Okay, so we didn’t make 0500. We were hiking by 0530 though, the earliest yet. I didn’t sleep very well. Camped on a very slanted spot, and with my tent poorly pitched such that the tarp was flapping heavily in the wind, I found myself waking often. Ah well, it happens. Fortunately it was not a cold night.
Today Pops, Natalie and I celebrated our anniversary; One Month On Trail! Time flies, it seems like yesterday we got dropped off at the Mexican border. We were on trail in time to catch the sunrise, it was beautiful.
Because we’d been hiking till relatively late yesterday, and had an early start this morning, it took me a while to find my energy. But the morning hiking was definitely very enjoyable. We wanted to get a decent mileage in before noon, take a long break through the hot part of the day and then push on for the final miles. This morning the trail was quite varied, leading through green lush bushes and forest, winding up and down.
We mentally got ready for another highlight. Today we’d be hitting the 500-mile-marker! According to our interactive maps app the official PCT 500-mile marker would however be around mile 501.8 (weird…). Where we the app stated we’d reach 500, we found several creations that hikers made out of rocks, but we agreed to meet at the official 500-mile post to snap some photo’s together. A little after 1100 we were all there. Five-hundred! No small feat! We were pretty excited.
It was getting real hot, real fast now and so it was time to start looking for a lunch-break spot. We found a nice shaded area, rolled out our Tyveks (white, seemingly indestructible plastic sheets, used to wrap houses in, used by many hikers as a groundsheet) and got comfortable. After a big lunch we all pretty soon dozed off. Unfortunately our spot was not ideally positioned. After about an hour the sun had moved such that the shaded spots slowly grew smaller, and now the sunshine gradually started to roast our legs. Time to move on to someplace better. We had to hike a little longer than we all had liked because it was now the hottest part of the day, which we deliberately had tried to avoid. Fortunately however we stumbled across gorgeous place, finding shelter in the wonderfully cool and shaded woods. We were happy again.
After the extended and very comfy chill session, we packed up around 1600 to get the last miles of the day in. We aimed for a total of 18 – 20 miles, which would put us about 10 miles away from Hiker-Town, where we’d all have packages to pick up tomorrow. The plan is to sit out the hot hours again tomorrow, and hike longer through the night again. The last section of today’s hike was absolutely phenomenal. There were beautiful trees spread out through extended grassy fields, all with vibrant different colors. There was a ton of wildlife, and everything had an idyllic, serene feel to it. It truly felt like a small piece of paradise.
Just before making it to camp were also treated with some lovely views of the desert and the surrounding mountains. The final stretch we dropped back into the forest and started descending again.
We made it onto the campsite a little before 1900, and were happy with our progress, and with how the we’d managed the miles throughout the projected heat of the day. It had been real nice hiking, and our plan to start early had panned out pretty well. We set up camp, had dinner together, and now I’m laying in my tent, listening to the howling wind. Because we’re in a fairly sheltered camp-site, and having pitched my tent properly today (on a nice and flat spot) I don’t think the winds will bother me much tonight. Tomorrow Hiker-Town and some more night-hiking!
Most things in life ain’t free
Most things in life ain’t free, but you are all that I need
My feet down in the sand, you take the watch from my hand
And said: “it’s no more use”
When I spend the summer on you
When I spend the summer on you
And when I look back on those days,
There’s not a thing that I would change
So when the year is through
I’ll be right here to
Spend the summer on you
When I spend the summer on you
Summer on You – Sam Feldt
Congrads with the 500M achievement, well done👍💪😃. Wonderfull pictures again, stunningly beautiful landscapes. What’s all the wildlife you talk about?
Cheers, Henne
Thanks Henne! 🙂
Mostly rodents, squirrels, rabbits, hares. Saw a deer today. Big owl a couple days back. A bit of everything.