4/29/20, mile: 394, elevation: 5,692 ft.
Yesterday’s exertion really wore me out. I knew I should be up early to make more miles, but damn I was beat. Pyche beat SoCo and I out of camp, but I wasn’t too far behind. I was surprised/disappointed by the amount of snow to contend with this morning, but it really was something more annoying than a real issue. I’m DONE with snow for now.
I caught up to Pyche leaving the picnic area on Highway 2 just before the climb up Mt. Williamson. He sat down and had a chat with me for a while before heading off. I looked at the app and saw that we had a bit of a climb before going over to the north facing slope (and more snow on the trail). This climb really kicked my butt. I just couldn’t get a groove, and I couldn’t a cell signal. I’m not sure if one or both were messing with my drive, but I was struggling.
For the next several miles the trail was getting more exposed and the day was getting warm. And EVERY SINGLE F’N upslope was just dragging me down. Literally one foot in front of the other. I was a bit low and water, and maybe even dehydrated after yesterday’s efforts. Regardless, I wasn’t hiking worth a damn.
A portion of the PCT in this area is closed for an endangered species. The “work around” is to walk Highway 2 for a couple of miles before jumping on another trail to rejoin the PCT. Right before this roadwalk begins, I took a break at the picnic area there to cool my jets and to use the sun to melt some snow and charge my battery. Soon, an older couple whom I didn’t see earlier came for a different part of the area after their picnic. After a short talk about the day, they asked if I needed any toilet paper. For the first time on this journey, I actually asked for something from a stranger. No ma’am, I have plenty of t.p., but do you have any water? They gave me an ice-cold half-liter of water that tasted soooo good and refreshing. After eating and resting a bit more, I felt my mood lift considerably. I still had the nasty roadwalk to contend with!
I put on some tunes again and really started jamming down the shoulder. Rest? Food? Water? Music? All of the above? Hard saying without knowing what made the difference. But I was a different hiker now. So focused was I, that I at first didn’t notice the guy on the other side of the road trying to get my attention.
Meet Jose (he goes by Joe). He’s hike good fair amount of these mountings and he likes to come up during hiking season to provide trail magic to hikers. He gave me some fruit, water and Gaterade, as well as some good company for the short time I spent with him. He told me stories of the other hikers he’s seen (including a fair number of names I recognized) as well as some of his hiking adventures in the area. He even offered to take the working (and still charged) cell phone I found on the roadside to try to find the rightful owner.
The rest of the roadwalk melted away and I arrived with the help of Sarah’s “mix tape” at Buckhorn Campground (closed). This is the proto-typical National Forest campground buried in the woods of big trees with a loud flowing creek through the middle of it…and I had it all to myself. The ice cold creek water felt great on my sore feet, and tasted great going down my throat. I even collected wood for a campfire!
And just when I thought I was going to be alone for the night, in comes SoCo and Diego! So we enjoyed some conversations about our adventures this day as the smoke from the fire wafted about (sometimes annoyingly). The temperature dropped as quickly as the sun did below the horizon. We were all sore from the roadwalk and were ready for bed.
Savior out.