PCT Map Miles 666.3
Miles Hiked 606.1
Elevation 5,236 feet
Miles Hiked Today 13.0
It’s back to the trail today. I woke up at 7:00 AM at the Baymont Hotel and gathered all my gear. Lawrence Cosner, the trail angel who gave me a ride from the trailhead two days ago, is going to give me a ride back to the trailhead this morning. I offered to buy him breakfast, so he’s going to pick me up at the hotel, and we’re going to Denny’s. At 7:00 AM prompt Lawrence pulled up, and I threw my backpack in his car. Denny’s is only a block away – a quick ride. We had a nice conversation during breakfast, but eventually it was time to go.
Lawrence drove me to the trailhead, and I was hiking by 10:30. The plan for today is to only go a few miles. Since I’m getting a late start, I figure I’ll go to maybe 1:00 PM at the most and then find a campsite.
Today’s hike started out like most days start. It was a 1,500 ft elevation gain climb. There were no clouds out and the sun was shining bright. It was hot.
Almost immediately I started looking for a good place to stop. There were no trees and no shade whatsoever, so I just kept on hiking. As I gained elevation there was a cooling breeze, and I realized that it was not all that hot after all. At five miles I kept going.
Morning turned into afternoon, and I kept hiking until 2:00 PM when I took a break. I decided to go to the next water source. Overall that makes it a 13 mile plus day. At 3:00 p.m. I started hiking again. The trail was fairly easy. There were some ups and downs, but nothing hard.
A little after 7:00 PM, I walked into the intended campsite. By the time I got my tent up and ate dinner it was after 8:00. That was it for me. I got into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.
