Day 69 - PCT 2024
Trail miles hiked: 10.2
Ascent: 890.4 ft.
Descent: 1,250.3 ft.
A couple hikers strolled in to the shelter after we all went to bed last night. I met Cricket this morning, as he awoke from the bench of the shelter; he’s one of the thru-hikers leading the pack from Campo. We were able to pawn off some of our snacks Wade brought in so we didn’t have to hike it out to his car.
We all got up early to beat the heat. There’s a heatwave starting today and temperatures are supposed to climb to 35 degrees over the next couple of days. Hotter in the valley. Wade made me a cup of coffee that I quickly drank before we all set off hiking. Coffee in the morning is a real treat. We hiked Wade the quick 0.2 miles to his car and then the three of us: Krista, Tina and I set off.
The terrain today was interesting. There were plenty of blowdowns to go around, over and under. FarOut comments said about 15 but we lost count at 28. They were easy to manage for the most part with only a few being technically challenging but they slow you down nonetheless. We had fun with them. At least the forest areas were shady.
We also entered lava flows from Brown Mountain. This section was super neat! There were massive volcanic rocks strewn through the flows. I learned that this area was difficult to create the PCT through as builders had to dynamite the rock base to form the trail. I’m grateful because the trail through it was one of the coolest walks I’ve ever done.
Except, I got stung by a wasp or a bee about 2.5 miles from the road where Wade was picking us up. I couldn’t tell which but I must have upset it when I stepped on one of the lava rocks. It stung my ankle right where my shoe took a dip. Tina helped me get my pack off while I sat as Krista got a sting/bite wipe out from her pack. My ankle started to swell but the wipe helped take the sting out of it. I sat for a couple of minutes and then we continued on. The swelling continued but hiking out was mandatory.
As I neared the road, I was feeling a bit tired and dragged out and just wanted to sit so I rushed to the car and was so appreciative that I didn’t have to take the 2 mile blue blaze trail down to Fish Lake Resort. By this time, it was hot outside and we all needed water. The 4 of us stopped by the restaurant at Fish Lake Resort to pick up our resupply packages and to grab lunch. My new shoes arrived, woohoo! A huge shoutout to Sage to Summit for rushing me shoes and the kind note they left inside the box.
Fish Lake Resort was dated. We had rented a cabin but it wouldn’t fit all of us and it looked pretty grungy so we gifted it to another PCT hiker that was grateful to get out of the heat. I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant because they charged for a small cup of water. Not very hiker friendly, in my opinion. The service was tremendously slow. We waited well over an hour for our lunch.
After lunch, we drove out to Medford so Krista and I could rent a car from the airport. We have decided to get off trail for the next few days to wait out the heatwave. Tina and Wade are heading to a celebration of life in a couple days so we all got a site at Klum campground to celebrate Fourth of July together before they depart. Driving back up the mountain to the campground, a mountain lion crossed the road in front of us! It was wild!
We sat around the fire drinking Angry Orchard ciders. And now it’s way past hiker midnight and I’m turning in. Night!
