Day 17 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 7.9
Total Ascent: 1,820.5 ft.
Total Descent: 427.8 ft.
This morning was a frenzy! Getting our bags packed, trying to finish all the food we left in the fridge, tidying up our cabin in preparation for our departure. I forgot my trekking poles when we all left the cabin to head to the post office to meet our ride back to trail. Not only did I do that, I locked the front door handle behind us. As we crossed the road, I realized I had forgotten my poles and ran back. Of course the keys left were for the deadbolt so I was locked out. The tramily went ahead to the post office so Snax and Failure to Launch could post ahead a package. Sandy, our trail angel, picked the group up and drove back to the cabin. Sandy was in a rush and I was in a panic. I couldn’t get ahold of anyone who ran the cabin to open the door. Troy, formally known as Roamer, ran around to the back and found an open window in the bathroom. Snax and I helped him up. My poles were rescued! We’re now calling Troy, The Burglar. He happily accepted his new trail name, even though he mentioned later that his wife prefers his old trail name but he wants it to be, The Burglar so his new name prevails!
Sandy drove pretty fast down windy Highway 74 to bring us back to the trail head at mile 151.8. I was seated in the back seat with Failure to Launch and The Burglar. I started to get extremely car sick. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. I didn’t throw up but felt pretty dizzy and queasy. I was happy when we arrived back to trail. I was hoping I’d start to feel better as I hiked but unfortunately I felt queasy for most of our hike up. It made for a tough climb when in reality it shouldn’t have been that hard.
The decision for our group to go into the San Jacinto mountains was a big one. Most of the PCT hikers are skipping ahead to avoid snow conditions whereas we wanted to stay as true to the trail as possible. Not that any of us are against skipping ahead; if the trail is unsafe, we’ll bail out and skip too. It means heavier gear, including an ice axe and microspikes. I also bought a light sleeping bag liner, rain pants and new merino gloves. But our food bags are also much heavier. We wanted to be prepared to continue if conditions allow for it. My Gossamer Gear Mariposa backpack, isn’t handling the heavier load too well today. Climbing up here to camp, my bag was pinching between my shoulder blades under the added weight instead of sitting nicely on my hips like it should. I’m going to try to eat some of this extra food to lower the weight but I’m also going to try to repack my bag to allow for a better weight balance. If absolutely necessary, I’ll swap out my pack and mail this home but that doesn’t help my current situation of being up in San Jacinto. My shoulder blades were burning as I made my way up that I cried for some of the journey. What should have been an easier day, less of an ascent and lower mileage, turned into a painful, sick filled day. Thankfully we took a long snack break at Penrod Canyon stream, mile 155.4 which turned out to be one of my most favourite breaks on trail yet.
