PCT SOBO DAY 55 – I’m not going to do it

Day 55

Home: Brian’s Place, Mile 1000.5

END: Saddle, Mile 1021.3

Walked miles: 20.8 miles

This morning, I was the first to wake up and start moving. There was a great climb to me, so I wanted to start before the day was too hot. When I ate breakfast, half of the other hikers had joined me while the other half was still asleep.

When I left, I said goodbye and thanks to Brian, then I began to walk along the way. The next 5 miles were more or less a relatively flat road partially along the Klalath River. This morning, there was no traffic on the road and the river flowed calm down. When I turned to follow Grider Creek, BlackBerry’s bushes appeared next to the road. Of course I had to stop and choose them!

After a while, I finally found myself on the right path. Today’s increase had approximately 5500 feet of elevation gain, but in a period of approximately 15 miles. It was not an steep climb, but it was definitely continuous. The narrow cannon formed by the stream shaded me from the sun until I stopped for lunch. So, it became very hot! It had been well, but when the heat came, I decreased a lot.

To make things worse, the last third of the climb was through a burn area exposed with very small tree cover. There was no respite from the afternoon sun. I even had to break my umbrellas to give me some shade. It is not necessary to say that the heat absorbed a lot of energy.

On the positive side, I saw my second bear on the path today! He was a little boy; It looked like a puppy but not very young. I was afraid that Mom was somewhere nearby, but when I shouted «Hello, bear!» He was the only one who escaped.

Knowing that my energy was low, I decided to call it early today. Stoping early meant that I could not get to Etna in time to collect my package, but I heard that a decent refueling was more than possible. I could always bounce my box ahead to another city and pick it up later.

After collecting water, I chose a place for the jeans camp in a chair on the path. I had views of the mountains that stretched in all directions. A curious deer also stopped and looked at me for a while. According to the comments of the previous hikers, the deer in the area had absolutely no fear of hikers and were a threat at night.

I ate my dinner while looking at the landscape around me. In a short time, the sun began to wear, turning the sky of a pale blue to a soft orange and then a dark purple. When the night fell, the stars came out, giving me endless mysteries to reflect until my eyes closed.

And that is a day in the life of a PCT Sobo hiker!

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