Month: October 2023

Start: 1903.8

Stop: 1920.1

Today’s miles: 16.3

Total PCT miles: 1772.3

I didn’t set an alarm last night and just knew I’d be getting woken up by the cleaning crew telling me it’s time to check out. Instead I was woken up at 7:46 by the man in the room next to mine yawning so loud I could hear him through my earplugs and THE WALL. I’m pretty sure he also heard my disgruntled response to his multiple loud yawns. I was going to try to fall back asleep, but I was already too awake. Might as well get moving.

I ran to the bathroom before anyone beat me to it. Then I went through all my stuff, gathered the things I needed to send home and some other random stuff for my errands and set out. I made sure I knew what time checkout was so I could get back and pack before then. Thankfully, it wasn’t until noon! Wahoo!

I crossed the street and got in line for the Alabama Hills Cafe. A girl that I met on Mount Whitney yesterday said she and her friend already had their name down so I could join their table when their names were called. Cool. Less than 5 minutes later the 3 of us were at a table outside. I ordered the breakfast burrito and an orange juice, plus a cinnamon roll to go. We chatted and ate. The one girl just finished the JMT and is headed to explore LA, the other is finishing her PCT at Kennedy Meadows South, but is zeroing today. I wanted to zero here too. It’s such a cute town!

After we ate, we paid our checks and I walked to the gear store. Y’all. I went crazy. I got a new sports bra (they carried the brand and style AND smaller size I needed!! How perfect!), new wool leggings (mine won’t stay up they’re so big now), new gloves (my trail magic glove is great, but the other hand having the cheaper glove sucks), and a fleece pullover because I’ve been hiking so cold. Oh, and I got a backpacker meal. The guy was so nice, letting me try things on in their back room and keep on the bra lol, and he even gave me a discount, saving me like $40! Sweet!

He didn’t have the headlamp like Margot and Marquis use that I love and is so bright, so I checked a few other stores around with no luck. I went to the post office and shipped my bear canister home, filled with the random things I just replaced and my microspikes. Then, I found another little store and got some gaiters that seemed much more lightweight and comfortable than the ones I tried before.

I went to the grocery store and did my resupply for the next 4 days. Finally, I made it back to the room to pack. I left the room with only minutes to spare before check out. Whoops! I went to the corner the gear shop guy recommended and started sticking my thumb out. Within 10 minutes, an older guy pulls up. He asks where I’m going and I tell him. He asks if there’s a campground there, I tell him yes.. and he goes, “yeah ok, todays an adventure anyway.”

Once I’m in the front seat and my pack in the back, he says he just needs to run in and get some food from the restaurant, since it’s a 45 minute drive.. and he was considering staying at the campground. I say ok, because what else is there to say? Haha.. he runs into the Mexican restaurant I ate at last night and ten minutes later comes back with a meal.

He gets situated in the driver seat and starts going, picking at his food. He asks me to navigate because he’s never been up this road before. I’m laughing and saying sure thing.. then he stops. He asks, “you have a license, right? How about you drive and I eat?” Hahaaha-so we swap places and I drive this stranger’s SUV up a twisting and turning two lane and sometimes one lane road, through the Alabama Hills and up to over 10,000 feet of elevation. We laugh and talk the whole time and I squeal with the excitement of this crazy road and this whole situation. I haven’t driven anything since May!

When we get to the top, I park his SUV and we say our goodbyes. He explores the campground while I eat my cinnamon roll and get on my new shoes and new gaiters. After I eat, I start up the trail happy as can be. Nothing was going to bring down my mood. It was sunny, warm but not hot, the wind was blowing. The switchbacks weren’t steep. I made it to the trail junction and just started hiking, no plan for the night except to see how far I get, and find a campsite after 6pm.

It was a gorgeous day and although there was some elevation, it was mellow trail. I got service around 6 and tried calling mom, uncle Keith, and aunt Kathy-no one answered so that’s a little concerning. Concerning enough that the spot I found to camp in has 1 bar of service and I’m not switching to airplane mode unless I hear from one of them. I also finally got ahold of Marquis! Man I’ve been missing the heck out of him.

