We made it to KM! I am so happy. We have officially survived 702 miles of So. Cal's desert and we're about to walk into the High Sierra. This is a huge milestone. I started the PCT with zero experience in the desert and found it to be a humbling but wonderful place. Never in my life have I been so hot, thirsty, filthy, or blistered, nor have I ever had so many laughs or such a great suntan. I truly walked with a smile at every mile and felt fortunate for every step. I am so grateful to be on the PCT.
After just over 700 miles, my body is holding up well, and I am lucky to be injury free (knock on wood!) My left side is still stronger than my right side, but both are in good shape. Although lefty could definitely handle 30 mile days, righty still gets fatigued in the high teens. Sometimes, especially when my pack weight is up I've had talks with both and we've agreed to compromise in the low 20s. Also I can't tell you how relieved I am that my reconstructed knee feels perfect. I didn't express too much concern about it before the trip, but it was definitely a wild card that I worried about privately,
The hiking today was a lot of fun. I walked the first 6 or so miles (mostly climbing) with Tourist who I really enjoy. He grew up in Seattle but lives in Salt Lake now and does a ton of back country skiing and adventuring. He thru-hiked the Hayduke route a couple years back. We saw lots of bear evidence. After a big group break in a burn area, I walked with Smiles until we stopped for another group break at the end of the burn area. Other than the initial 6 miles, it was mostly flat or gradual downhill today. After our second major break, I mostly hiked with Nips and Wildflowers' friend Jarette. He is great too! They all lived together and worked on the ski patrol in Mammoth this past winter. It was fun walking together and we stopped for a fantastic swim in the Kern River.
After Jarette and I arrived in KM, we walked a little over half a mile to the general store where I bought chocolate milk and a muffin and picked up my resupply boxes. There were a ton of peeps hanging out at the store including many I hadn't seen in quite a while, so it was fun to hang out for a bit. Not long after we arrived, Wildflower showed up with her parents' car (and best friend Sammy who made a surprise visit with the parents!) and gave us a ride to the campground.
We had a wonderful evening at the campground. Wildflowers' parents brought steaks, salad, fruit, potatoes, cheese, bread, cake, cookies, drinks, and the list goes on. After dinner we had a campfire and a water report burning ceremony. SO GLAD to be back in the land of lakes and rivers!
Tomorrow the plan is to get organized here in camp and then head back to the general store. We'll be leaving KM with bear canisters so it'll be interesting to see how everything packs out. I'll be carrying about 7 days worth of food. The only other time I've done a 7 day trip with a bear canister was when Joe and I did the Bailey Range Traverse a few years back and we definitely didn't squeeze all our food in two cans. There's no doubt I'm eating way more now!
Wildflowers' parents will be around again tomorrow and we're definitely going to zero. I may stay at the campground again or just crash outside the general store. It's definitely going to be a happening place.
No comments:
Post a Comment