- Date: 2023-06-06
- Pct day: 33
- Start: Mile 415
- End: Mile 440
- Distance: 25 Miles
- Ascent: 3143 feet
- Descent: 6676 feet
- Start name: unnamed
- End name: Mattox Canyon Creek
- Wake up: 06:00
- Start hiking: 08:25
- At camp: 19:25
- In bed: 20:30
- Where I slept: tent
- Shower: no
Key moments
- the wind was howling last night and my tent was flapping about wildly, sounding like a plastic bag in a fight with another angry plastic bag
- so just before I went to sleep I tightened up the tent tie point again and got it super taught. The wind didn’t flap about so much now and it was so much quieter
- At some point during the night the wind just stopped. Brilliant.
- I took my sweet time waking up.
- I slept the best I’ve slept on trail - a wide sleeping mat really makes all the difference it seems.
- i woke up at about 6am and then enjoyed breakfast on a rock in the sun
- Adam and Amelia headed off about 645 or so and I didn’t feel a need to rush, I just took my sweet time. I think it helped that there was a nice view
- Once I got moving for the day I felt amazing. Turns out sleeping is important!
- I extended my poles to 130cm and could feel quite the difference in pace. I really enjoyed stretching out and striding out and going fast
- 3 miles in I got to a picnic area with a toilet and tap water. It’s the little things
- A bit later in the morning I came across a family hiking the other way - they offered some trail magic! A cold coke and some m&ms. Delightful. I slammed back the coke on the uphill and noticed that there were “only” 170 calories in a can. Dang man. Never thought I’d be disappointed to see the calories in a coke can and think it was too little
- the trail magic gave me an even bigger boost on my morning and I felt like I was flying. Listening to podcasts and music, everything felt awesome.
- I didn’t come across another person on trail except for Adam and Amelia later on
- I was making sure when I stopped for more than 5 minutes I’d take off my shoes and socks and let my feet air out - if there was a running stream then my feet would go in there as well, to cool down.
- I caught up with Adam and Amelia at a ranger station and had dinner huddled away away from the wind, before taking off to do 4 more miles to the creek
- Overall an amazing day - who would have thought all you need sometimes is a good sleep
- The creek I am camping at had a bunch of hikers I hadn’t seen before, always interesting to meet new people. I think I could see Beth and Mariah’s tents as well.
Plan from here
- head to Acton tomorrow and get resupply and some good food
- Check out Vasquez rocks - a natural rock formation that has had a bunch of movies filmed there
- Hike through Agua Dulce, probably get dinner there and do laundry etc at the Hiker Oasis
Animals sighted
- whip snake
- Squirrels
- Lizards
- Hummingbirds
Gear thoughts
- a tiny towel to wipe down the dirt off of my legs at the end of the day would be good
- Backpack going great
- Wide sleeping pad is so awesome
- Big pillow (by trekology ) is awesome
- wide sleeping bag is great
Physical condition
- a bit sore, but honestly pretty good
- A bit of butt chafe - something that can be a serious concern
- feet a bit stiff and sore
Thoughts and Observations
- sleep is so important
- I think that there is an element of faith in the trail that you have to have - you have faith that there will be water, there will be enough tent spots. Admittedly you can get that information from The Far Out app, but I also think there’s a real element of faith, trust, in the trail, that things will work out.
Some of the bad things
- I still haven’t arrived at this “trail family “ that I do often see shown online. I’ve got a group of friends I see most days on trail but we aren’t this tight knit crack team of hikers planning on how they’re going to take on the trail for the next few weeks.
Quotes of the day
#pct #pct2023 #pctclassof2023
