Start: 1000 - Hiker Heaven (Saufley's)
End: 1800 - near Bouquet Canyon Road
Miles (today): 12 (11.5 PCT, 0.5 off)
Miles (cumulative): 483 (397 PCT, 76.5 alternate, 9.5 off)
When I woke up this morning I momentarily forgot where I was and what I was doing - Hiker Heaven has such a home-like feel and I was so relaxed and clean that it took me a minute to remember I'm thru-hiking the PCT.
It was a lazy, relaxing morning. We socialized, we slowly packed, I paid some bills, and we chatted with friends who recently arrived (like Braveheart, Smiles, Sara, and Sam). I enjoyed the fresh, hot coffee someone made by adding it to my oatmeal concoction. Then Nick told me about these caffeinated snack bars out on a table for us to try. I knew I shouldn't eat one - too much caffeine makes me jittery - so of course I ended up eating three. :)
these little snack bars are dangerous!
Once we finally got ourselves organized, L-Rod drove us back to the center of town. If we had walked that way to the house yesterday we would have been fine. Alas, in order to meet the continuous footpath objective, we had to hike 0.5 miles back to where we inadvertently deviated from the trail yesterday. We crossed the road to ensure the continuous footpath was complete and then turned around and walked right back (hence the 0.5 miles off-trail, although they were technically on-trail and we just walked it twice).
L-Rod's thru-hiker aid station is so amazing it's even on a sign. Also: we are inching ever closer to Canada!
After walking a whole mile, we decided to take a break and eat a second breakfast at the cafe in town (ok, full disclosure: it was really my third breakfast because I ate some snacks out of the hiker box before we left Hiker Heaven. Hiker boxes can have some pretty amazing stuff!) Stopping for second/third breakfast was a great decision! I had toast with avocado and some fruit; Nick had bacon, eggs, hash browns, a stout to drink, and a chocolate cheesecake for dessert.
Sweetwater Cafe is great! (Nick is looking at a cute cat that didn't make the picture)
All the caffeine I consumed made me feel almost sick (why oh why did I eat so many of those snack bars?! I was fully aware of what would happen to me!) so once we finished eating and started to officially hike I didn't feel quite right. Also, my pack felt really heavy for some reason (I'm going to have to figure out what I truly need and what I can part with soon). Nick wasn't having the best day, either - I suspect the 4 or 5 sausages/brats he consumed last night might be the culprit. No worries, though - we had decided to do another nero and were only going 10 miles or so.
Special K caught up with us a few miles in. I heard him pass Nick and thought that maybe, just maybe, I could keep him from passing me. I know thru-hiking isn't a competition (HYOH) but I was really hoping my new downhill technique would make me faster. Also, trying to keep him from passing me gave me something to focus on. I felt I put up a valiant effort but Special K eventually caught up with me. Damn him!
The good thing about being passed by Special K was getting to watch him hike. He must have been listening to some great tunes because he was pretty much dancing on the trail - it was endearing to watch and it put me in a great mood. I was smiling so much that the miles flew by and I forgot about being over-caffeinated. (I really hope we bump into Special K more often - he helps me remember that this is supposed to be fun.) Before I knew it, I was at the water source.
I ate a snack. I chatted with Robert from Germany (he doesn't want a trail name), and another German (I forget his name). I purified some water with the German whose name I forgot's filter (geez, you think I'd remember the name of the guy who offered to let me use his filter!). I became mesmerized by the bees (they were all over the pooled water, it was cool). I started to wonder where Nick was. Powder and Chili Cheese Dog stopped for water and I chatted with them (Powder lamented about how difficult it is to pee while walking on the ridges so I told her all about the Pstyle). I ate another snack (Mary, I LOVE the kale chips!). I enjoyed the sun. Big Tipper stopped for water. I started to worry about Nick.
After an hour, Nick finally showed up. He didn't say what happened but I think it was the bratwursts and his new shoes. We sat at the spring for another hour while he tended to his feet and I purified more water.
Finding a suitable campsite was a little more difficult than we expected, but we eventually found one. We are camping next to Big Tipper (a section hiker) and T-Rex - it's been fun getting to know them a little better. I also think it's cool that we all have some version of a tarp tent.