PCT Day 38: Desert Days Coming to an End

Miles Hiked: 26.4

PCT Mileage: 635.3

It was cold the morning and I didn’t sleep once again. I didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag. I wish I still had my pair of leggings it would make it so much easier to get up and get going. Luckily Pippin lent me her rain pants last night so it made it a little easier to get out. We had another day of 25 miles planned. The first thing I did in the morning was go and get water from the really pretty spring. Then I hiked out just after Doggone. I ended up catching up to him and we hiked to the water cache at 7 miles together. Without the two water caches we saw today it would have been a 35+ mile long dry stretch. At the water cache we ran into Feels, Booster Seat, Buffalo Roy, and a lady named McGyver in a car. She asked us if we new an ill hiker who was looking for a ride to town. I had no idea what she was talking about. I sat at the water cache for about an hour and a half which is really long for my first break of the day. Pippin and Lumberjack caught up to me. Pippin let me know that Dirty Mike who fell behind two days ago and was supposed to see us last night was sick and got a ride off trail. It clicked that Dirty Mike is who McGyver was looking for but she had already left down the road. Pippin was really worried about Dirty Mike. Fry never showed up to the water and we wondered what happened to him too.

We all pushed on into the exposed sandy desert. I passed lots of Joshua trees. It was pretty but the hiking felt very tedious today as every step I took I would move around in the sand sometimes sliding a bit backwards. Even though it was exposed it was windy enough that I wasn’t very hot. Once again it seemed like we were so lucky with the weather. I listened to some music and a podcast featuring my friend Rad who I met and hiked with for a few days at the beginning of the CDT. I took a break six miles later near a pic nic table but I sat down in a dip to hide from the wind a little bit. At that spot there was a sign informing us about the California Desert Tortoise, the state reptile. It would be so cool to see one! Everyone caught up including Fry who was just taking his sweet time at camp. I ate lunch and stretched my sore muscles. The sandy desert was really getting to me today despite being pretty. I think everyone is just sick and tired of the desert section and ready for it to be over. We keep talking about a major milestone we are about to hit in a few days. Kennedy Meadows will mark the end of the desert and the beginning of the Sierra Nevada.

The trail was sandy and hilly all day. I kept taking 10 minute breaks every few miles all the way to camp. The bushes were making a lot of clicking noises today. I found out that the noise was grasshoppers. At the last water cache for the section, Bird Spring Pass, we all sat down and ate dinner together. We would have to carry our water 20 more miles to Walker Pass tomorrow! We caught up to Doggone and planned to camp with him. I really like Doggone but he hikes so fast! I usually only see him at camp these days. At Bird Spring Pass we hid behind some rocks from the wind while eating. There were so many hikers there everywhere. I carried three liters uphill to camp. The wind was blowing so hard at this point it actually pushed me up the hill a little bit which was nice. I took another break and hiked the last mile to camp around Pippin. I absolutely love golden hour! I gave my mom a five minute call because I had service for the first time in a while. I felt bad for waking her up because I forgot about the time difference. I was glad to finally get to camp around 8pm. Pippin, Fry, and I all set up a cowboy camp together. Lumber Jack ended up staying at the last water source because his shoulder really hurt him.

Happy Trails!

-Early Bird