Day 28 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 10
Total Ascent: 2,554.1 ft.
Total Descent: 917.7 ft.
Woke up to some condensation overnight. We figured that would be the case with such little wind and camping close to water. We waited until the sun came out to dry our gear before packing up. Getting a late start wasn’t ideal but having dry gear was important.
The trail was great hiking from Whitewater to Mission Creek, about 5.8 miles. We had a ton of elevation gain today and the sun was hot. I was dripping in sweat. I noticed my left heel rubbing in my shoe. Our plan wasn’t to break until we reached Mission Creek but as I climbed, the rubbing increased and I had to stop to do some first aid. A blister. Great. Exactly what I needed. Patrick helped me bandage it up with Glacier Gel and KT tape. The inside heel of my shoe, my new Altra Olympus that I bought 145 miles back in Julian, rubbed right through making a tear! Patrick duct taped inside my shoe to make it smoother. We kept going.
We arrived at Mission Creek. The trail is washed away from mile 226.1 onward. Until this point, the trail is in good condition and certainly doable for PCT hikers if they wanted to get the 16.6 miles between here and Interstate 10. We sat on a log down at Mission Creek to enjoy lunch. I took my shoe off to inspect any issues and found my KT tape was entirely off my blister. I noticed some rubbing walking down the ridge so I thought that might have been the case. I reinforced the inside of my shoe with some padding and Patrick retaped my blister. We finished lunch and set on.
Mission Creek is a huge washout. The creek itself is flowing but not nearly as much as Whitewater so it’s easier to cross. Which is good because we had to cross it a lot. Rocks and boulders were everywhere. Logs strewn about. Up and over, around, creek crossing, repeat. Some parts being easier than others. Overall, doable, with some extra work. Go slow, find easier paths when possible. This is where route-finding skills are useful.
I was getting exhausted toward mile 10 of the day. We wanted to do 15 miles to the campsite right before the newly formed ridge walk, however, between my blister slowing me down considerably, my wet feet and being tired, I needed to stop early. We were losing daylight and I wanted to set up camp before dark. Navigating the washout wearing a headlamp would have been difficult and I wanted to avoid that. Patrick found a great place to camp at mile 231.1. Protected by the winds with rocks and higher than the flowing creek in the event of rain. You certainly wouldn’t want to get stuck in this washout in heavy rain. Patrick dubbed my tent area, One Call Cove.
I’m feeling a bit down and hard on myself that I wasn’t able to do the 10 miles of washout today. Without the blister I’m sure I could have gone faster. My heel is killing me. Thanks for that universe. I just need to remind myself that I’ve come this far. We’re adding 5 miles to our itinerary tomorrow which will make for a gnarly day. Tomorrow we reach the ridge walk. It’s over 2000 ft of elevation up the side of the ridge. No switchbacks. A bit of bushwhacking. I hope it goes well.
