Hourglass

This morning I definitely felt the effects of yesterdays big day with a full pack. My legs were sore and clunky I moved around while breaking up camp. I slept in a little longer and started hiking by 0700. The trail followed the creek in the valley a while longer, and then led through a hilly forest, filled with massive boulders and rocks. It was getting real hot, real fast. We’ve dropped significant elevation since yesterday, and with today being mostly descent as well, it would only be getting warmer.

This morning the trail played tricks on my sense of time. I had the feeling that I was making very slow progress. And because I had to stop for chores along the way (stopping to get more snacks, stopping to drink water, stopping to get water, stopping to filter water, stopping to upload pictures since I had a signal) I was getting frustrated because I felt like I was getting nowhere, my progress being zip. When I looked at the time though I was pleasantly surprised, it was not even ten yet, and my covered mileage was not bad at all. Weird… That’s what happens out here I guess. Sometimes a (long) day seems to fly by, and sometimes you’re counting down miles by the minute, and a day seems to drag on forever.

Around ten I hit the 300-mile marker, hurray! I’ve been focused on getting into Wrightwood (mile 366) so much that I didn’t realise that the 300-mile point was coming up. It was nice, but It was getting too hot to linger. Plus there was nobody there to celebrate with.

Not long after hitting the 300-mile marker, I got the (inevitable) beating by the man-with-the-hammer, seizing up on me after yesterdays heavy day. The trail ascended to weave above the creek valley, and as it was burning up, I was burning down. It felt like every 10 minutes I had to catch my breath in the shade, drink water, or grab a snack. Progress slowed down considerably and the weather kept playing tricks on me too; whenever I sat down in a shaded spot, a bunch of clouds would drift in front of the sun, cloaking the valley in a nice and cool shade, a lot better suited for hiking. As soon as I got up to take advantage of this, it would take mere seconds for the clouds to drift again, leaving me exposed me to the relentless sun. This of course happened multiple times.

During the day I’ve been leapfrogging with a wonderful couple from Oregon who are hiking sections of the PCT together every year. They have a daughter who hiked the entire PCT several years ago. We got to chatting again during lunch and it was very enjoyable as we were sitting next to a babbling brook, cooling down. They passed me again around 1600 when I’d parked myself underneath a bunch of small trees, because I could not get myself to move any further. Because the area was heavily sloping, I could only sit on the trail. Closing my eyes for a bit, it must have been an interesting sight; hiker half-asleep on the middle of the trail on a steep ridge. I figured that if I’d hear footsteps approaching I’d crouch up the hill a bit to let them pass.
During the late afternoon I hiked together with a guy named Matt for an hour or so, he was kind to take my picture on the bridge that crossed the creek.

At the creek crossing I decided to get some water for the last stretch. It was a bit of a scramble down a bunch of boulders, and as it would always happen, by the time I made my way back, I discovered a trail towards the waterfront that would’ve saved me a lot of hardship. As I headed back to the trail, I almost stepped onto a coiled up rattlesnake. It scared the living daylight out of me. The stupid thing didn’t even make a noise.
What good is that rattle then, you oversized poisonous worm?!
I guess the upside was that the adrenaline got me moving in a pretty fast pace considering it was the late afternoon.

The trail led us out of the creek-valley, revealing a massive plain which looked impressive beneath the setting sun. The trail however kept flanking the mountainside. It took a little longer than I’d originally planned to find a campsite, but once I’d pitched my tent and sorted out my dinner, I glanced outside my tent. The setting sun cast fiery red and orange sunlight on the slightly clouded sky and made for an unbelievably beautiful canvas. I went outside again, to just stand and watch as the sky continuously changed colors. I felt very grateful to be out here, it’s pretty amazing.

He takes a step back
He’s under attack
But he knows that no one can touch him now
He seems so at ease
A strange inner peace
Is all that he’s feeling somehow

He’s got all kinds of time
He’s got all kinds of time
All kinds of time
He’s got all kinds of time
All kinds of time

All kinds of time – Fountains of Wayne