PCT day 103 – The long climb
I was up and ready and waiting at the cafe for it to open at 7am. I had the biggest breakfast I've ever seen. There must have been about 8 eggs in the omelette and the hash brown was like a brick. Bonus Miles also gave me the bacon that came with his. I did as much damage as I could to it knowing I needed the calories and the fuel to get me up the big climb.
Defeated:
As always, when I eat a lot of 'real food', about 1 minute after my last mouthful I have to rush to the loo. It feels like it just goes right through me! I picked up a few bits from the store to supplement my resupply.
I was walking down the road at 10am. A little more road walking before the trail and the climb from 1500ft to 6000ft.
It was hot, but I told myself that it should get slightly cooler the higher I got. I leapfrogged with Mr Clean all day. He has a totally different hiking style to me. He practically runs the trail then takes big long breaks. I just like to keep going at a steady pace. The views were great but everything was covered in a heat haze.
I was so full from breakfast that I just had a couple of snacks. I only started to get hungry around 6pm. I stopped at a spring to get water. I planned to camp somewhere around the 20 mile mark which would be a dry camp so I hauled 3.5 litres for the last 5 miles – more water than I've carried for a long time. There were no camp sites suggested on the apps but there were loads of flat spots at the top of the ridge. I camped on my own (for only the second time!) in a nice little spot tucked in the trees next to the trail. I couldn't take another step – only a 20 mile day but with over 7000ft of elevation gain and around 3000ft of elevation loss. Tough day.
In 16.8 miles I hit the Oregon border!