, initially thinking I was 26. I’ll take it mainly bc I always assume people are around my age when in reality they are like 27-29. Then it was time for bed lol. So incredibly tired and so ready to be done. The entire time on the road walk we had service so you know I was walking and scrolling lol. There are a ton of flies again trapped under my rain fly. I hate them. The white noise is not what I wanted. Flies are so fucking stupid. How do they get trapped so easily and literally just slam their head into any wall thinking they are gonna get out. I hope a spider gets a feast tonight. Still so much smoke. Ash was raining down on my tent the entire time at dinner. The smoke cloud seems to be swelling more in one big line. Idk how else to describe it.
Day 134
Campsite to cascade locks - 20 miles (I took an alternate route) Total - 2150 miles The night was filled with wind but that didn’t matter for noise bc I had ear plugs so I slept goooooooddd. That was the main reason why I wore them but the second reason was to block out any sounds that might make my mind race since I camped alone for the first time. It worked. I woke up around 5:40 and got to packing up. I slowed it down as it was still pretty dark in the forest and I realllyyyyyy did not want anything jumping and surprising me. The first five miles were easy and had some great views. I was slower as my feet fucking hurt. Definitely time for new shoes as these have 1000+ miles on them. Time for retirement for sure. I got to the split off down the alternate route that leads you to eagle creek and tunnel falls. The first half was Indian creek trail and that was steep with tons of rocks and dry dusty dirt. I had to catch myself from falling multiple times as well as climb over some blowdowns on the steep climb down. All I kept thinking was why the fuck would anyone do this trail. I passed some people and I had to make a comment of wtf is this which they all nodded in agreement. Finally that trailhead met up with the eagle creek and I cruised down it at lightning speed passing lots of people going up and down the trail. I made it to tunnel falls which was gorgeous and everything that I expected. I still had one thing on my mind and that was dad coming to pick me up. I zoomed down the last 7 miles. It felt so long though as I was trying to conserve battery as everything was dying or dead so no music until the last two miles. I was passing people left and right and as I got down to the bottom probably 0.5 miles a meat head man would not let me pass. Everytime I came up to him he would skip down? As well as quickly side shuffle as if he was trying to be non chalant in literally the most chalant way possible. It made me giggle. He also seemed to be trying to outrun his Girlfirend or something. I eventually passed him on the road asserting my dominance once again. I caught up to little peak who started the trail at the same time as me. She was a day ahead and I caught her in the last 2 miles. We hiked together the last two chit chatting it up before we split up at cascade locks. They were going to a coffee shop and I was headed across the bridge to Washington. A toll bridge but free for people who walk across. Very pretty views and I couldn’t stop smiling as I was so close to being home for the first time in four months. Insane!!!!! Very sketchy though as the two lanes were small causing the cars to come close to me. The wind also was hitting my pack in just the right way that it was causing me to be pushed towards the edge of the bridge barrier. When I finally crossed it was kinda anti-climactic as I beat my dad there lol. I waited for about 15 minutes before my dad, rocklicker, and Marc pulled up with drinks. I obviously had to crack a few jokes stating that I was the only one to walk into Washington and they should try it sometime. Poor guys, both very injured. We offered some beers to the other pct hikers and after we were done we got going home. A stop to killer burger was needed and I put that thang DOWN. So good. Got home and lounged for the rest of the afternoon before I headed over to Sophia Clinton’s birthday!!! I got see everyone as well as Brenda who was there. I caught everyone up but I will say it was super overwhelming. Lots of people talking which I’m so used to the silent forest and only my thoughts that I had to really focus on my own conversations. This must be how people with ADHD feel bc my god it was hard. We played a kahoot all about Sophia before I headed home with some groceries for brauts. We cooked those up and watched easily one of the worst movies I’ve watched in awhile. I’ve only seen two movies these past four months: Superman, and whatever the fuck that shit was. I already forgot the name of it. Thank god honestly. Then we all went to bed. My blow up mattress was limp but I was too lazy to blow it up so I just curled up into a ball and fell into a deep sleep.
