- Date: 2023-05-12
- Pct day: 9
- Start: Mile 112
- End: Mile 127
- Distance: 15 Miles
- Start name: none - just a little spot on an old river stream
- End name: Mikes Place
- Wake up: 06:30
- Start hiking: 07:20
- At camp: 17:45
- In bed: 20:15
Key moments
- Slept in a bit - was feeling so comfy in my sleeping bag. Heard Graham call out to me as he walked past, he was already up and hiking from 530.
- I have been feeling a bit burnt out - this blister on the ball of my right foot isn’t getting worse but it’s just something annoying and I feel a bit worn out. so sleeping in felt good
- I headed out and the track crosses the same creek 6 times over a mile, that was fun, but a bit of problem solving. I was thinking of my new hiking friend, Nicole, who slipped and fell into a small creek yesterday. She took it like a champ, it was really impressive. I was thinking of something a friend said, which was to try not to aim for the big rocks when crossing a creek “aim small miss small”, good advice I think. It went without a hitch.
- Even by 8am the sun is warm, so might need to be getting out earlier again tomorrow
- hiked for a few hours before making it to a water source, but not before I saw a big old rattle snake in the middle of the path in the shade of all places. I maybe made a bunch of yelping sounds as I turned and ran away from the danger noodle. I should probably work on freezing and then backing off calmly. It moved off the path and was chill, we were all good.
- I saw Graham and Jeremy at the water source, Graham has been calling Jeremy “Baywatch” on account of his good looks, and Jeremy has been calling Graham “Sage”, as he is always dispensing sage advice
- We all lay down in the shade at the water source and chilled out for about 3 or 4 hours while other hikers came and went. It felt good to wait out the heat of the day.
- Like really great
- We discussed the zany hiker again and Nicole realised that she had also met her.
- Alex from Wisconsin appeared again from yesterday, and me and Nicole and him formed a trio and hiked to the next water source about 230pm, heading to a place called “Mikes place”. Mike owns a property just off of the trail, and has welcomed hikers there for years. He has a big water tank he fills up and has campsites around his property. Very generous man.
- Made it to 200km!
- Graham and Jeremy were heading off and we got a group photo and took some funny photos - i put my arm around Graham and forgot how bad I smelt and the height difference- I’m about 6’2 and Graham is about 5’7 so my armpit is about head height and Graham said something like “Gosh you smell fucking horrible - like it’s really fucking bad mate my god” - I laughed so hard I cracked my lip open - the dry heat gets you. It was one of those really good laughs where you’re not sure when you’ll stop laughing- I guess you might have had to be there for it to have the full potency but it was a great time
- Alex and I discovered the joys of trading electrolyte powder sachets - they are popular in the USA! I traded some of my grape “sqwinchers” for white cherry and blue Gatorade. It’s a great bartering time.
- Mike wasn’t around this day but he had some hikers there yesterday and they left some food for us, and we donated money to a little box they have.
Plan from here
- wake up at sparrows fart - which is in this case 430, for a 5am start, and head out about 17 miles. Aiming to get 10 or so miles done before 10/11am and then rest for while before heading out to get the rest of the day done. Then a short day to Paradise Valley Cafe tomorrow
Animals sighted
- so many lizards - including a “horny toad”, which looks a bit like the Australian thorny devil, and also shoots blood from its eye apparently
- That big old rattle snake
Gear thoughts
- I’m keep to get a closed cell mat ao I can have better siestas in the shade
Physical condition
- overall great, a bit worn out, and my left knee stopped hurting, but my right blister under the ball of my foot is a bit annoying. Looking forward to some rest time in Idyllwild.
Thoughts and Observations
- Gosh, 630 is a sleep in now
- It turns out a lot of hikers have this feeling at the start of the PCT where they meet cool hikers at the start and want to keep up with them but get a bit burnt out. I’m starting to feel like I’m burning out a bit, and I’m also starting to not worry about finding a group of people to hike with the entire way of the PCT - this will come with time and I keep meeting great people on the PCT.
- But I will say that I think this hike is hard going - the track conditions are great, but it’s a lot of distance for me to be consistently covering everyday.
Quotes of the day
- “this place is so bloody random “ — me talking about Mikes place
