Day 5 - PCT 2024
Trail Miles Hiked: 10.1
Total Ascent: 1,349.1 ft
Total Descent: 1.996.1 ft
Woke up in Mount Laguna to more fresh snow. Our room at the lodge was so cold. The heater went off overnight but came back on in the morning. It was nice sleeping in a bed though. I wouldn’t stay at this place again.
Our group decided to have breakfast at the Pine House cafe before embarking on a day of hiking. I had the largest omelette I think I ever had but ate it all so I could skip lunch on trail. The Pine House is very hiker friendly. And they have a large indoor fireplace to keep warm! I offloaded a pile of extra food in the hiker box and said bye to Krysta before taking off. She will be missed!
Up until now I’ve been hiking alone and meeting the group at night at our designated camp spot. Today I decided to hike with Jo, Dean, Impulse and a new hiker we met, John. Safety in numbers when the weather is bad. We started in snow and slush and hiked our way through rain, sleet and more snow. It wasn’t an overly technical hiking day, thankfully but trying to hike 10 miles in sleet is actually quite draining. Kyle, Riley, Air Drop and Michiel pushed ahead quite a few miles but our group called it at Pioneer Mail. The others are hoping to make it into Julian tomorrow but our smaller group will likely be there Sunday. I enjoyed hiking with others. Being able to chat the entire day was nice.
We had some pretty spectacular views today, despite the changing weather conditions. I also made it to mile 50!!!
As we approached Pioneer Mail, we were all soaked and frozen. It was sleeting heavily as we quickly pitched our tents. I changed into my thermals, fleece and puffy the second I could and stayed in my tent most of the evening.
I still have a lingering cough from the flu a few weeks ago. It’s annoying but I’m grateful Krysta gave me her NyQuil before leaving today because I think I’ll have a dose and try to get a better sleep tonight. It’s actually a bit relaxing trying to fall asleep to the sound of snow hitting my tent.
I hope we have better weather tomorrow so I can dry everything out.