Day 143
Sand lake to white pass to Mike Urich cabin - 26 miles Total - 2350.2 miles (skipped) Rough morning. Everything was so incredibly soaked from the condensation. My tent has never been so wet on the outside and on the inside. Even when it rained. At 6:10 I got moving to indicate to the guys that it was time to move as well. Trevor was having a hard morning but he slowly got going. The 2.8 miles were easy and we timed it perfectly where I could eat two hot dogs before mom and dad showed up around 8:30 am to come save the day. They had brought cold pizza, cold drinks, and cobbler and mom was loving the hikers. She was giving away all the goods to anyone who came up to our car. We couldn’t fit everyone in the car to go up to chinook pass so rocklicker, Ben, Marc and I got in with mom and dad while Trevor and Nathan stayed back. The sky looked fine until we pulled up over chinook pass to find dense smoke in the valley. Some pct hikers were considering hitching up to snoqualmie pass which was about 70 miles ahead probably but I committed to hiking hoping the smoke would be less dense over the ridges. We planned 23 that day so again, I was hoping for the best farther away from the fire. It was still Labor Day weekend and everyone and their mother was wanting to hike. Can’t imagine why with all the smoke. We met some people that had done the section which said it wasn’t bad but today was so much worse for smoke. Sad to have skipped when we could’ve gone through but I don’t think I regret the decision especially for the guys. Mom gave out more snacks to any pct hiker that would stop and say hi. I loved it but we had to get moving especially since it was 10:40 and we had 23 miles to do. Marc and I said goodbye and then booked it up the climb. The smoke was horrible so I just wanted to get over the ridge but sadly even passed the ridge it was bad. Marc and I hiked most of the day together having a great conversation on the male loneliness epidemic which I personally don’t believe in lol. It was a great conversation. We cruised over multiple ridges before getting to the water source where a ton of people were lounging around. We were back in our original bubble which kinda frustrating as I just wanted to hike without worrying if I need to pass someone or they need to pass me. Plus we all kinda go the same pace now so it’s hard. We took like a 15 break before heading out before everyone. Doesn’t mean I didn’t feel like I was being chased lol. I peed and fell behind Marc and I tried to catch up as two hikers were behind me. They can pass me on a downhill but on an uphill that’s a big fat no. I was sweating my ass off but they didn’t pass me. Marc stopped to take a small break as his Achilles was hurting so I went ahead. At this point the music was in and I was bumping. We planned to go 0.2 passed the cabin as everyone was going to be camping there but once we saw how big it was we decided to stay. My tent was still soaking wet from the morning so I made a sad attempt to dry it off in the mediocre sun. It did not work so I went in with a bandana and wiped down the puddle that had formed on the inside floor. I was cursing up a storm which Marc informed me that I needed to calm down. He was right but never tell a woman to calm down. I’ll show you calm. We ate dinner around a stump. Smitty came into camp and stated how fast I was. Went straight to my head. He’s a fast hiker as well so it does kinda mean a lot. I like him though as he’s a great story teller and is hella energetic and funny. At dinner he told us about this guy that got temporarily kidnapped at hiker town in the desert. The owner offer to drive the guy to get coffee and somehow ended up at the port of San Fran to pick up a new car and had the hiker drive one of the cars back. The hiker left everything including his phone at hiker town so his trail family thought he got kidnapped especially since it was a 5 minute drive that turned into a 12 hour adventure. So incredibly scary if you don’t know what’s going on but hilarious now as he’s fine. I was in my soaking wet tent when he was telling this story. Stuff is slowly drying off but I did put my rain gear under my pad to try and keep some things somewhat dry. We will see tomorrow. Eventful day, and very tired. Next time I see my parents will be when I’m done with the pct. I forgot to mention that I now have a bear can again as the next 223 miles requires proper bear storage and I don’t wanna get fined. I’ve heard some people have gotten fined by rangers out here which is surprising as I didn’t think we had any of those left lol. Anyways, 6 days of food and a bear can makes my back fucking hurt. Not thrilled especially with all the up and downs coming up to the border. Shorter days with more elevation. UGHHHHHHHHHH! Mom smelled me today. Since we haven’t had a day in town and I needed to keep the guys on schedule the others did laundry and some of them showered but I didn’t get to. I smell incredibly ripe. 7? Days with no shower or laundry keeps everyone away. I can smell myself and I need to find a lake tomorrow. My socks are hazardous. I’m about to be hazardous.
