Day 44 - PCT 2024
Miles Hiked: 11.9
Total Ascent: 4,048.9 ft.
Total Decent: 294.3 ft.
Condensation is my enemy. I loathe it. A wet tent is a miserable tent. It was windy too which annoys me. I also left both vestibules open to provide more air flow. At least it was warm overnight. I even kicked off my down booties. I’m hoping my sleep system is dialled in now. But this single wall tent is still a love-hate relationship. I WANT to love it. But I’m not sure.
I wanted to start early to beat the heat. It was overcast this morning which is great for hiking in. I was on trail just after 7am. I love the cooler weather. Not cold though. Hard to believe I’m desert hiking. High desert but desert nonetheless.
Today was a day of climbing. By far the most ascent I’ve ever done in a single day. The morning was cool and I hit the climb as fast as I could. I wanted to get as many miles out of the way as possible. But as I climbed, I passed the clouds. Literally climbed above the clouds. The blazing sun was there to greet me. The rest of the climb was in the sunshine and warmth of the day. There were no water sources up here. No snow melt, no streams, nothing. I had my morning breakfast protein shake, 500ml of cool water with 32 grams of protein to hydrate me enough to start and I managed to conserve 2 litres of water for the 12 mile climb up. Thank fuck. Pardon my language but today was hard. Really hard. I needed every drop of water.
I thought a lot about a comment I overheard a couple hikers make back at Cajon Pass. “March 11th start, she’s so slow.” Yup, I am slow. It sucks sometimes. I miss the connections I’ve made and the people I used to hike with. But I am slow. And that’s okay. It got me down a bit. It’s easy to feel lonely, sad, isolated, etc when you’re having a hard day on trail. Today was hard. I have hard days. It is what it is. Thankfully I had cell reception and Aaron from Backcountry Foodie messaged me about an upcoming package. I’m not entirely sure how it came to be but I mentioned feeling a bit down. She was my biggest supporter and for that I’m so grateful. She knew exactly what to say to lift my spirits and off I went, continuing my climb.
One thing I’ve really learned about hiking the PCT is that you’ll feel ALL of the feels. You have nothing but time to think. The hard days are as rewarding as the easier days. Maybe slightly more so. I’ve got this. Even if my knee is sore and I have a bad cough that is lingering. I’ve got this.
A woman named, Flamingo passed me on trail. She’s from Norway. She’s fast. She hiked up from the water cache and is hoping to make it into Wrightwood today. I gave her some information on Acorn trail (snow covered, steep, not ideal) and suggested she go all the way to Inspiration Point at Highway 2. She was grateful. We ended up leapfrogging for a bit as she breaked and I passed her. She then passed me for the last time and we had our final chat. I wish her the best.
As I approached mile 361.7, I was still out of the snow, having climbed over 4000ft. I was worried. I had finished my water about a mile back and I was thirsty. I was coughing pretty badly, feeling headachy and a bit lightheaded. I’m not sure if it was the altitude getting to me, now above 8100ft or if I was just sick or a combination thereof. I texted Malcolm, feeling a bit defeated. Maybe I had made a mistake drinking the last of my water. Maybe I should have conserved. I knew he couldn’t do anything but it was nice to have someone on my side, I guess. I kept hiking. Just a little further, I told myself, surely there’s snow somewhere. Finally, I stumbled upon it. Snow melt! But I also stumbled upon one of the best views of the entire PCT. I decided to camp. I was exhausted. Sick. Dehydrated.
The snow melt was running down the gravel and it was hard to collect so I took my trowel and dug a trough. I left it for the silt to settle and set up my tent. I was thrilled to return to my little engineering project and collect an abundance of water. Success! I quickly filtered and drank an entire litre. I collected more water than I needed.
Two guys hiking southbound stopped by and I gave them the intel on hiking down the mountain. They collected enough water to last 20 miles down to the water cache. Thankfully they are hiking down so their water needs should be less. We had a great chat. The one reassured me that I’m doing awesome and to hike my own hike. He hopes to meet me in Kennedy Meadows later on when he flips to do the Sierra. This is why I love the trail. 99% of the people are amazing.
A few other people got up to the campsite and stopped for the evening. It was nice to chat over dinner and to camp with others. Unfortunately my cough progressively got worse as the evening went on and I likely kept most of those around me up all night from coughing. I’m sorry! Thanks to those for being so kind and understanding. I’m just glad my knee is doing well! Stopping to stretch every couple of hours was so helpful!
I’m really looking forward to being in town tomorrow night.
