Stretch Goals (D-30, 600-630.8)

It was 52 miles to the next town (Ridgecrest) where I hoped to take a zero day. I was thinking I could do 26 miles today and then 26 tomorrow and catch the evening bus at 6 pm from the trailhead to the town. Then Shalini informed me that the last Eastbound bus to Ridgecrest was at 3:30 pm and the Westbound bus was at 6 pm!!! Darn! Oh well...I figured I could stay at a campground close to the trailhead on Monday night & go to Ridgecrest on Tuesday morning, which was not a big deal except that I would have have to depend on hitchhiking or finding a ride, since the bus ran only on MWF. Of course, there was a stretch goal that I could go fast and do a long day today, to enable a shorter day tomorrow in time to catch the bus. It definitely looked unlikely especially after the first couple of hours today, when I had covered only 4 miles due to time to filter & fill water, as well as getting lost for a short while. Also today was supposed to be a long distance between natural water sources. Finally there was a bit of elevation and more importantly, the second part of the day was going to be in a very windy region.

However, two things helped...thanks to some extremely generous Trail Angels. They had kept a huge water cache at 2 points along the way.

This water cache at 613 mile was such a lifesaver for all the hikers! So well maintained and so much water 🙏

Then as the evening came around, I wanted to complete at least 26 miles and then stop at any good campsite. But, as mentioned earlier, the wind was blowing hard and there were hardly any sheltered spots.

These Joshua trees were the only things around. They are funny looking trees, aren't they? 😀

In the middle of nowhere, I saw these giant steps...I call them Steps of the Gods 😋.

Anyway, the next good option for camping in somewhat sheltered spot was the next water cache at Bird Spring Pass and since the Sun sets so late here, I figured I would go on. I pushed through and reached it after a long day...a stretch goal achieved! Or as my friend, Ritu says, some days on the trail are "self-improvement days" 🙂.

Another huge water cache at Bird Spring Pass.

A reasonably sheltered spot for my tent. The wind was blowing hard all thru the night, but the tent survived 🤞🙂.

Data:

Comments

Pleasures of being on PCT (D-16; 303.7 - 328.8 miles)

Heading out from the cowboy camping experience last night, I was looking forward to Deer Creek Hot Springs that is apparently very popular among the locals too & tended to get crowded during the weekends, even though one has to hike in a mile or so from the trailhead parking (or hike 308 miles on PCT 🙂). Reached it early enough, but still it was chock full of people - locals & thru-hikers both - most of whom had camped there overnight in spite of it being a No Camping zone. People were lazing around in some of the pools in various states of undress, as it was a clothing optional area. It was way too crowded for me and I decided to head out. But, as I was heading out, I saw a small pool of water with nobody in it and the water was pleasantly hot (not just warm). Pool I "discovered" away from the crowds Close-up of the pool Me in the pool 😋 What a lovely feeling to be in a hot pool, especially after not having had a hot

Why you shouldn't (or should) thru-hike the PCT? (D-115: 2592.1 - 2613.1 - Nero @ Mazama, D-116: 2613.1 - 2642.6)

Over the last 116 days, I have had plenty of time to think about what's good or bad about this thru-hike and just in case, one of you is thinking about doing a PCT thru-hike, here are my thoughts about why you shouldn't or should do it. Why you shouldn't do a PCT thru-hike - It is very tough physically and mentally - There is less than 50% chance that anyone starting it will finish - Almost everyone seems to have negative physical effects including weight loss, muscle loss, days & days of tired legs & feet etc - You will definitely get scratches, bruises and cuts, if you are lucky. If you are unlucky, major sprains, muscle tears & other hike-ending injuries. Btw, most people who stop do so 'cos of injuries. - You will trip & fall down multiple times (when the avg number of steps is 50000 - 70000/day over uneven paths, the law of large numbers takes over and some of those steps will lead to falls) - It is an expensive activity, with a bulk o

A thru-hike attempt... successful! (D-117: 2642.6 - 2653.6, D-117S (SOBO): 0 - 17.1, D-118S (SOBO): 17.1-30.6)

It is done! Finally, on August 10th, 2022, 117 days after I started at the US-Mexico border on April 16th, 2022, I reached the US-Canada border. Walked 2653.6 miles (4270.6 km) south-to-north through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. No bittersweet moments...just sweet relief to be done 😀. We were few of the lucky thru-hikers this year who were able to go south-to-north continuously without any interruptions. People who started even a couple of weeks earlier and maintained this pace hit a lot more snow in Seirras and a hell lot more in Washington, the latter being almost hike-stopping. By the time we got to Seirras, the snow was much more manageable, and almost all the snow had melted in Washington. People who started later or were slower have had to skip parts of Northern California due to forest fires. Even Oregon and Southern California have some fires starting already. Anyway, reached the northern terminus of the PCT yesterday morning around 8:40 am

A thru-hike attempt

Search This Blog