Day 142
Campsite to white pass to pipe lake to sand lake lol - 17.6 miles Total - skewed but 2305.4 miles Lots going on today. Woke up to smoke and the sun being bright red because of it. We booked it down to white pass for all the treats. Marc had gotten up early and got to white pass before us. Pulled up to white pass to everyone we had been seeing the past couple of days in the huge bubble we have been in. Smitty greeted us and then we went straight for some treats. I got ice cream, Arizona iced tea, and some chips. The chip bag was open so they gave it to me for free and grabbed a second one. So clutch. I would make that trip into the store two more times, one for another drink and two for a corn dog. That corn dog tasted sooooooo goooooddd. I had to keep the guys in schedule as they don’t have trail legs so they can’t hike as fast or as long without breaks so we decided to leave within an hour and a half. People were unsure about the fire that was about a couple miles off trail, 20 miles ahead of us. I felt fine with it as it was only slowly growing according to watch duty and the PCTA hadn’t closed the trail. So we left leaving Marc and rocklicker behind. It was a cruisey 7 miles within the forest and passing by lots of lakes. Some looking a lil nasty but at least there were no mosquitos. We reached the edge of pipe lake before looking up and seeing a huge plume of white clouds. Thinking it was thunder clouds at first but quickly realized there were no other clouds in the sky indicating that it was a smoke plume. It was huge and growing. Initially again I wasn’t nervous but the huge smoke plume changed that along with the knowledge the wind was going to shift west pushing the fire and smoke closer to trail. I didn’t know what to do. Trevor and I talked about it while I texted dad. Nathan, love the kid, was not helping with the decision making. We decided to wait an hour to see if there were any updates. Marc had been texting me some but after 30 minutes of waiting he had informed me that the fire grew from 100 acres to 1000 very quickly which made up my mind that we would turn around back to white pass. We knew some people were ahead of us but with the guys there I didn’t want to risk it. We turned back and then when I got service I called dad and gave him the plan. The new plan was to hike back 4 miles and then camp and finish the last 2.8 in the morning to white pass where they could pick us up and hitch us past the fire to WA 410 chinook pass. They were planning on coming up anyway to pick the guys up after their weekend. We got moving to the campsite which was easy and quick. Probably for the best to turn around as the blisters were ding the guys in a lil. We got to sand lake and did the regular chores of setting up. We were in a dried up part of the lake outlet which I knew probably wasn’t the smartest but there weren’t a lot of options. We all ate dinner before heading to bed early to scroll lol. Lots of service at camp. Very eventful day. I was a lil torn up about the turn around as we passed more pct hikers but apparently it was a 50/50 split if people were hitching around or going through. If anything I can always come back to finish the 20 mile section since we are so close.
