My siesta spot for the afternoon.
PCT Map Miles 632.0
Miles Hiked 571.8
Elevation 5,362 feet
Miles Hiked Today 18.8
I had a surprise this morning. I slept right through my alarm. Instead of waking up at 4 AM, I woke up at 4:40 AM. So now it was a mad scramble to close up camp and get back on the trail. With some effort I was able to close up everything and get on the way at 5:45 AM.
The trail was pretty easy to start out, and I made good time. My first stop was a big water cache in four miles. I made it there in just under two hours. After loading up with four liters of water, I was on my way again.
This section of the trail, from mile 617 to mile 632, is desert terrain. After having hiked in the forest the last couple of days, it was a disappointing change. Yesterday, there were clouds to block out the sun part of the day. There was going to be no such luck today. The goal was to hike somewhere between 8 and 10 miles and then stop and rest until the evening when I would finish at mile 632.
Even though the sun was blazing and the temperature was soring past 90 degrees, I reached mile 624.7 and stopped. It was 12:30 PM, and this is where I was going to stay until at least 6 PM. My rest spot was covered by Joshua trees. Their shade coverage was not complete but enough to lay down and wait for evening. I had a little less than eight miles to go to my target for the day, which is a big water cache. I hope I have enough water to last until then. We’ll see.
I got back underway at 7 PM. I don’t like night hiking. Even with a headlamp, you can’t see all the small nuances in the trail. Nevertheless, I was hiking in the dark and being very carefully.
I arrived at my campsite at midnight. I got a little water for the night from the cache and then setup my tent. It was 00:30 by the time I got into my sleeping bag. I was exhausted. I turned off my phone alarm.
