PCT Map Miles 645.1
Miles Hiked 584.9
Elevation 6,699 feet
Miles Hiked Today 13.1
Even though I went to sleep last night at 12:30 AM, I woke up as I regularly do at 4:00 AM. There was no way I was getting up at that early hour, so I turned over and went back to sleep. Eventually, I did wake up at about 6:15 AM and started the process of breaking down camp. When I was ready to go, I went over to the water cache and got 4 liters of water. Now I was ready.
The plan for the day was to hike until afternoon, and then find a shady spot to rest during the hottest part of the day. The day started with a torturous 1,700 ft climb. It really slowed me down because of the heat in the late morning. This would have been better handled earlier in the cooler morning had I not slept in.
I did make it about 7 miles before I stopped just about noon. At 3:00 PM I got up and started hiking again. The goal was to get to my overnight campsite before dark. In that I succeeded since I arrived at my campsite at 7:00 PM.
My chosen campsite for the night was a cabin at McIver’s Spring. I had the notion that the cabin would be a good place to spend the night. Boy was I ever wrong. The interior of the cabin was a dump and, there was no way I was going to stay there. I’ve stayed at some pretty raw shelters on the Appalachian Trail but this cabin had them all beat.
The cabin and surrounding area seemed to be a local hangout spot, because there are a lot of all terrain vehicle tracks throughout the area. Garbage was strewn all over the place. There were two signs on the cabin telling people that there is no garbage service, and all trash must be packed out. Around the corner was a large pail, and it was filled with trash. It was a very disappointing sight.
I set up my tent in one of the few flat spots in the area, and then went to get some water. That was the only good thing about the campsite. The water was clear and cold; although it was coming out of a galvanized steel pipe. I was somewhat concerned about that.
I got to bed earlier than usual and fell right to sleep. It was a long day after an even longer day the day before, so once again I did not set an alarm.
