PCT Day 16

Miles: 162.7 - 179.4

 

Photo: The Tree Fallen In-between 


The morning was the coldest I’ve experienced on trail. Took me a little longer to get up and go because of it. I don’t think the day truly started for me until the sun was actually producing noticeable heat and I was shaded from the wind. Before that, I was just trying to hike fast to keep up my body temperature. Felt like hiking to survive than hiking for fun.


The entire day I was on the lookout for Mt. San Jacinto. Every time I thought it was it, it turned out to just be another mountain that I was going to climb. To put it bluntly, the hiking today totally kicked my ass. Never-ending steep switchbacks, cold and windy ridges, sketchy narrow ledges, and maneuvering over lots and lots of blown-down trees. