Day 17: CW mile 35.2 to CW mile 56.2
8.7.21 -
21 miles, +4,700 -5,400 ft
Total mileage: 239.7
Segments: CW03 - CW04
Another big day on the trail! Most people in camp this morning were getting up just as early as me - a first, honestly! I’m usually the first to get up and going when I’m in a group. We all took off around the same time (me, Flan & Grandpa, and Peach & Dad) and I immediately fell back. Uphills are rough, and we had a few big ones right off the bat! The views were absolutely amazing though! We were basically ridge walking on the Continental Divide. It’s hard to get much better than that! Eventually Flan & Grandpa caught me and passed me, and I had them take my picture - gotta capitalize on having friends around to take your pic when you can! It doesn’t happen often when you’re solo.
The whole morning was climbing up and going down. Over and over and over again. It was also incredibly windy, and the winds were bringing in a ton of smoke from the wildfires that I think are in Oregon & California? Regardless, it was smoky alllll day, and it kinda sucked because the views should have been even more astounding. After the third up & down I was feeling pretty exhausted. The downhill and the next (more gradual) uphill took me forever to do. I eventually just had to stop to take a snack break and actually sit down. I keep forgetting that I’m not in PCT shape (why would I even think this is beyond me - the PCT was 3 years ago!) and that I actually need to sit down and recover for a bit. So after that nice break of drinking water and eating some snacks I was ready for the remaining uphill. I met some northbound hikers during this bit that pointed out the mountain goats on the mountainside to me! It was crazy. They look like they’re literally on the edge of nothing. The climb was ok, but a lot of the ascent and descent was filled with yucky talus sized rocks, which if you’ve ready my blog before, you know are my least favorite things to walk on! I go so much slower and it takes so much more concentration to not step weird and twist an ankle. Eventually the descent was nicer, and at the bottom I took my lunch break by a creek. However, it wasn’t the most relaxing because I literally dropped my phone into the creek while trying to get water! I flipped out and grabbed it immediately. Thankfully it appears to be working fine and is charging. But I was pretty anxious through lunch, worrying about if it would keep working.
After lunch was the last super steep climb up a pass before a much longer downhill. The climb was rough - over 800 ft/ mile grade - but it was over quick. The wind though was so strong I had to brace myself multiple times to keep from falling over. Hiking super steep uphill into the wind is not a fun time. I passed another hiker I saw in the morning with her dog named Remy. He was so cute and let me give him so many pets. I love dogs!
The downhill was ok but then became annoying with all of the rocks again. All I want is nice dirt trail! I was going pretty slowly because I don’t want to break an ankle, and another hiker named Topo came up from behind. I hadn’t met him yet, but he was awesome and we chatted the rest of the way down the mountain until the next water source. He hiked the PCT in 2019, so it was fun talking to him about that and thru-hiking in general - including our great love for the PCT and how nothing has ever really come close to the amazingness of that trail ever since hiking it.
Once we got down to the creek, Roy was there and we all chatted, taking a water and snack break. Topo had big plans for many more miles, so we said goodbye to him, while Roy and I stayed a little longer before hiking out together. I had originally planned at camping at that creek, but it was only 4 pm, and if I could make tomorrow a little better, might as well! We chatted all the way up the next climb. Roy is so nice to chat with. I was wheezing and barely breathing though lol. We looked at guthooks and decided we’d try to make it to the railroad bed that we were pretty sure our friends from last night were all camped at. And finally, after two more mini passes, and a bit of descent, we made it to camp! We were both exhausted and set up with the others right away and scarfed down dinner. There was a NOBO hiker named Cherry Pie there as well and I chatted with him about gear & the PCT - he section hiked the whole thing which is so impressive! It takes a lot of commitment to keep coming back to section hike such a long trail. After eating, it was time for bed. I popped some Tylenol PM since I’ve been having some trouble sleeping and I could do with some painkillers after today. I was practically waddling into camp!
The road to Salida is 22 miles from where I am camped. It’s very tempting to make it to town tomorrow night, but I think I’ll just try to get close to the road for a hopefully easy hitch in the next morning.