Start: 0800 - Wright Mountain (near top, 8100ft)
End: 1830 - Mount Baden-Powell - near top, 8500ft)
Miles (today): 15
Miles (cumulative): 397 (320.5 PCT, 69.5 alternate, 7 off)

The day started out much as yesterday ended - a bit roughly.  Despite my best efforts, my hands betrayed me (again), thus making me slow to get packed up (so annoying!).  I was the reason we got such a late start. 

My hands recovered after an hour or so, but then I somehow misplaced the trail when I got to Guffy Campground (due to my hand struggles, Nick was ahead of me).  In my defense, there were a lot of roads and trails running through there.  I waved hello to some campers (not thru-hikers) and started walking down what I thought was the trail.  After a little while of not seeing footprints or pole marks I started to doubt my choice, so I walked back the way I came and looked everywhere for a trail marker.  Nothing.  I notice one of the campers I had waved to earlier looking at me and suddenly felt very silly -  I didn't want him to think I was lost!  I scanned the area in desperation and saw a bathroom.  Perfect!  I walked as confidently as I could towards the bathroom (yeah, that's why I was wandering around with a confused look on my face - I was trying to decide if I needed to use the bathroom or not).  I doubt I fooled him, though, because I'm not good at hiding my emotions.  As I passed him he asked if I needed water and he even offered me a beer.  It was too early for that (and I was too flustered) so I said no thanks and ducked into the bathroom.

Safely in the bathroom, I allowed myself a moment to regroup.  Surely Nick would have waited for me if the trail was confusing (right?!?).  (He carries the paper maps).  I hid out in the bathroom for the appropriate amount of time and when I returned to my pack I noticed my grandmother's crystal was making rainbows on the ground.  I smiled.  At this point I decided to use the Halfmile app on my phone- it will tell you if you are on trail or not.  By using the app I was able to find my way back to the trail. I never did see the PCT sign but Nick told me later the trail sign was obvious.  Whatever.  :)

After that, the day got better.  :) An hour or so later I started to see a lot of locals running and hiking the trail (we were getting close to a town).  A group of 6 women day hikers made a "hiker tunnel" with their arms for me to walk under, which made me laugh.  Not too long after that I noticed two runners coming up behind me and stepped aside to let them pass.  As they passed me I commented on how jealous I was that they were running (oh how very jealous  - Hiking is great but I still really miss Running). This comment started a wonderful conversation (we had come upon a steep, rocky decent and they were no longer running).  It turns out they - Anthony and Clair - are ultra runners training for some ultra races. We briefly talked about running, ultras, the Ironman, and even a few running books.  They were great to talk to and they made my morning oh so much better.  (Anthony and Clair, if you are reading this, don't forget to tell me how your races went!)

After a little while Anthony and Clair turned around and I was back on my own.  Thankfully, Nick was waiting for me about 1 mile ahead.  As it was 1130 I thought he was waiting to do lunch.  To my dismay, he wanted to go into Wrightwood.  We hadn't planned on making a town stop and I didn't see the point in going, but Nick was hungry and really wanted to get something to eat. I tried to tell him we had a ton of food in our packs (food that I wanted to eat to make my pack lighter); I tried to tell him that I wanted to get in more miles.  He wasn't really listening and got grumpy when I attempted to convince him to stay on the trail.  In the end I relented - I've learned there is no reasoning with him when he's hungry (is it possible to reason with anyone when they are hungry?)

Since Wrightwood was 5 miles away, that meant we were going to hitchhike.  I noted to myself that the road wasn't busy and thought I'd be able to get my way after all - I said if we didn't get a ride within 15 minutes that we would forget Wrightwood.  He agreed.  Just then, a car appeared.  I stuck out my thumb half-heartedly.  I didn't think the car would actually stop but it did!  (Damn!)  So... we got a ride into town from a very nice man, TJ, driving a very fast car.  At one point he told us to let him know if his aggressive driving made us nervous.  It didn't make me nervous but it did make me a little carsick.  

In town the very first people we saw were Bamboo and Double Down from the AT group- too funny! We chatted with them a bit and it turns out that Double Down has Ranauds, too!  We shared horror stories.  

Nick was in the mood for some Mexican, so that's where we went.  (Jill Chesnut, I thought of you!) I should have asked more questions about my meal before ordering- my chicken and vegetable salad was just chicken on iceberg lettuce (lettuce IS a vegetable I suppose) and my mahi mahi fish tacos were breaded and fried.  Who fries mahi mahi?  A restaurant pretending their fish is mahi mahi, that's who.  Nick wasn't thrilled with his meal, either.  Plus, there was a definite bad vibe at the table after Nick talked to our realtor. 

After lunch, we both just wanted to get back to the trail.  The good thing about going into town is that Nick got me a few apples to enjoy - I love me some apples!! Also, since I had to sign some paperwork, I had to take my phone off airplane mode; when I did, a wonderful message from my friend/ex co-worker Sally came through. Thank you, Sally, for brightening my day when I needed it most.

In front of the grocery store we met another hiker who already had a hitch lined up to go back to the trail so we went with him.  Nick and I shared the back seat with a huge dog (we barely fit!).  The other hiker made fun of me wearing a puffy jacket and puffy mittens (he was wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt) but I just laughed him off.  If he only knew!

We made it about 7 more miles and are almost to the top of Mount Baden-Powell.  Thankfully, we are in a decently sheltered location. It's still petty darn cold, though - thank goodness for the Mobile Mummy sleeping bag!!!!

Along the trail: