PCT day 14 – Double Puff
Slept on the floor outside on the porch with loads of men who were all snoring! Not the best nights sleep I've had but it was warm. I woke up in the middle of the night with my feet throbbing. Ziggy and the bear lay on oj and coffee at breakfast time. I must have had about 6 orange juices - kick started the old addiction! They were so good.
The weather had cleared and most people got an early start. I left at 7, I had run out of excuses not to leave. I was dreading a whole day of climbing but really the climbing was quite gentle, only steep in a few places. And today I felt strong. Maybe after two weeks I am finally starting to get my hiker legs.
My hip is doing fine with the Aleve, I can feel a bit of a twinge but no pain. We had beautiful views all day. As it's the weekend we passed lots of day hikers - they smell so strongly of soap and washing powder.
After 8 miles we got to the creek. It was so nice to put your feet in, some people got in completely...
I carried on another 7 miles. The Tits were just in front of me and Tom Tit dodged a snakey bullet when he almost stepped on a rattle snake. It was coiled and rattling on the side of the trail, we couldn't go past it and none of us knew what to do. Tom Tit tried to make it move by throwing rocks at it – it was really pissed off. Apparently you don't want to piss of a rattle snake! So Dude (3rd time on the PCT) came along and protected us from it! Thanks Dude!
We got to a campsite near the creek, I got there at 3.30 but just couldn't bring myself to walk any further. I had a leisurely set up camp which makes a change and filtered some water from the creek.
I had some good conversations with Bubba Gump and Ranger, they both hiked the AT and they were talking about losing toenails and getting numb feet – I don't think I want either of those things to happen! I think they may have given me a trail name – Double Puff – in account of my two puffy coats and one of them being considerably puffier than anyone else's. Lots of people comment on the puffiness of my coat so it seems to fit for now!
I had dinner but I'm really not enjoying those pasta sides anymore. It's a struggle to get them down.
We all got into our tents early, but it's just nice to lie down and have some time to relax. Recently everything is so rushed and my quads ache a lot from yesterday. I had a bit of a freak out when I found a wasp in my tent. Don't worry. I squashed it.
We only did 15 miles today but I made a plan with Roxanne to do 18 miles tomorrow...