Start: 1920.1
Stop: 1944.5
Today’s miles: 24.4
Total PCT miles: 1796.7
If today is any insight to how the rest of the trail will be, a slight taste of the desert, im here for it. For the most part, besides some overgrown bushes in the afternoon, the trail was cruisy and.. dare I say it.. easy?
I woke up around 6am and tried calling Mom again, since I never heard back from anyone last night. She answered and all of my crazy intrusive thoughts were proven wrong.. she just fell asleep early. What an instant relief! After talking with her, I packed up and got moving.
The trail gently climbed when it went uphill and it was smooth and sandy and was easy to follow. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime and I was eating my bagel and cheese sandwiches in the sunshine on top of a climb that didn’t even wind me. Actually, before the climb I took off my fleece assuming I’d start to sweat like crazy going uphill.. just to put it back on at lunch and I kept it on the rest of the day.
The views were pretty, but at a lower elevation, they were no where near as dramatic as the last few weeks have been.. but the ease of it made me so happy, I didn’t mind at all. I listened to an audiobook by Oprah and Dr. Bruce Perry, “What Happened to You,” and found it very interesting. I actually started it yesterday, so when it finished, I immediately started a Lisa Jewel book that I finally had delivered.. and I got so sucked in to that book that when I came across the campsite at 6:15, I almost passed it! The day just sailed by!
Now I get to wait until tomorrow to finish that one up, which is good for me.. spread out the time some.. lol. Anyway, tonight I’m camping with 5 SNOBOs that will be finishing their hike tomorrow at Kennedy Meadows South. I was originally going to go right on by, instead of taking the mile walk in.. for food I don’t need-BUT- their excitement is palpable and I want to share a beer with them for completing their thruhike.
We all sat around and talked while eating dinner and I have to tell you, I’m so jealous that they’re basically finished. It’s 7.5 to KMS, then the 1 mile road walk.. and they’ll be done. I’ll eat and share a beer, then keep walking. I hope tomorrow is as cruisy as today was. I want to try to get at least 20 miles in tomorrow.. so, we’ll see how it goes. Maybe I’ll see Strider there, too! She finishes at Walker Pass, a couple days after KMS, so fingers crossed I get to see her again and maybe even get to be there for her finish! That’s where I’ll be hitching down to Marquis, too.. so exciting!
Ok. I think that’s all for tonight. Sorry it’s a short one, but Im cold and ready to get snuggled in! Goodnight!