Day 141
Sheep lake to campsite - 20.2 miles Total - 2292.8 miles Woke up around 6ish to Trevor’s alarm going off and him sleeping it only for it to go off 10 minutes later. I got moving to indicate to the guys it was time to start moving. Slowly we all packed up. I was the first one done and then Marc and then the boys. Rocklicker was sleeping in. We headed out and easily cruised up cispis pass. Nathan and I were trying to remember the goat rocks but it has been about 10 years since we’ve done them. I slightly remembered cispis pass but the meadow after it I really remembered. Not covered in as many flowers as last time but still gorgeous all the same. Coming around that valley and into the next I was struck with awe and memories. The shale covered cliffs and the snow all came back. We crossed the first glacier and initially I felt strong but the boot track became more slanted than I would prefer so I had to slow down. I also had one pole bc I gave my other one to Trevor who forgot his poles. I didn’t mind lol but I did feel less stable because of it. We passed that obstacle and climbed up and down the rock face. The next snow section was short but had a horrible boot track that looked barely used and very slanted. Marc and I made the call to do the short detour down in the large shale and around the small snow section. That worked out fine and wasn’t sketchy whatsoever. Rocklicker had apparently done the boot track and expressed to us how sketchy it was confirming my suspicions. We hiked along knife edge before finding a nice sunny spot over looking the entire goat rocks for lunch. I got burned for sure. It was a nice lunch. Trevor had cold soaked mash potatoes which seemed disgusting. We got moving quickly. I forgot to mention that both the guys have hot spots forming in their feet so everytime we stopped up until now (multiple times) they were fussing around with them. I had horrible tape so at lunch they switched to rocklickers and it held better. Around this time, I was obviously enjoying the views but timing wise we needed to pick up the pace. It was still slow going on the spine of the rock but I had them go a lil faster. It was kinda sketchy at times but I remember it way scarier the first time. We got down off the ridge into a meadow which I remembered fondly as I crashed out the first time I did this section ten years ago. I was trying to push my parents to go further and they said no. Anyways, We filled up on water and that’s where Marc was also feeling to worry about time so he went quickly and way ahead of us to camp. I pushed the pace on the guys more through the meadow and forest section as I wanted to get to the lake water source around 5pm putting us into camp around 6-6:30. Trevor and rocklicker was behind us while Nathan and I were in front talking about future careers for me as that was one of my goals to figure out. I’ve got nothing. Did not have any epiphanies so far. Really wish I did. I’ve thought about it a lot too. Anyways, we filled up at a frog water source and I continued to push them. This is when they started feeling it. The suffering started. Which I still think is really good as we were 16 miles in probably at that point. It was more uphill into camp. The guys came sea level to 6000 feet and then hiked 20 miles second day with 5000 ft of elevation gain with no trail legs. Couch to pct. Damn impressive. Rock and I felt great. Easy day for us which was probably annoying to the guys but they understood the situation. The guys truly weren’t getting enough calories in especially Trevor. I had mentioned to eat dinner at the lake so we can carry less water to dry camp and I knew they needed a break and food to regenerate some energy. Energy was incredibly low. We got to the lake and Trevor forgot his pot and stove so I boiled the water for his meal. Everyone had mountain houses besides rock. Nathan was just chilling in the cold water for like ten minutes. Crazy man. We all ate and the mood shifted significantly. They both had energy again. I filtered everyone’s water besides rock lol. Trying to make their lives easier as they are suffering. We got moving again around 6:30 and finishing off the last elevation and two miles. Marc was happily at camp as we rounded the corner with the cutest dog from a weekend hiker. We all set up and then chilled around the tents smoking while Trevor and rock drank the bourbon Trevor brought. First time smoking in a long time. Immediately got hungry and started munching on my snacks. It started sprinkling and we called it a night. Trevor I think talked the entire day. I also talked a lot. We would pair off into two basically. Nathan and I most of the time but Trevor talked to Marc a lot at the beginning and then rocklicker towards the end. There is also two fires ahead of us. Pct isn’t closed but stuff might change tomorrow. It’s about thirty miles ahead and 55 acres. Not growing quickly.
