Miles Hiked: 29.5
PCT Mileage: 1692
This morning I woke up surprisingly late but I was so happy I slept in for once. The sunrise was amazing as I packed up my camp and hit the trail just behind Homebrew. I continued climbing along the ridge we ascended last night. Luckily there was more vegetation and the mountainside didn’t slope off as steeply so I felt more comfortable. It was sunny and there was a constant glare on my sunglasses so it was hard to see. I caught up to Homebrew about six miles in and we sat at a small stream eating our breakfast. Here we also ran into Junior Ranger who we hiked with for a little bit afterwards. Homebrew and I stopped for another break at mile 12. Perfect break periods for me! My feet hurt so bad I need to stop about every six miles these days. I usually roll out my feet with my cork ball and stretch my calves at every single break. It honestly kind of sucks to not be able to sit down and just relax. After our early lunch or second breakfast break, I hiked alone listening to music. Water was somewhat sparse today so I made sure to fill up at every spot I passed. I was getting excited to get to the border.
At Lunch I caught up to everyone who passed me during another one of my breaks to take care of my feet. Alex Hole spring was a steep descent to off the side of the trail but it was cold and refreshing. I sat here for almost an hour hanging out with everyone and resting. It was only eight more miles to the border! This spot is also where I met Gushers who we hiked with for the rest of the day. Gushers and I were walking and talking very fast so the miles flew by. I planned to stop earlier for a break but my feet didn’t hurt too bad. There was a gushing spring coming from a pipe on the side of the trail so I stuck my head in to wet my hair. It was amazing! Before the border I stopped at a rickety old cabin on the side of the trail that is getting restored. The picnic table in front of it was so nice! Then we all stopped at the last water source of the day. It was a creek and I put my root beer can I got at Seiad Valley in it so it could get cold. I packed it out as a celebration drink to have at the border! Homebrew and I were playing a bunch of music that we thought was fitting for California.
It was exciting to finally walk into Oregon! Today is exactly three months on trail for me. Great timing to make it out of California especially with all the extra hiking on the Tahoe Rim Trail, Mount Shasta, and days off I took for injury. Time on this trail has flown by! The four of us, Homebrew, Diva, Gushers, and I all sat there for well over an hour reveling in the achievement. We all had our celebration drinks of choice and signed into the log book. We also talked about the best and worst parts of California and what we were looking forward to in Oregon. I said the worst part was taking time off for injury and when I highly considered quitting in the desert after that. I also hated saying goodbye to so many different people along the way because their miles didn’t line up with mine. My favorite parts of California were the time I spent alone in the Sierra and doing big miles catching up to Trail Diva. I had such a blast being on my own schedule and crushing it on my own. My favorite part of California was Northern California where all the flowers were.
After hanging out for so long, we walked 0.4 more miles to set up camp next to a dirt road. I was so happy to be in Oregon!
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 