One of those days that ends differently than planned 🙂 But that’s part of the deal for the PCT …
In the morning I evaded the skeeters by packing up everything inside the tent and then just quickly added the tent and groundsheet to the pack. The Permethrin-treated clothes actually worked okay but those buggers always find a way to exposed skin! 🦟
If you’re walking at a quick pace, you can outrun them. Any slowing down brings back the swarms 🙂 So I moved quickly and covered more than 7 miles before getting to a ridge that was supposed to be breezy … and it was. I ate, I had phone reception and got organized.
The walking was steeper and more exposed today, with burned areas, a few high points and some views. Much more to see, and I enjoyed the change! Quite a few lakes were visible along the way, off to the sides.
I climbed over the pass by Devils Peak and saw the only 2 people for the day. There was even some snow on the north side which I scooped up and used to cool down my neck and wrists!
To avoid wildlife issues, I stopped for dinner around 5pm at the last creek for the day and the next day … a long water carry all the way to Highway 62. I had dinner, sealed the food, cleaned up and filled all the water containers. The pack was very heavy!! I wanted to cover a few more miles until 6:30pm or so, reducing the mileage for Saturday.
Just as I was getting closer to looking for a camp spot, I came to a junction. The app said the side trail was 2 miles down to a trailhead that is busy and also has a campground. Since I was back in the forest with nobody around, I thought it was a good idea to have some company for the night or even just a campground at lower elevation. I hiked down and found out that the trailhead was deserted and the campground didn’t exist! No weekend or overnight hikers parked there, no sign of “life”. It was actually a very creepy-feeling area! I wasn’t able to carry the heavy backpack back to the PCT (at that point I had done 22 miles or so) and didn’t just want to camp in the woods off the trailhead with lots of blowdowns and who knows what going on at night 🙂
So I asked Kathy for a “rescue” … not wanting to be stupid about doing something unsafe … though I should be self-reliant 😂 Camping alone in the wilderness is of course part of the game and I have done it many times. But my gut said that I shouldn’t push camping here and alone.
Kathy is amazing and mobilized Beccy’s husband Andy to accompany her. He knows every square inch of the trails in the area it seems! I walked down the road a few miles and met them just as it was getting dark. Very lucky to have friends like this 💕
I slept well after the busy night previously, and will be resting today. The heavy pack strained the neck a bit so no backpack today! Tomorrow we will be going to Crater Lake as planned and I’ll figure out next steps from there …
Glad you could call Kathy for a ‘rescue’! Enjoy the ‘lighter’ day!
Me too! Awesome friends!
Massive day at 22 miles!! Thanks for sharing the experience with the mosquitoes. I thought that the mosquitoes were bad in Yosemite. You had it much worse from the sound of things. Glad you were able to intersect with Kathy and Andy to obviate risk. Be safe and thanks for keeping us posted on your journey.
By the time I had walked down the gravel road I was probably at 25 miles 😬 I feel it today, especially since I had filled all water containers for the next day (neck, shoulders). The bugs were nothing in Yosemite – trust me! Thanks for following along!