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. My stay in Ridgecrest rejuvenated me. I’m ready to get back to hiking the PCT again.
I woke up at 7:00 AM at the Baymont Hotel in Ridgecrest 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.