Day 140
FS Road 5603 to sheep lake - 18.4 miles Total - 2272.6 miles This might be the first morning we have slept in for awhile. Dad and mom planned to drop Nathan off around 8am so I woke up naturally around 6:20am. Latest I could do. I chilled in my tent for a lil until 7:30 when I needed to do my business. Rocklicker was cowboy camping so I couldn’t go where everyone else had gone down a close side trail. I had to walk allllllll the way down the road a lil to do the business. I got back and started packing up as I wanted to be all ready to go when Nathan arrived. 8:05am I heard a car coming and I knew it was them. Ah love them so much. Mom had made pumpkin scones and brought drinks which was very much needed. They brought our resupplies and most importantly they brought the man of the weekend…Nathan fucking sinks. We had some hikers show up and my mom was handing out more drinks to them and some scones. They were eating it up lol. Great trail angels honestly. They even took peoples trash. Eventually nathan and I had to get going bc I didn’t want to show up to camp at 8pm. We were on schedule and I was going to make sure Nathan followed it. I led to set the pace which I kept asking if it was good and he reassured me it was a great pace. We basically chit chatted the entire was up. At 4.7 miles we took a small snack break to rest his legs and also get some water. Apparently I looked like a high energy dog staring at him to get going. I thought I was pretty subtle. We had a small uphill for about 4ish miles and stopped for lunch. During this we ran into LLAMAS. I had seen these llamas on some else’s story and I was hoping to run into them. Manifestation works baby. The lady gave us some lil snack packets of healthy shit🤮🤮. I want candy and candy only. I’m joking!!!! I definitely needed some nuts in my life as I haven’t bought any since the desert. Whoops! They also had some dried fruit which was very tasty. We then had lunch on top of the climb when Marc caught up. I think Nathan being here has made me a lil too comfortable as I was RUNNING my mouth omg. I am not chill. Someone needs to sedate me. Anyways everyone was laughing tho. I keep joking that I want to have a dinner party and the theme be pct hiker food. It’s a three course dinner party. I start by giving everyone a pop tart and two bars as a first course for breakfast. Second course is two tortillas, Thai chili tuna with cheese a mayo. The last course is the best. Instant mash potatoes (four cheese obviously) with tuna, and salami. Then similar to Olive Garden I ask if they want cheese and if they say yes, I hit them with the bite and spit method from a warm sharp cheddar block and tell them to say “when”. I think it’s a lovely thought and really gives the people everything that they have been wondering about on my trip. There’s a high chance I do it. I kinda ruin the surprise by me writing this out tho. We got moving and stopped again at a close water source where we met smitty. I met smitty about a couple days ago. His hike has been insane with a lot of night hiking, 40 mile days, and racing from tehachapi to Kennedy meadows. We got to talking and ended up hiking the next hour with him. It really was just me talking and Marc and Nathan listening like we were a podcast and would chime in their two cents every thirty minutes. I had a wonderful time. He’s funny and a talker! Could tell ya what we talked about but somehow we got from doping to chess boxing. Highly recommend people look it up. New sport for me but I can’t wait to get service to watch. Eventually I needed to give Nathan another break so we chilled at an intersection for a lil bit. Smelled like ass there but not bad enough for us to move. More hikers that we had been in a bubble with passed by us and we chit chatted with them. Smitty had gone ahead at this point but before he left I had been joking that I was going to break Nathan this weekend. I wanted his legs to be shaking. Smitty called Nathan Bambi and I’m trying to make that Nathan’s trail name lol. Lil wobbly on the legs. We eventually finished off the last 4 miles to sheep lake that we were planning on staying at. I scoped out a campsite after we had got there that was across the lake from where we initially came into. We set down our packs and immediately got into the water. It was a Great Lake, no slit just sand so it didn’t feel like leeches would grab onto you and suck the soul outta ya. Nathan was the first in and swam to the middle of the lake while it took me a lil longer to gain the courage to drop my balls into the water. Worst part obviously for a lady like me. Marc soon followed. Pit stop a woman we met a couple of days ago started to swim over while rocklicker had just waxed in just past his knees. As she’s swimming she yells out “get in the water you pussy.” I think rocklicker likes the bullying honestly. Within seconds of her yelling he had dove in. We hung out in the water for a lil bit chit chatting like always. It’s been awhile since we have swam. It was nice especially since I smelled so incredibly bad. We dried off and then did the regular chores of setting up our tents and getting dinner ready. Nathan was a lil behind so as I was soaking my meal, I went to check on him. Everything was too perfect that something had to be forgotten and that thing was stakes for his tent lol. We made some sticks and rocks work so he’s good but if it rains he might be a lil screwed. He found one stake that someone left behind and Marc offered up three stakes if he needs them. We all ate dinner together like usual and then we waited for Trevor to make it to camp. He got off work around 3 and drove all the way up to walupt lake to hike 4 miles in to meet us. He got to the trailhead around 6:30 and made it to camp around 8:30pm. Trevor was making monkey sounds to make him known to us so we could direct him to the campground.
