PCT day 9 – bodily functions

I slept really well, it's so nice to be able to stretch out on a bed and move your legs – especially when you weren't expecting to have a bed for the night!

So, when you eat 5 hot cows in 4 buns, macaroni salad, 2 bags of crisps, chicken rice, Oreos, a nutrigrain bar, string cheese, and spaghetti in the space of around 36 hours, there is only one thing that's going to happen. It's got to come out to make space for more. I woke up needing a poo quite urgently. Great, I'm at a trail Angels and not on the trail, but there is no toilet at this trail Angels house! So I walked a little way down this dirt road and I dug my first cat hole! I was just lucky I could leave my toilet paper in the burnable trash and I didn't have to carry it with me this time.

We woke up in a cloud. The people who came in later had to camp outside and they got wet!! Tom and Mom had coffee and pancakes ready for us and then we were all gradually on our way.

The air was wet and cold so I bundled on my wet weather gear and headed out into the cloud.

20 minutes later I am above the cloud and I'm sweating so all the wet weather gear has to come off.

I walked with Papa Smurf this morning. (A lot of people I meet are in their mid twenties and so far my age has been guessed at between 22(!) – 29. Most people think I'm about 24/25. It's always nice to give them a shock!) I really needed to pass wind, but he was behind me for 6 miles and I don't know him that well so I couldn't exactly just let rip. Keeping it in caused a lot of pain!! It was fun to walk with someone for a change but I was glad to be on my own again so I could parp my way down the trail.

About 10 miles in I arrived at the water source, left my bag at the trail with some others and walked the .3 or so of a mile down to the water. The source is a hose coming from a big cistern. The water needs to be treated but looks clean and tastes fine.

After a bit of food (I'm really not eating very well in the day - I'm mostly running on sugar. I can't find anything that I want to eat yet), I started back on the trail and ran into Devin (jihad) No Trace and Unbreakable (triple crowners in their 50s doing the PCT for the second time! Look at their tiny packs!) and Casey. They say they don't go fast but they lied about that! I kept up with them though and it was nice to be pushed a bit to go faster. Also nice to have conversations with different people.

Jihad saw a rattlesnake, which the other 3 had just walked straight past. I took some photos of course and by the time I had to walk past it rattled at me so I let out a little squeal. It doesn't really sound like a rattle, more like steam escaping.

We reached the campsite among the boulders and they asked me to carry on with them another 7 miles but after 17 miles my feet were done.

It was a cool camp area, lots of nooks between the boulders. It says in the guide that there is room for 5 tents, we had about 10 tents there and it was fine. I met kelly again who was the first person I met at scout and frodos, it was lovely to see her. She started 4 days before me so I can't be going that slow. I think I'm right in the middle, faster than some, slower than others.