PCT Day 71

Start: 736.6

Stop: 751.5

Today’s miles: 14.9

Total PCT miles: 939.2

Total miles hiked in crocs: 55

I drooled all over my sleeping pad this morning, so I think it’s safe to say I slept great. I snoozed until after 6:30 and then finally woke up enough to realize both Marquis and Margot were packed and about to leave. Whoops. I quickly packed and ended up only being a couple minutes after Margot, but caught her quickly because she stopped to put a bandaid on her foot.. her feet aren’t all that happy right now, either.

I started off in my crocs and just kept them on all day. I can’t make myself shove my feet into my shoes! Thankfully Mom mailed out my shoes from home this morning so I can pick them up in Fish Lake in a week. A week in crocs. God be with me.
The trail was easy going as far as hiking goes.. no blow downs really at all, majority being soft pine needles and duff, which praise the sweet lord because my feet would not have made it. There were a couple stunning lakes, early in the morning, and then a few look outs, one showing off the gorgeous Odell Lake and all its coves. Not long after this beauty, I started seeing day hiker after day hiker. Ah. Must be close to the road!

I got to Shelter Cove Resort (12.5 total miles, but only 11 PCT miles) just before noon and found Marquis. He had been there for close to an hour already and didn’t eat anything yet! I lasted all of 5 minutes talking with Marquis and Keith, who we caught up to, before I departed and ordered a pizza at the counter. My stomach was growling and everything else I needed to do could wait until after food!

While I was waiting for my pizza, Margot arrived. We agreed to split mine since they’re pretty huge. I started charging my electronics and talking with others on the patio while we waited on the food. Marquis ordered a pizza, too.. but the line had gotten long and they aren’t the quickest. To be fair, they make them to order, so 25 minutes for a fresh baked pizza isn’t bad.

Margot was in the store getting drinks and taking forever. Marquis went inside to see what the hold up was. She had almost passed completely out! Tunnel vision, loss of hearing, having a wave of heat wash over her. When they came out together telling me about it, she looked ghostly pale. She drank some water and eventually was able to eat some pizza.. she had to have been dehydrated combined with not eating enough calories. After really long days she gets nauseous at the idea of eating a meal and has to force herself, and with her getting in late last night, all she ate was a ramen.. which kudos to her, staying up to cook when you want to just sleep is tough.

We sat awhile and made sure she was ok before eventually getting started on our chores. We started our laundry and took turns showering. No matter how much I scrubbed my legs they still looked dirty. Oh well, effort was made and my hair felt nice and clean! Small victories! We got our resupply boxes and organized our food.. and then just sat around for a while doing things on our phones, like ordering necessities for future stops and filing Darn Tough Sock Warranties.

I met a girl and her boyfriend that used to work in Reno at the same hospital I used to work at! We chatted and name dropped and I loved every second of it. She has me missing that city and my friends even more now, especially my Andrea.. but I know I’ll be getting to see her soon some how some way. Maybe I need to take another contact in the biggest little city sometime in my “near” future.

We hiked out of the resort around 6pm and took an alternate trail instead of the one we came in on. All the NOBOs we talked to today said it was a nice trail and had beautiful rivers and lakes, so why not? Plus there’s a dry stretch of trail without water, so this seemed smarter. I’ve heard Oregon is the state of alternates, and so far if one has been available, it’s been nicer than the actual trail.

So, we don’t technically know how far we went.. my app won’t tell me that and I’m back in airplane mode. BUT, we’re guessing close to 3 miles so I picked a mile marker from the pct 3 miles in from the junction to make it add up correctly. Tomorrow we’ll get up to Windigo Pass where there’s a water cache and then continue south on the PCT from there.

The spot we set up in is just off the alternate trail and it feels more remote than the PCT, maybe because there isn’t people crawling all over the place. Laying here I can hear crickets and birds and stuff moving around. It also sounds like it might rain, too. It’s sprinkled a little bit and storm clouds rolled in before the sun disappeared.
I think I’m going to close my eyes and try to sleep, once my earplugs are firmly in place. I don’t need to hear what all is moving around out there. Sweet dreams, y’all.