Day 139
Trout lake creek to FS Road 5603 - 27.2 miles Total - 2254.2 miles So I fucked up the numbers so we had to do more than originally intended making it a long day. I was planning on waking up at three normal time but people started leaving camp around 4:30am. Which was crazy bc they were all going into trout lake via shuttle which came at 8:30am. It won’t take you 4 hours to do 5 miles. Idk I was just trying to sleep in a lil but I couldn’t bc people were rustling. Quietly but just enough for me to wake up. I got going and pretty much hiked the entire morning alone. Marc and rocklicker left camp a lil later than I did. Marc had a rough morning in the sense he didn’t want to do 27 bc I had initially baited him with 19. He got over it quickly. I passed everyone at the road and met this nice lady and man who were finishing up section hikes. We hiked and talked for a lil before I parted ways. The guy was from camas so we bonded over small towns losing their charm to big industry and chains. All morning I had views of mount Adams. Forgot how pretty she is. Her glacier is absolutely insane. I’ve climbed it before but there was a lot more snow so it was cool to see the exposed glacier and rock. I stopped for lunch in a shady area next to a chocolate milk stream before Marc caught up with the lady I met earlier. We sat and chatted before I left after an hour to get the last 12 miles done. Initially I was going to stop earlier to take a break but I ended up pushing to a lava rock spring which was 10.5 miles. Morale got low and I wasn’t having much fun until I put in music and then I was singing my lil heart out while looking behind me to make sure no one could hear me. I had to cross a broken bridge which was initially very sketchy as the wood was slippery but catching an edge was easy to give me some grip. I arrived at the lava rock spring and the water was so tasty omg. Sierra water is still on top but this was a close second. I munched on some snacks and waited for Marc. He was close behind. I had a lot of munching to do as my dad is dropping off my brother tomorrow with my next resupply. Good to get the calories in. After Marc and I chilled for a bit we were ready to top off the day with 1.5 more miles. I got distracted following him as the huckleberries have been eyeing me all day. They were so ripe and tasty. We passed some fresh bear poop so hopefully that’s not a problem later tonight. Don’t got much food for him anyway. It’s an early night like usual. Rock didn’t make it dinner so it was just me and Marc and the thousands of little bugs with white butts. Stretch and spooky passed us and we said hi to them. Her partner is coming out for the goat rocks similar to Nathan. Poor Nathan. I mapped out the mileage and I’m giving him a nice ass shopping for his birthday for what I have planned. He’s young, he can do it. Good thing he works a desk job on Tuesday. His legs are gonna be sore. My wasp stings ARE SO ITCHY!!!!!!!!!!!! I itched both today. It felt sooooooooo goooooodddddddd. Today as well I felt some fatigue in my legs. I would stop and getting started again felt more difficult. My legs just felt heavy. Tomorrow we get to sleep in though so I hope it gives them a lil break. And with Nathan we will be doing shorter mileage (maybe not shorter days) and probably more breaks so I can gain my strength back.
Day 138
Dirt road and trailhead to trout lake creek - 26 miles Total - 2227 miles Last night I asked Marc at dinner if he thought it was going to rain as we heard thunder in the distance getting into camp. He confidently said no so I did not put on my rain fly as last night it was so hot. He was wrong. 1 am rolls around and I wake up to small droplets making their way through the mesh of my tent. I quickly spring into action and get my rain fly on before everything gets soaked. Luckily it was just light rain but it didn’t stop all night. When I was out I saw rocklicker. He had got into camp when we were asleep but had set up on the picnic table as he usually does when there are picnic tables around. He had to quickly set up his tent before his shit got drenched. In his hurry, he didn’t realize he set up right on trail lol. It was a shit show for sure last night and it was all Marc’s fault as he said it wasn’t going to rain and why would he ever lead me astray. I got moving when it was still a lil dark out and I have ptsd from when I heard the story of the mountain lion stalking the hikers so I was constantly checking behind my back. As cruised for 9 miles basically seeing no one before getting to the last water source for ten miles. I did find a dollar on trail so now I’m at a net profit from this trip. I finally made money while walking. I got to the lake and filled up water and grabbed a snack before Marc caught up to me. We snacked and he apologized for leading me astray as he should. It had been drizzling all morning basically and all the plants were drenched which meant we were drenched. After snack break, we cruised some more but within five minutes I was so cold that I put on my rain jacket for the warmth. It did start raining a lil harder after so I was happy with my decision. About 7ish miles from camp I decided to stop for a lunch break at a projected picnic table by a road. I pulled up to it and saw that it was in use with a whole fixing of food with people hanging around it. I didn’t want to assume it was trail magic so I signed the registry and kinda poked my head around to see. Marc showed up and he couldn’t tell as well. I don’t want to just ask some random strangers if they are providing food for us. Seems rude. As we walked a couple waved us down and told us it was trail magic. I was so excited. It’s been awhile since a proper trail magic. They had all the fixings. Immediately they asked me what type of sandwich I wanted and I put in an order with a big fat smile on my face. We sat down and started munching on cookies, fruit, chips, whole peaches, drinks, donut holes, and salad. As we sat it started to pour rain but luckily they had a tent set up. It was perfect timing. More and more pcters showed up. Some were people that passed us when we set up our tents last night so I was confused on when we passed them as I saw no one for the entirety of that morning. We finally got to officially meet some of them and chit chatted. I forgot how fun it is to meet new people especially on trail as I am so used to just being alone with Marc and rocklicker all day. Everyone was super nice as per usual. We chilled there for awhile before heading out with the masses. Only 7 miles left and I cruised through all of them. My new shoes are giving my feet a run for their money as they fucking hurt. You would think they would be tough by now but everyday and every morning they hurt. My muscles in my feet are being put through the ringer. I just need to break these new shoes in so I can walk like I don’t have a stick up my ass. I got to the campsite around 4:20, wincing as I went. The shoes came off immediately and I felt way better so I set my tent up. Everything was still kinda wet from the rain from last night and all the few droplets falling into my shoes so I needed to try and get things to dry off. I did wash my socks off in the river for a lil laundry day and finally rinsed my feet off. Marc and rocklicker joined. I realized earlier in the day that my wasps stings had developed hives around the area so rocklicker gave me a Benadryl to calm that down. It’s so incredibly itchy but I haven’t itches it once like the brave girl I am. I just can’t catch a break. Inconvenience after inconvenience. We ate dinner before more people started setting up. Funny ass crew. Bec, yo, leukotoes?, treats, and Barbie all joined us around the campfire ring and ate with us. Yo is easily one of the funniest people I’ve met out here. His one liners are gold and it was just enough that he didn’t take over the conversation. Bec apparently is a lil famous on Instagram and YouTube. She’s from Australia. Yo is a danish guy, and then leukotoes is from Sweden. Wish we met them earlier as I would’ve tailed them for a couple days as I was just giggling my lil heart out at everything. Cool ass group but they are going in and out of trout lake so maybe we will see them again! We talked and chit chatted with them for about an hour and a half before heading to bed. It’s a busy campsite so I bet we will be hearing lots of movement tomorrow morning. We are going to be camping at a road tomorrow in order for my dad to drop Nathan off to join us. I had been saying it’s only 19 miles to the road. Wrong. So incredibly wrong. Math is so hard. Marc was so excited for an easy day and to wake up late and cruise and get a nap. I checked it at dinner and I was 10 miles off. So now we have a 29 mile day to get there. Marc is not enthused with me right now. But with Nathan here we will be going slower anyways so it’s fine. He will still get his slow days in. He also wants to do 23s until the end. I don’t wanna do that as we would be done around 1-2ish with so much downtime. It initially sounds nice until we get bored. I like our 25-27 mile days. Anything more feel more like a push. lol like tomorrow. Sorry Marc!!!!! This is also the section where I think my family did 100 miles so I’m starting to remember some things. Very faint memory though. Today was also Nathan’s birthday!!! Forgot to add that there were so many tiny little frogs on trail. Like dime size. I was trying not to step on them but I probably killed a few sadly.
