I slept even worse last night thanks to my sleeping pad. I tossed and turned all night long and woke up exhausted and grumpy. If I kept the pad fully inflated, I would roll right off of it. I tried to prop up one side of the pad with clothing stuffed under it with no success. Then I tried deflating most of the air out of the pad. That worked better except my hip bones jabbed into the ground and became very sore. I borrowed sit pads from my hiking partners to put under my hips and that helped some.
Mt. Shasta!
Uh, I think there’s a mountain over there
When I packed up to leave camp this morning, I found a 3-inch brown centipede in my baggie of clean toilet paper. Yuck. I removed the centipede but it left a stain of slime all over my toilet paper. I’m not sure if I should be wiping that paper on my bum but I don’t have many other options. I guess I’ll pick out the slimy parts when I next use toilet paper.
Hitch Hikes a Snowy Patch on the Trail
Navigating Blowdowns Blocking the Trail
We hiked for a few miles today and came to the snowy section of this stretch. We had previously quizzed northbound hikers about it and it didn’t sound too bad. The section spanned about 3 miles from mile 1446 to 1448 but it was not fully snow-covered. Only patches of snow lingered here and there. I didn’t even get out my microspikes. It was all pretty easy to walk around or over – someone had cut steps into the snow with crampons that were super easy to follow. It was nothing at all like we had to contend with when we hiked around Mt Ashland.
Trees!
Once we finished with the snowy section, we agreed that it was not necessary for all 5 of us to continue traveling as a big group – no snow is reported for the next 100 miles or so. We had specifically been hiking together for safety over the snow – and because we enjoyed eachother’s company. However the group encompassed various hiking styles and it wasn’t always easy to keep a group that size together. I was feeling especially tired today and it was nice to have the option of hiking fewer miles if I chose and not be pressured to keep up with the group.
Monarch is Serious about Hiking the PCT
Monarch and I hiked together the rest of the day, taking breaks at streams and going at our own pace. We camped on an abandoned dirt road near a stream. We only did 17.4 miles today but I’m hoping to get more sleep tonight so I’ll have more energy tomorrow. I had to remove most of the air from my pad so I wouldn’t roll off of it. This meant my hip bones jabbed through the pad into the ground which was quite painful. Monarch leant me her foam sleeping pad which I placed under my pad – hopefully this will help.
PCT 2017 Stats
PCT Day 76 – Wednesday June 28
Alder Creek Junction Mile 1452.6 to Mile 1435.2
PCT Miles Hiked Today: 17.4
Total PCT Miles Hiked: 872.1
Feet Ascended Today: 2565
Feet Descended Today: 2800
Current Elevation: 5089
Steps: 52046
For more on my experience hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, visit my Pacific Crest Trail 2017 page:
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