Day 39 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 12.6
Total Ascent: 1,566.3 ft.
Total Descent: 1,609.6 ft.
I slept on a small slope last night. That was interesting as I kept sliding down my sleeping pad. It wasn’t a big deal, mostly just funny. It’s better to choose a flatter spot but the flat spots were all taken by the time I set up. At least the ones directly on the beach. The wind kept my tent dry which was a pleasant surprise. I thought about cowboy camping (without a tent) but the mosquitoes were plentiful so I chickened out. I haven’t made friends with bugs yet.
I decided to hike on without Kathryn as I was ready and wanted to take advantage of the cool morning air. It was overcast this morning. We figured we’d meet up somewhere on trail or at camp. My hike down the gorge to the river dam was excellent! The trail was in great shape and I hiked along at a steady pace, crossed over a rainbow bridge and made it down to the dam by early morning. Many hikers opt to get off the PCT and road walk over to Highway 173 rather than fording the river here. A couple comments said it was more of a swim across than a ford but when I arrived, the water level didn’t look that deep. I chose to ford instead of road walk. The water went to my upper thighs and it was quite cold. The bottom was sandy so I took my shoes and socks off to cross.
On the other side, I dried off my feet and continued hiking. By this time, the sun was coming out and I wanted to push on. I reached Highway 173 and saw a sign for deli sandwiches at Joshua Inn. It’s a shame I’m gluten free otherwise I could have really gone for some real food! Instead, I kept hiking. I passed a couple of hikers that I camped with last night. Then we were leap frogging each other the rest of the day. We had another water crossing that I was able to take my shoes and socks off for but this crossing was only knee deep. I sat on a rock to dry off on the other side and ate some lunch.
After lunch my knee started to really hurt. It was hurting mildly before lunch but it stiffened up despite stretching. It got to the point I needed to stop and take pain medication. I took a Naproxen and slowed my pace. Slowing down seemed to hurt it more so I sped up again. I’m concerned. Things tend to ache and hurt out here, but not like this. I’ll continue to stretch and hope it feels better in the morning.
I saw a snake! Not a rattlesnake, thankfully but the snake did not want to move off trail. It was happily sunning and blocking the trail. I was on a ridge so I couldn’t go around it. I waited for a while and then tried to get it to move with my trekking pole. I didn’t want to hurt it so I was very gentle and eventually it slithered away.
The wildflowers are starting to bloom and they’re beautiful!
Finally I reached the spot Kathryn and I agreed to camp but it was wind exposed and small. I Garmined her to let her know I was continuing on to find a better spot. I filled up my water bottles at a stream, the last stream for 6 miles, and walked down the ridge. I found a cute camping spot tucked in off the trail near a power line right of way and sat waiting for Kathryn to show up. A nice long break and stretch helped my knee.
Kathryn arrived and approved the camping location. It was really windy so we waited awhile before setting up our tents. Because we have trekking pole tents, she has the larger 2 person Durston, we have to be careful of where we pitch. In wind, it’s much easier to have large rocks and things to guy out to. Thankfully we had rocks and trees! Got the tents set up and decided to call it an early night. Hoping my knee starts to improve.
