Start: 2545.9
Stop: 2595.5
Today’s miles: 31
Total PCT miles: 2310.2
I think I slept ok, but Marquis and I decided last night to get up before the sun this morning and tackle a long day-a day that ended up being one of my favorite!
We were up, packed, and on the road by 5:30am. And when I say “on the road” I do mean that literally. Instead of hiking on the trail, we decided to do a Create Your Own Adventure Day, and we road-walked. Sometimes, you just need a break from all the bushes and monotony.
We walked, cracked each other up, watched the sunrise, and I mooed at cows as we passed by farm after farm and field after field. It was beautiful. The two lane road started to get more traffic around 7-8am, and we were grateful we left so early to get a head start. The temperatures were perfect, just a slight chill in the air.. I was in Heaven. The break from my legs being attacked and being able to simply walk without an obstacle was sincerely great for my mood.
Mid morning we made it to the town of Santa Ysabel. There were a few bakery spots open so we picked one and went in. I got a spinach “croissant” thing that made me think of the pastry I was obsessed with in Stehekin, Washington. It was definitely not that-but I did like it enough to get another one for the road.
We quickly got back out there and started making our way towards Julian, California. It got hot while walking uphill on a two lane road. However, before too long, we were walking into our second stop of the day: Mom’s Pies.. the location in Wynola. The girl gave us a free slice of pie and a scoop of ice cream when we showed her our PCT permit. Sweet!
We sat in the air conditioning and enjoyed our sweets while our phones charged at a nearby outlet. Once our pies were gone so were we! We were back outside in the blazing sunshine, walking the rest of the way to Julian. I loved that cute little town so so much! We resupplied our food at a little grocery store with few options, then made our way to our 3rd stop of the day- to the other Mom’s Pies location.
This time I got pecan pie with butter pecan ice cream. It was deeeeeelicious! Marquis and I were both so dang full, but I talked him into pizza anyway. I wanted to have some to pack out for lunch tomorrow. So, down to the end of the Main Street we went. I ordered a pizza and we sat outside to wait on it. While we sat, a guy came up to us after noticing our packs and then bought us a beer each! How sweet! We talked and ate and enjoyed a beer with him.. then sadly had to call it quits because we still had to walk all the way back to the trail.
With even more roadwalking, we did eventually make it to the trailhead. We got water from a nasty cistern coated with neon green gunk-thankfully the water came out of a spigot below the green goo.. so it came out clear and not chunky at all. Whew. So, with fresh water, we walked to the first campsite on the trail and set up shop. The sun was mostly gone, making the walk to the camp a pretty one.. with those burnt oranges and neon pinks glowing before the darkness set in.
Since we already ate dinner, we just unpacked and huddled into our quilts. It’s windy, but nothing like the other night when we thought we’d get blown off the mountain. Ah, so 4 food stops and a whole lot of asphalt walking, laughs, and fun-I’d day today was a blast. I’m so full I can’t breathe! Ha! Goodnight, y’all!