Day 18 (May 27th)
Mile 220.1- 236.8
16.7 miles (28.9km)
The very first thing I had to do this morning was cross Whitewater River. Over the past few months, I had seen posts on the PCT Reddit and Facebook pages about this river– apparently it was quite strong in the spring and needed to be navigated carefully. A couple people even were washed out and had to be rescued by other hikers. But by the time we arrived, it was not nearly as daunting as it’s description. The current was strong, but the water was only about knee deep. Still, I unbuckled my backpack straps so I could easily bow out of it, if I happened to fall. After the river was conquered, the rest of the day involved crossing Mission Creek no less than 30 times. There was no point to taking off shoes or trying to keep feet dry– I just plowed right through in my running shoes. It was so hot that my shoes were sometimes even almost dry before reaching the next crossing. I actually found the water quite soothing to my aching, blistered feet and I enjoyed only needing to carry about 1/2 litre of water at a time, since the creek was always close by to restock.
The only other exciting moment was my 6th encounter with a rattlesnake, and definitely the most intense encounter. The snake was nearly underfoot when it announced its presence. I jumped back when I heard the rattle, but the snake stayed put, continuing to rattle at me. One I had retreated a safe distance, I stomped and tried to make enough disturbance for her to want to leave, but she stubbornly stayed on trail rattling for a couple of minutes. Finally she moved just off trail into a bush and continued to rattle. Giving her a wide berth, I hesitantly made my way past her to continue on.
I listened to my audiobook again today and actually finished the second book in the Wheel of Time series. I couldn’t put it down! Since I was at the climax of the book, I just kepy hiking, and I ended up adding an unexpected 1.5 miles to my day. Turns out audio books are great motivation!
Day 19 (May 28th)
Mile 236.8- 253.1
16.3 miles (26.2km)
I’ve officially hiked 250 miles (400km)! Today I struggled with some low spirits. My (sprained?) ankle is killing me and both my feet are covered in blisters from heel to the tip of my toes (literally!). At times it felt like every movement was painful and, since I was moving so slowly, I didn’t run into my friends as often to cheer me up. Around 11am I hobbled by a rock upon which someone had scrawled the words “You can do hard things”. While I typically would advocate for Leave No Trace principles, this not did get me thinking. Why am I doing this hard thing? Is it just because it’s hard? What does doing hard things get me?
Hiking the PCT is hard, but it’s also simple. Each day I wake up and walk… And walk. Along the way beautiful things happen that make you forget the hard parts– most days anyway.
One of the highlights of this hard day was around lunchtime when I went slightly off trail to find a backcountry cabin that had a pit toilet (hallelujah!). A group of friends was celebrating Memorial Day weekend at the cabin and upon seeing me they offered me water, fruit, and leftover pancakes from their breakfast. They said that they knew hikers often came by, so they brought extra fruit with them to give away. Such a simple kindness. Trail magic.
Did it fix my sore feet? No, not at all. But it did remind me of one of the reasons why I am doing this hard thing.
Day 20 (May 29th)
Mile 253.1- mile 275.0
21.9 miles (35.2km)
I’ve officially surpassed my previous longest hike at 272 miles on the Vermont Long Trail! I also beat my record for most miles covered in one day and broke into the 20 miles/day crew!
What a day of records!
This morning I woke up to the sound of other hikers passing my tent. I never set an alarm, but I usually wake up naturally around 5ish. This morning I slept until 6am! I packed up quickly and went on my way. Despite my blistered feet, I opted to wear my compression sock to support my ankle. It was well worth it and made a huge difference!
Most of my friends were heading into Big Bear Lake today, but since my mom and brother aren’t arriving until tomorrow, I figured I would keep hiking until they got here– so that I wouldn’t have as much catching up to do when my friends get back on trail before me. Despite not going to town and not catching my friends, I still got caught up in the ‘going to town’ current that speeds a hikers steps. I hiked 13 miles by 11:30am and reached the highway where my friends would have hitchhiked into town. And I kept going. I tried to remind myself that I would be in town tomorrow, but walking away from that highway was a visceral feeling. I need town right now.
I hiked another 3 miles to the campsite I was planning on stopping at and enjoyed the luxury of a pit toilet and a picnic table. But it was only 1pm– far too early to stop, so I hiked on. I realized that I was close to catching Salty, who had also opted to stay on trail for one more day to wait for his new shoes to ship. This motivated me and I pushed on right until the sun was setting and I came across a large campsite where some other folks had set up. Sadly, Salty is still a couple of miles ahead of me, but I had lots of company regardless! I set up my tent quickly and when I sat down to eat, I finally checked my mileage for the day— 21.9 miles (over 35km)!
After such a hard day yesterday, today was a nice reminder that, not only can I do hard things– I can do hard things well!
Day 21 and 22 (May 30th and 31st)
Mile 275.0-274.0
0 miles (0km)
Yesterday, I woke up in my tent to the immediate knowledge that I got to hitch into town and take a zero! What a joyous way to wake up! One of the other hikers at my campsite was waiting for a trail angel to drop off her forgotten trekking poles, and I packed quickly hoping that trail angel might give me a ride into town. Success! I was in town with my friends getting coffee and breakfast by 10am. My friends (minus Salty) all had stayed at an AirBnB the night before and they said I was welcome to hangout there until my mom and brother (Ken) arrived for their visit. A shower, laundry and a dip in the hottub were all amazing parts of my day. Mom and Ken arrived in the evening exhausted after their day of travel, so we had an early night at the hotel. This morning we met up with Julien, Salty, Thunder and Slim Jim for breakfast, and then everyone but Salty and me headed back to trail. Salty is still waiting for his new shoes to arrive– luckily for me, that means I probably won’t be too far behind him when I get back on trail tomorrow. Hopefully I won’t be too far behind any of them! It is hard to imagine hiking without my people around me. More and more I am realizing that a huge part of the magic of trail life is the people that you are spending time with. I’m so lucky to have met these amazing people and so eager to continue hiking with them!
After breakfast mom and Ken and I went to the Big Bear zoo, which houses non-releaseable animals. We saw several beautiful brown and black bears– one of which only had three legs and used his nose to navigate difficult terrain. It was pretty inspiring to me in the moment. I enjoyed an evening of hot tubbing, calling my partner (who I miss dearly) and spending time with my family. It was so nice to see my family during this town stop, and it got me really looking forward to when I get to see Jake somewhere down the line. 💕
Tomorrow I will head back on trail and try to pull some big miles so I can catch up to my tramily.