We came up with a plan. I’m going to hike to Walker Pass, and then hitch to where he is by skipping 135 miles, and we’re going to hike south together. I just miss my friends, and I don’t want to hike the desert alone. At. All. Once Margot gets service we’ll let her know and maybe she’ll be willing to jump down to us and we can all hike together again. He’s also ordering me the headlamp I want and I’ll pay him for it.. this all has my excitement restored and I think the skip to be able to hike with my friend is well worth it.

Plus, it’ll help make sure I finish on time before Egypt.. and I can hopefully come back next year to fill in this new gap and the Etna to Dunsmuir gap too. Total, it’s less than 300 miles I’ll be missing.. 284.9 to be exact.. and morale wise, I think that’s quite ok with me.

Anyway. It’s almost 9pm now. I’m camped in a nice spot all alone and I think it’s time to bundle up tight (I have all of my new gear on, and Marquis says I won’t need most of it when I get to where he is.. haha, of course). Sweet dreams, y’all.

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!

Start: 1944.5

Stop: 1959.8

Today’s miles: 15.3

Total PCT miles: 1812

Today was a fun one! The whole waking up bit sucked, of course. It was cold and very windy-but no one else was moving at 6am, or at 6:30.. I finally heard someone packing around 6:40 so I started, too. As I was getting out of my tent, I saw Strider! I went over to talk to her and she was planning to go into Kennedy Meadows South for a little while today too, so I told her I’d meet her there.

I finished packing and was the last to walk out of camp by maybe 5 minutes. The trail was easy going, but cold-even in my new gloves my hands stayed numb for quite a long time. The sun did shine on the valley way sooner than when I was high in the mountains, so I was happy about that.

It was a quick 7.5 miles to the road and then almost a mile to the general store everyone was going to. I got there around 10:30, everyone clapped when I walked up-it’s what you do when any hiker shows up there, like with Reece Witherspoon in “Wild.” It’s the same place. I congratulated the folks I camped with last night, because now their hike is complete, I said hi to Strider and her tramily member, Hobble-it, who reconnected with her in Independence and they’re finishing the trail together in a few days at Walker Pass.

Then, I went inside and got a Mountain Dew and a beer. I had to wait until 11am for the restaurant to open for food-but that was ok. We sat at talked and laughed a lot, then a line formed at 11 to order.. food is very serious hiker business after all. I ordered a double cheeseburger, fries, and jalapeño poppers. When it all came out 30 minutes later I devoured every single bite. My burger was gone before I had even realized I ate it all.. how is that even possible? Like, I went for a napkin and forgot while I was gone that I ate it already, as I was looking for it. Weird.

I ended up sitting awhile longer, enjoying the atmosphere, then got another beer and Mountain Dew and hung out some more. Close to 1pm I got my stuff together and said my byes to hike out. Hobble-it and I hiked together for a few miles before she got ahead of me. It was easy terrain, but the bushes of the desert were scratching at my legs and I was walking slowly through the real overgrown stuff so I wouldn’t rip my skin open. I still have a ton of scratches, but only one opened up. Why is my leg skin so fragile? Maybe I need to get pants again soon if the whole desert is going to be like this.

I made it to our stopping point by 5 something, and at first almost just kept hiking. I need to get to Walker Pass sort of early on Tuesday to help my odds of hitch hiking all the way to where Marquis is. But I’m torn because I’d like to be there when Strider and Hobble-it finish, too. So, I set up camp with them and decided I’ll figure that part out later. They both hike faster than me, so even if I camp with them, they’ll probably be at Walker Pass and get a ride before I’m even there to congratulate them. Ha.

We ate dinner together and now it’s dark before 7:30. I think I’ll try to fall asleep here soon and then get up when they do at 5:30 to start packing.. well, they get up earlier than that, but leave by 6, I can leave by 6 if I wake up at 5:30.. soooo, we’ll see. That’s my plan. And I want to get 25-27 miles tomorrow so I have less to do on Tuesday morning before all the hitching madness. Man, I hope that goes smoothly. Sorry it’s a short one, just lacking the words today, I guess. Goodnight y’all.