Day 30 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 5.8
First things first, checked into the hotel, showered, started laundry and hit up a restaurant for some delicious gluten free chicken mushroom ravioli. Tomorrow is foot/shoe day.
Total Ascent: 1,178.5 ft.
Total Descent: 748 ft.
I was warm enough overnight which was great since I was shivering so badly last night. I definitely didn’t eat enough yesterday. I’m finding it hard to eat when I arrive at camp at the end of a hard day. Nothing seems appetizing and the dinner portions are huge so I feel like I’m suffering through it. But I also know I’m not getting enough calories for what I’m burning on trail. I might need to switch up my strategy.
It was chilly this morning. We all packed up and decided to get hiking rather than sit down for breakfast. I wanted to make it to Onyx for noon if possible. Should have been an easy day, especially in comparison to the past few days. Coon Creek had little flow so we had to melt snow in our CNOCs but due to the cold temperature, my snow didn’t melt so I was running out of water. I did eventually find a small water source that I used a tiny cup to scoop. Enough to get me 5 miles, barely.
Unfortunately my body was acting up. My heel was sore. My knee started to bug me, probably because of how I was walking in my shoe to prevent my blister from rubbing. I was tired. Every little climb today felt monumental. At one point I post holed through melting snow. We were in and out of snow all morning. Parts of the non-snowy trail were muddy and slippery.
I decided to get off trail early at Onyx Summit rather than Highway 18. A 14 mile, 1 night difference. Foot Jesus is able to squeeze me in for an appointment tomorrow at 1pm and I need reliable internet since it’s a video call appointment. I need new shoes and to care for this blister before it gets out of hand and actually takes me off trail. Patrick decided to get off trail with me so we booked at the same hotel. Kathryn decided to continue on to Highway 18. I posted asking for a ride on the local Big Bear trail Angel Facebook group and a kind gentleman named Rob generously agreed to pick us up at the Onyx Summit trail head.
I was thrilled with the idea of town food and I was starving. But because I was hiking so slowly, it took me far too long to get to the trail head for pickup. What should have been an easy hike, ended up being so difficult, not because of the conditions, but rather because I lacked calories. It took me 4 hours to hike just under 6 miles. Terrible. But I made it into Big Bear! Thanks for the ride, Rob! If you’re ever in Big Bear, check out his coffee shop, Moonridge Coffee Co! They’re hiker friendly (free coffee and they have charging ports!)
