4.24.2018 Tuesday Day 31

Mile 418-436Its gonna be a good day on the PCT when it starts off with Trail magic! This photo is Tripod (left) and Kitchen Sink. Tripod was woken up by Kitchen Sink setting up bags of bread, snacks and 3 coolers of drinks and food. KS starts hiking the PCT on Thursday. He was nice enough to give Tripod a ride into Agua Dulce so he could rest up his ankle. I found out about the trail magic when I went up to use the privy next to Tripods tentsite. I brought back Little Debbie cookies for LnJ and shared the exciting news. After we packed up our bags, we went in for the food. Donuts, makings for ham sandwiches and I even had a fresh avocado. What a way to start the day!! We cruised by the firehouse on our way back to the trail. Thankful we didn’t get arrested or ticketed for trespassing. Whoops. But it was the best campsite in the location 😝

The plan for the day was 17 miles to the North Fork Ranger Station. None of the water sources were reliable for today’s hike so I carried 4.5 liters from camp this morning. It was hot getting started so I knew it was best to “camel up” and carry all that I could. With the pack loaded with water, the first initial ascent leaving the fire station kicked my butt. I immediately brought out the sunbrella to make it through the heat. It’s kinda a pain but it really does help to Keep me cool while the sun is blazing down.

We took 2 breaks today. The second break was at the top of our descent and there was no shade to be had. Laura and I created our own and were able to catch a little rest and snack. The miles down weren’t terribly bad. We had around 6 miles to descend and it was nearly 3pm. We made it to camp right around 5pm.

The sad part about being out here is realizing the lack of funding for some of these campsites and ranger stations. This one in particular is pretty much closed. I didn’t get a chance to talk with the man who keeps the water cache stocked here. There is also a cooler full of sodas and snacks. It’s on the honor system. I paid my donation and took a few sodas. I’ll give a few more dollars tomorrow before we leave again. All in all, another good day. Another 17 miles accomplished. We are going to try to make it to Agua Dulce tomorrow. Its 8 miles to Acton, then another 10 to Agua. Hopefully the terrain is forgiving. Laura and Justin are still having foot/shoe issues so hopefully they can get some resolve with a little time off in town.

As we camp here tonight we’ve found ourselves in a different bubble of hikers. Longstride is here again. He caught up with us at the trail magic this morning. He had camped a few miles back from us. Some of these hikers get up so early to get their miles in. I’m pretty sure we will be the last ones to leave again. And yes, Laura and I nestled together and Justin decided to go without his tent tonight. He’s currently snoring as I write this blog. I’m gonna need earplugs tonight.

All photos uploaded from the past few days as well. Hope you get at least one good laugh!