Day 137
Dirt road to dirt road and trailhead - 25.5 miles Total - 2201.1 miles Last night had about 7 tents at our campsite which is the most I’ve been around in a long time. Very strange. Love it and hate it mostly bc the people that get up super early always wake the others up despite them trying to be quiet. Got out of camp around 6:05am and started hurting immediately. The feet and shoes are not breaking in like I want them to. Within a mile I had poop. This is where it goes south. I locate a great space where I do my business and as I am walking back after becoming lighter, I feel a stinging sensation on my wrist and then my ankle. Two little fucker wasps had got me after my most sacred time. There was a huge wasps nest that I passed earlier but I was no where close to that so I’m guessing I stepped on their stupid little fucking house and they had to retaliate. It hurt but I gotta keep going. What a start to the day. Marc pulled up on me cursing and informed me initially he thought he was going to see his first bear but it was just me. So not only did I get stung twice but I disappointed Marc. We got moving together on the downhill but then he pulled off to use a privy at a trailhead while I kept going to the water. Someone had left a bag of perfectly ripe pears at a road crossing which I ate, juice dripping down my mouth and hands. Before I hit the water, I walked upon the cutest lil fluffy dog and its owners. Initially barking at me until I did the classic puppy dog voice before it came running up to me smiling asking for pets. Which of course I gave. I am not a monster. The owners then offered me a small candy bar which I happily took with a big thank you. Very unexpected trail magic today but did make up for the wasps stings earlier. I got to the water and filled up and had a lil snack waiting for Marc. He pulled up and then rocklicker came as well. He got out of camp at 6:45 so it was surprising to see him. He’s booking it. He mentioned that the pear left by the road might’ve been the second pear he’s ever had so I of course had to flame him. He’s never had a nectarine before I gave him one so I hit him with the question if he ever had fruit as a child. He then named fruit he had had before. My rage bait worked. It was lengthy uphill after the last water so I got moving. Sweating my ass off once again, soaking my shorts this time instead of my pants. Trying to avoid the name change of piss pants since the sweat always looks like I pissed my pants. I put in music which was delightful and made the climb go quick. It was about 10 miles uphill with 3000 ft of vert of something like that. Grades very nicely though and it wouldn’t be as hard if it wasn’t so goddamn humid outside. So much better than yesterday though. Cruises up it and got to the water source. I chit chatted with a guy who started may 17th. He seemed crazy in a good way. He apparently did 40 mile days in the desert at different points and then he and his group raced from tehachapi to Kennedy meadows south. He got 5th place out of the eight and he did it in 4 days. 1st place did it in 2.5 days. Mind you it’s like 140+ miles from tehachapi to Kennedy meadows south. That’s insane. It’s also one of the direst sections and most hated sections I believe. Truly impressive but incredibly stupid. He was cool though. We hung out at the campsite/water source for a lil bit since we were ahead of schedule. Rocklicker needed to find service for his fantasy football draft. It’s so cute when a group of guys come together to play their lil fantasy game. Such fan girls. So Marc and I pushed on to the next water source and the last of the day before camp to fill up. We chit chatted with the people there before pushing the last couple of miles. We heard thunder in the distance so hopefully nothing catches on fire especially since we are so close to the goat rocks. Got to camp at a very reasonable time of around 5. Set up and used the privy before eating. I think I’m hitting my limit with mash potatoes. I had to choke them down a lil. I cannot wait to never have to eat one of those things again. Then it was straight to bed lol. 6:30 and I’m not complaining. It’s going to hot like last night which I hate. UGH. Just a green tunnel today. Cannot wait for some views!!!!