The trail runs thru a town (D-24 444.3

The trail runs thru a town (D-24 444.3 - 468.2)

Agua Dulce is one of the few or maybe, the only town, in which PCT runs on the main street literally. It is very small, pretty and once again, a hiker-friendly town. Had breakfast in one of the three restaurants on the main street. I realized that perhaps the longing for regular food is more due the fact that it is not available on the trail, and perhaps less due to hiker-hunger. But, as I have said before, everything tastes so much better when you are hiking 😀.

My breakfast place!

The trail runs the whole 2.5 mile length of the main street

Before I entered Agua Dulce, I went thru a tunnel below the busy Antelope Valley Freeway (Hwy 14) and then through the Vasquez Rocks park. A few pics:

Graffiti-filled tunnel below Hwy 14

After a long climb for pretty much the rest of the day, reached a nice open ridge

And a few miles after that, reached my campsite for the day near the top of another ridge. A very windy site, but nothing better was available within the next 2-3 miles.

Data:

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My gear and my tramily (D-97 @ 2148 - Zero day)

Some of you have asked about what gear I am using. Since today is a Zero day (the last Zero day was on D-57) and there is nothing much to report other than the fact that I shipped the last set of resupply boxes to different places in Washington state and ate substantial amounts of food today, I figured I might as well talk about my gear, and also a bit about the other most essential component on the hike - my "tramily" (trail-family). Tent : 1-person Rainbow Li from Tarptent (bought new). This has worked very well for me and as you know from my earlier posts, Tarptent has given very good customer service too. I haven't had the chance to use the tent in heavy rain or snow (luckily) though and can't comment on it. I use a Tyvek ground sheet (already owned), also from Tarptent. Backpack : Catalyst from ULA (already owned). I started with Zpack Arc Air Robic 60L (bought new) and used it for 700 miles, but it was not comfortable at...

Monthly Data Update (M-4; Day 91 to 118)

All data below in italics is for M-1, M-2 & M-3 respectively, for comparison. M-4 is 28 days (all other months were 30 days) Distance traveled on PCT: 702 mi / 1130 km ( 631 mi / 1015 km; 554 mi / 892 km; 798 mi /1284 km ) Total time: 281 ( 280; 280; 320 ) hours Total ascent: 126,923 ft / 38,686 m ( 117,830 ft/35,915 m; 99,040 ft/30,190 m; 123,951 ft/37,780 m ) Total descent: 128,161 ft / 39,063 m ( 115,912 ft/35,330 m; 99,730 ft/30,400 m; 123,921 ft/37,771 m ) Highest point: 7174 ft / 2187 m ( 9407 ft/2867 m; 13,120 ft/4000 m; 7580 ft/2310 m ) Average distance/day: 25 mi / 40 km ( 21 mi/34 km; 18.7 mi/30.1 km; 26.6 mi/42.8 km ) Average distance/hiking day: 26 mi / 42 km ( 21.8 mi/35.1 km; 21.3 mi/34.3 km; 26.6 mi/42.8 km ) Average time hiking/day: 10.0 ( 9.3; 9.3; 10.7) hours (incl Nero days) Average pace: 2.6 mph/4.2 kmph ( 2.3 mph/3.6 kmph; 2.0 mph/3.2 kmph; 2.5 mph/4.0 kmph ) Number of Zero days:...

The Start (D-1)

It was a bitter-sweet day. Start of something that I had been looking forward to for months, nay years. But, it is always difficult to say goodbye to loved ones. At the same time, the encouragement and extraordinary support from family and friends over the past few weeks has been amazing and I am deeply grateful for that. More on this later. It was a relatively easy start to the hike with mostly flat trails, but the real stuff lay in wait. Both the elevation gain and the heat from the bright sun in the dry desert manifested post-lunch. Most streams were dry and there was not much shade either. It was a relief to reach Lake Morena campground, 20 miles from the start, after almost 9 hours after leaving the US-Mexico border. A most delicious dinner post-hike at the Oak Shores Malt shop which every PCT hiker knows 1 done & 2659 to go This view of Lake Morena was such a big relief... campground was near...whew! ...

A thru-hike attempt

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