Miles traveled: 20.4
Mile marker: 498.2
Aside from the slow leak in my air mattress leaving me on what looks like an inflatable pool float, I was quite surprised to wake up at 10:30 pm and hear a coyote scream. I sat up abruptly, remembering that I never closed my backpack. The coyote could get into my food!
I hurriedly closed my bag and turned to see Savannah standing in front of me: her sleeping bag was right next to mine.
Savannah came out with the coyote!
Early in the morning, I tossed and turned on my half-deflated air mattress and re-inflated it at some point. I’m caught between two lights. One side is the moon. The other side is the fire station porch light.
It’s a little shiny.
Before I know it, my alarm goes off. I try, unsuccessfully, to get the air out of my sleeping bag. Maybe I’ll have to ask Dad about this.
«I think Rafiki already left,» Bumper says. I look at the empty space next to the fire station where Rafiki was getting ready a few minutes ago. I guess it’s already started.
We are waiting for Bumper and another girl who has been walking with us. At least I’m not the last.
“Where is Rafiki?” Dad asks.
I shrug my shoulders. «I think he’s already gone.»
We walked along the road for a minute before turning left onto the trail. It is marked by the PCT route marker.
The sun barely illuminates the sky as we walk. There is a yellow morning glow behind the power lines. The hills in front of me look like textured ribbons of green.
My honey bun doesn’t sit well in my stomach. A 5:45 ascent with a sugary stomach? Yes. I wouldn’t recommend it.
It heats up quickly, but I’m soon at the next water source. Our path today has been hard sand. The undergrowth grabs me as I walk by, there is often a path where the foliage tries to steal the things that are handed to you on the outside of your backpack as you pass by.
Another promotion. I’m pushing now, staying close to dad. I can keep pushing. I’ve done this before at the gym. It’s just another 1.5 miles until there’s more water. I want to quit, but there’s always a little hill that follows the difficult one.
It flattens out a little. I did it! I’m hot on dad’s heels. We chat about life, happiness and what we want to do in the future.
We walk seven miles to the water source, but we stop at a campground. The flies have been hanging around us all day. I fall asleep and never really fall asleep.
I hear dad getting ready to leave.
«What are you doing?» asked.
“I’m going to go for a walk,” he says.
I feel like I’ve woken up from a long nap on a sunny afternoon and don’t know what to do with my life. I join him and we are soon followed by Savannah and Lucie.
Dad pauses to take a video of the poodle dog bush. This is a plant with velvety leaves from which beautiful purple flowers emerge.
It is very poisonous.
The oils from the leaves can stick to clothing for years. It is bad news if it comes into contact with the skin.
Lucie’s knee was bothering her before lunch and now it’s pretty bad. Savannah walks behind her to cheer her up. We ask him if he needs us to bring anything.
Savannah ties Lucie’s food bag to her backpack and we soon make our way up the hill to the road. We walked together on the hot road for a few minutes.
«You can get a long-lasting deodorant,» says Savannah.
“And take two showers a day!” I added.
This makes Lucie laugh. We’re just trying to cheer her up. She is really upset about the decision she has to make.
Lucie will hitchhike into town and wait for us there. His knee is hurt and he needs to rest. He feels very bad about having to abandon the path.
«It’s a long road,» Dad says. «You have plenty of time! Just take care of that knee.»
Dad flags down a car. The couple that appears in it speaks Spanish. The woman speaks some English, so we made our way through the conversation.
“Tell them a city, not a doctor,” Dad says.
«Doctor? There’s no doctor there,» the lady says.
We made our way through the conversation with the sun beating down on us.
We soon say goodbye to Lucie (she gives us some extra snacks) and continue on.
“Wait here and if I scream, come down,” Dad says as we try to find the trail from the road. Savannah and I sat on a rock. A few minutes later, he screams, «Aaahh, yes!»
Your usual call.
We carefully slide the loose soil down. Savannah goes first. “I see the trail!” She says. We navigated through tall grasses and small rocks until we found the trail.
«Dad?» say.
«Yeah!» he answers.
Forward!
We find it and after Dad and Savannah empty their shoes, we move on. We found Bumper and our other hiker addition, Socks, at the creek. We fill with water and continue.
Soon it will be just dad and me. I’m glad he’s with me though. We talked about riding more miles, but I’m defeated. My heel hurts too. I’m walking with a strange gait because of it. Every time I step on my heel, a jolt of pain runs through my foot.
I thought the blister had been reabsorbed.
I’m glad Dad is staying behind me. He is much faster than me and sometimes needs to keep going, so I sometimes miss walking with him. Sometimes I spend so much time with other hikers that I wonder if they are having a good time on the trail.
He is. This time his climb to the PCT is very different than last time. When he raised it in 2021, it was right after Covid and people had a different mindset. He developed tremendous skill very quickly. I guess I’m feeling a little anxious because my presence is preventing him from having the best experience on the trail.
This, of course, is not true, because I have discussed it with him. That’s just my anxiety talking.
The sun is calming and we are in the dappled shadows of the trees. It becomes a kind of meadow, on a slope.
I pause as a snake about a foot long slithers into the middle of the trail. He’s doing some sort of head movement, moving back and forth like a slinky.
“I wonder if he’s hunting,” Dad says.
I hope he’s not hurt.
As he dances down the path, I walk past him. He slides forward.
Oh! He is not injured. He moved as if someone had tied a rope to his head and was pulling. No dalliances as I usually imagine in the case of a snake.
«I bet he was hunting,» Dad says again.
Probably.
I’m done with today. Sad Lucie had to get out of the way. My foot hurts and I have to walk with a strange step: stepping on the ball of my foot. At least dad stays with me.
We reached the junction towards the camp and found the others sitting there. They try to plan for tomorrow, but I have other priorities.
“I need to find the toilet,” I say.
“And maybe a friend,” Dad adds.
I run uphill the next quarter mile.
Rafiki is lying on his mat. The crows laugh like monkeys as Dad greets Rafiki and I run to the toilet. Soon the others will be here too. I immediately sit up and clean my blister. It’s calloused. When I insert the needle, the liquid doesn’t gush out like before.
“Hello dad,” I say. “Can you help me?”
Press my blister with the alcohol gauze. He’s pushing hard. The pressure hurts! We ended up putting the needle in about three times to get the liquid out.
I didn’t think the blister would harden while it still contained liquid. It would have been better if I had popped it when I first saw it! I was just hoping it would be reabsorbed!
We had dinner together at the picnic table and then camped out like cowboys.
My legs hurt so much that when I walk away from the table, my path becomes a limp.
Everyone laughs as I walk away.
«A little pain?» Dad asks.
Yes. Yes, I am.
It’s been a long, hot day. Lucie arrived at a trail angel’s house and is enjoying a sandwich. I’m glad you made it to a safe place!
