- Date: 2023-06-16
- Pct day: 42
- Start: Mile 583
- End: Mile 603
- Distance: 20 miles
- Ascent: 4012 feet
- Descent: 2969 feet
- Start name: Golden Oak Spring
- End name: Robin Bird Spring
- Wake up: 06:30
- Start hiking: 08:00
- At camp: 1830
- In bed: 2100
- Where I slept: tent
- Shower: no
- Bugs swallowed: 3
Key moments
- had an alright sleep after a very windy night
- Had a chat to a new Aussie hiker friend, Grace about their plans - it looked like it would be a 20 mile water carry. Oh dear.
- I said goodbye to Nubs and went back to the water source to get more water for the day.
- Saw Marcela, one of my favourite hikers on trail. She calls me “her rainbow” and is always a delight.
- It was a pretty normal day of hiking - not a whole lot happened but I caught up to the group of 5 Aussie hikers - a few friends were visiting Grace and Michael, joining them for a week or so on trail, which is super cool
- so nice to be amongst a group of aussies - I’ve missed being immersed in the accent
- Made it to the 600 mile marker!
- Got to camp to realise I’m now in a hiker bubble - about 15 people at this camp, where have all these people sprung out from? It was a bit of a culture shock to see all these people - while there was a somewhat clique vibe, everyone was nice and there were some good larrikins in there
- but it did make me appreciate the quieter time I’ve had in the trail, it’s funny how suddenly bam, there’s all these people.
Plan from here
- get some morning miles on tomorrow - get out on the trail by 6 and make it to a water cache at mile 14, and then make a decision from there to go a bit further
Animals sighted
Gear thoughts
Physical condition
- pretty good - right foot blister is a bit annoying but otherwise good. Like, it’s kind of crazy, I did a 25 mile day yesterday and at the start of the hike that had me aching all over, not now. Just the blister on my right foot being annoying.
- I was very tired during the day so I’m looking forward to a reasonable sleep tonight and hopefully a shorter day tomorrow
Thoughts and Observations
Some of the bad things
- I inhaled like 3 flies, it was awful
- The flies try and go for your eyes and mouth because it’s cool and moist or whatever but that’s like so rude of them
- Man blisters just like don’t stop?
- People snoring at a campsite is a pain, and crowded campsites are a pain
Quotes of the day
#pct #pct2023 #pctclassof2023
