Monday, July 27. Mid-50s and sunny going up to mid-70s.
Up at 5:30. On trail at 6:20. My goal is to get a lot of this climb done before it gets hot as there is no water for 12.2 miles.
Said hi to Emmett on the way out. Had not seen him since before Yosemite. He and Bobbie hiked out just ahead of me.
Back in the burn area again by 7:15.
Finished my 6-mile climb at 9:05. Only used half a liter. That leaves me a little less than 2 liters to get to the next water in 6.5 miles. And it’s all downhill. No problem!
Woo hoo! I reached the PCT midpoint at 10:00. I can’t believe I finally made it. Only took me 95 days! I can’t take that long to do the second half. Chatted with Lipstick from Russia for a bit.
Got to water at 12:40. The last 2.5 hours have been tough. Overgrowth up to my chin at times and blowdowns hidden in the overgrowth! Here is what the trail looks like. I lost the trail many times this afternoon.
I have 3.3 miles to Hwy 36. Quick lunch of Fritos, then back on trail at 1:00. Hoping for an easy hitch into town around 3:00.
Last 2 miles were desolate burn and tree recovery area.
Hitched into town at 2:50 with an English female who I have met several times but whose name escapes me. Had to wait about 30 minutes. Left 2 behind. Lipstick and a guy I recognized from Quincy.
Picked up some beverages and snacks at the grocery store. I’ll do real shopping tomorrow. It’s a 5-minute walk to my hotel. I can check in at 4:00. Lipstick arrived at the grocery store Starbucks while I was killing time. Hung out in the grocery store Starbucks with Trapper, Dirt Nap, and Lipstick until 4:00. We all look like dirty, bedraggled, homeless people after 4 days in the burn area.
Maui showed up, and we chatted along with Dirt Nap. Maui skipped the last 4 days of the trail. The consensus is about 75% of hikers skipped this last section because of the blowdowns and overgrowth.
Walked to the Lake Almanor Lodge a bit after 4:00. Nice little place with a separate full kitchen.
Peeled off my insanely dirty clothes and showered. I think this is the dirtiest I’ve ever been on any trail. The black dust from the burnt area is everywhere! You get it crawling over downed burned trees and just walking. It’s so dry that in many places the dust is 1/4 of an inch thick on the trail and mixed with the burnt ash into a black talc-like powder.
Talked to Pitcrew for a while, then walked to Bing’s Bistro for dinner at 6:00. Only two short blocks, and I checked out the laundromat for tomorrow on the way. It looks clean and convenient.
My feet hurt. New shoes needed I suppose. And my Achilles is being very problematic. I’m am starting to think that I need to get a professional to look at the Achilles. Ugh.
Technical Notes:
- Protein Shake (10oz): 330 cal, 19g carb, 13.5g fat, 36g protein
- Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
- Banana Chips (18p, 30g): 150 kcal, 20g carb, 8g fat, 1g protein
- Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per
- Mango (3-4p, 30g): 100 kcal, 25g carb, 0g fat, 0g protein per
- Fritos 300
- Dr Pepper
- Large latte
- Chicken Fried Steak
- Six wings
- More town food
- Water liters: 2
- Miles: 15.9
- Time: 8:05
- Up: 2290
- Down: 3432
- Calories consumed: 5000
- Calories burned: 2286
- iPhone battery used: 30%
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