Day 6 - PCT 2024
Trail Miles Hiked: 13.3
Total Ascent: 2,271.7 ft
Total Descent: 3,338.6 ft
I slept okay overnight. It was cold but I was bundled. It snowed overnight so we had to pack up in the snow. My clothes were still wet from yesterday. Thankfully I had my Injinji socks to wear today because both of my Darn Tough pairs are soaked. My Lululemon leggings dried quickly as I hiked today but my Outdoor Research sun hoodie was still soaked. Very unpleasant on a chilly morning. We need some sun today. Too bad we can’t make it to Julian today but it’s still 24.8 miles ahead and our little group isn’t ready to start pushing higher mileage yet. We’re all in agreement that keeping our hiking days shorter the first week or two is the best approach to avoiding overuse injuries.
I filled my water bottles at a horse trough this morning as I left camp at Pioneer Mail. That was interesting. The sun came out for most of the day and I was dry before I knew it. Unfortunately I didn’t pull my tent out to dry when I took a lunch break and later regretted that decision.
After lunch I separated from the group to try to get an advanced start to Julian. I’m really hoping to get into Julian by mid afternoon so I can visit the gear shop that closes at 5pm. We’ll see.
The views all day were amazing. I just can’t get enough of them! We had a bit of a climb and then a huge descent and another climb. My knee wasn’t too happy on the rocky descent. While I was climbing up a dirt road, a motorbike passed me, but I also spotted a gallon jug of water! Trail magic! I was running out of water so it was a blessing. I quickly filtered some and kept climbing.
I was hoping to make it to mile 68.4 today but the rain started so I found a tent spot at 65.7. Michiel stopped to camp with me here as well. I had to quickly set up my tent in the rain, and the inside of my tent was already wet from last night so it’s a bit of a wet night. The rain stopped after about an hour and we were able to hang out and cook dinner while attempting to quickly dry our clothes while the sun was out. My sun hoodie is so slow to dry.
Tomorrow is just over an 11 mile hike to the road to hitch hike into Julian.
