July 14th, 2020
Mile 30.6 to Mile 46
I woke up this morning a little emotionally hungover from last night, but ready to tackle the day. I had a conversation with the neighboring campers about the PCT and then packed up to leave.
The whole morning was along various ridges. I could look across the valley at the opposite mountains and see the little trail cut across them. Ridge walks still scare me a little, too risky to trip.
The weather was beautiful today though and I had amazing views of the mountains. I was very happy taking breaks by mountain springs and snacking at peaks. The snow crossing weren’t bad at all which made things move faster. I had a super long way down to the valley though, dozens of switchbacks. I don’t envy the NOBOs that have to climb up that section.
Once I was in the valley it got suuuper hot! I was sweating so much and was overwhelmed by the heat. Luckily there was a river crossing where the air was cool near the water so I could sit and cool off. I spent the rest of the day in the valley and now I’m camping by the river. I got to camp at 5, so I had plenty of time to do camp chores and cozy up in my sleeping bag (its only 7:15 now lol).
I was a little lonely today. I didn’t see a single person on trail. I figure I’m a couple days behind the hikers ahead of me and one day in front of the hikers behind me. I hope some of those gaps close and I start seeing familiar faces around throughout the day. I guess it’s good that not a lot of hikers are out- people are avoiding travel and listening to the PCTA. But it does make for a solitary journey for me.
I’m supposed to be averaging 20 miles per day now but I need to account for the 17 mile section of trail through North Cascades National Park that’s coming up in two days. I can’t camp in that 17 miles without a special permit so my plan is to complete it in a single day. Tomorrow I’ll have another ~15 mile day to position myself right by the entrance to the park.
If I want to stick to schedule I’ll have to pick up the mileage for the rest of the section. My feet are still sore by the late afternoon but hopefully soon they’ll be able to bear it