Miles Hiked 140.9
PCT Mile 171.4
Elevation 4,281feet
Miles Hiked Today 14.6
It was a beautiful morning when I woke up. There were no clouds in the sky, and it looked like it would be a warm day. On the other hand, my tent was soaked again. No, it didn’t rain. It was just the dew. So I ended up putting away a wet tent for the second day in a row.
I got started hiking at 7:15 a.m. The goal was to go about 13 miles and set up my tent at Pearl Lake.
I’m getting close to Steven’s Pass, and I need to plan my arrival for the days that I want to stay in town. That would be Friday and Saturday, if I can get a room. I haven’t had a cell signal to make a phone call or even reach the internet since I started almost 2 weeks ago.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association has put out some very primitive toilets on the trail. The toilets are no more than a wood box with a round hole cut in it and a cover that shuts. There are no walls and there’s no ceiling. Yes, that’s right. Anyone can come up on you when you’re using the toilet.
So the reason for the explanation of toilets is my frustration with them. Today, at an established campsite, there supposedly was one of these toilets. I looked for a half hour, and I couldn’t find it. Sometime later in the day, there was a sign pointing in a direction another toilet. I didn’t have to use it, but I was just curious if there was actually one there. Nope. No toilet. I wonder if the Pacific Crest Trail Association put out those signs just to frustrate hikers. At least now I know not to depend on them.
The day was uneventful. There were a few blowdowns but nothing like a couple days before. That is until towards the end of the day. At that time, I came across two sets of massive trees (yes, that’s plural) down right on the trail.
The first set I had to climb up onto the tree and walk its length and then climb down to get to the trail. The second set I took off my backpack, crawled under the fallen tree, pulled my backpack under the tree so I could put it back on and then climb back up to the trail. It’s really a crazy situation when you have to go through that. But this is the wilderness and you can’t complain.
At the end of the day, I came up on Pearl Lake. This is where I planned to camp for the night. The Far Out guide said that there were at least five ten sites, so I was confident that I’d be able to place my tent. When I got to the campsite, there was a large group of adults, children and a large, unleashed dog. I was not happy, but there was a spot that I could use, and so I began to take off my backpack.
One of the people in the party also at the site, came over and told me that there were more campsites up the trail. That’s suited me, because I really didn’t want to camp with such a large group. So I headed off down the trail to look for the campsites I was told were there. After a half-mile walking, I still did not see any campsites. I wasn’t about to waste my time going further and turned around and headed back to the original campsite.
When I arrived back at the original campsite, I went to the spot where I originally wanted to set up my tent. One of the group that was camping there walked over and told me that my site had a big puddle in it last night. I told him I didn’t care. Rain was not expected. Then another of the group came over and told me that the children would be making a lot of noise well into the night. I thought that was kind of strange but he insisted that it would happen.
It became clear to me that these people did not want me at the Pearl Lake campsite even though it’s public. I got the message and left. Selfish bastards.
Back on the trail again at 7:30 p.m., I headed down the trail to another campsite a mile and a half away. On my way, I met an elderly couple going northbound. I told them what happened to me since they were headed for the same Pearl Lake campground. I wonder if they went down there anyway. They really didn’t have a choice. There were no campgrounds close by and it was approaching 8:00 p.m.
