PCT day 115 – Out of the trees
It was so cold this morning. Neither Dana or I were interested in getting out of our sleeping bags. We could see the sun all around us but not on us. Nature is cruel. Eventually we got up and left camp just before 8am.
The mornings hike was much like every other day in Oregon. Covered in trees. It didn't really warm up until after 11, and the leaves are changing colour. Autumn is definitely on the way.
10 miles in I stopped at a lake and ate some Cheetos. I had already eaten all my chocolate and snacks by 9am.
14 miles in I stopped by another lake and got water. Made a hot chocolate and relaxed for 20 minutes. Dana caught up. We knew in 5 more miles there was good cell service above Elk lake so we carried on and sat there for a while catching up on precious internet time and having lunch. A guy called Khaki passed us (I met him before at Burney Falls) but he didn't speak.
We had 10 more miles to a creek and camp spot. Half way in I passed Stummy who I last crawled my way to Dorothy lake with about 1000 miles ago!
We finally made it out of the trees and onto an open plain. We could see one of the sisters mountains ahead. A long winding path went over the plain accompanied by a biting wind. I scared myself when I sensed someone was following me and I kept seeing movement out the corner of my eye. It was my shadow!
Back in the forest again I crossed a small stream and heard One Of Us. I thought he was camped there but he was just eating dinner talking to some day hikers so he was carrying on another hour. Dana caught up and we walked the half mile to a nice tent area in the trees where there were also some day hikers around. It's nice to get water from a cold flowing creek rather than a warm still lake. It got cold really quickly as soon as the sun went down.
I felt really good today. Really strong. Hiked at more than a 3mph pace for much of the morning. My knees and balls were sore by the last 3 miles but after nearly 30 miles that's to be expected I guess. Maybe I'm becoming a lean mean hiking machine...
29.6 miles