Day 79 - PCT 2024
PCT trail miles: 5.1 + an additional 2 = 7.1
Ascent: 1,227 ft not including the additional 2 miles.
Descent: 276.6 ft not including the additional 2 miles.
Sierra!!
Today has been interesting to say the least. The universe gave us a huge welcome to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
It doesn’t feel like we’re in the Sierras yet. It feels a lot like SoCal; hot, desert, cacti, lizards, etc. Hot. Really hot. We woke up at 5am to get an early start to beat the heat as there’s STILL an extended heat warning. We got on trail at 6:30am after signing the official PCT register at the trailhead. Here we goooooo!
We are required to carry a bear canister for this section of trail which adds 2.5lbs to my base weight. It’s massive and barely fits vertically in my pack. Many hikers carry them on the tops of their pack but it feels more comfortable inside mine. I did notice it put some strain between my shoulder blades so I’ll likely need to play with my pack a bit more.
About a mile and a half into the hike, I tripped over a rock and took a spill, my knee hit the rock and got scraped up. I hurt my big toe in the process and tweaked my knee. I hopped along to our next water source at South Fork Kern River to clean up the blood and bandage my knee. I took 600mg of ibuprofen and hiked on. But I was definitely concerned that I ruined my hike over a simple fall. It was alarming and a good lesson to watch where I’m walking. You think I’d learn that one by now. As of tonight, my toe is still quite sore, my knee is tender but I can walk!
We took an early lunch break about 5 miles in under some big trees with a stream. We were actually unsure if we’d have enough water for the day because FarOut comments are old in here but luckily we found the stream and we made the right call to only bring 2.5 litres with us from Kern. By this time it was hot. The sun was out and I was sweating. Sitting down was nice. The three of us drank a bunch of water, snacked, and refilled our water bottles before starting a big climb.
A mile from our lunch spot, Krista started to feel overheated. We were all sun exposed. She felt like she was going to pass out and had to sit down. Tina and I made sure she had water with electrolytes and Tina gave her a sun umbrella to get the sun off her. It was concerning because she lost the colour in her face and when she tried to get up, she felt like she was going to pass out again. We were still 2.2 miles away from our potential camp site with 900 feet of gain left to climb. I suggested we back track to our lunch spot since it was entirely downhill. We could wait out some of the heat and evaluate how she was feeling.
We soaked Krista with water to keep her cool while we slowly walked her down the one mile to the treed area. She carried the umbrella while I carried her pole. After being in the shade for a while, drinking more water and eating a bit more, she was finally feeling better and her colour came back. Tina and I were worried we would need to SOS for a rescue for her and we were all thankful it didn’t come to that. But by this time it was early afternoon and the sun was blazing hot. I also don’t do well in the heat so we decided to wait out the afternoon and potentially carry on in the evening. I spread out my foam pad under a tree and napped for a good twenty minutes. This is my first actual cowboy nap on the trail! I didn’t sleep well last night and needed it. I wish I could have slept longer.
While the three of us were trying to decide if we wanted to carry on later in the evening or camp where we were, clouds rolled in and a thunderstorm ensued. It was too late for us to get our tents up before we all got soaked. We tried hiding under a tree but knew that was a mistake with lightening about so we waited for a slight break in the rain and made a dash to set up our tents. Unfortunately the rain started again and our tents got soaked before we were able to get them up. My ground sheet went flying so I decided to quickly stake out my tent and forget about the soaked ground sheet that I held down with a rock so it wouldn’t actually blow away. I decided to eat dinner in the rain. I was soaked anyway.
We all had pools of water inside of our tents that thankfully my bamboo cloth soaked up the majority of! This thing is one of the best pieces of kit I own. The wind has picked up and my tent is whipping. I’m always so nervous in the wind because of my previous tent failures. The Durston tent is great in perfect weather, but it sure is finicky in inclement conditions. I’ve got a pile of rocks holding down the stakes so fingers crossed.
It’s gotten cold and I’m tucked away in my tent for the evening. Hoping for a nicer hiking day tomorrow. It’ll sure be good to get into alpine and leave the desert behind.
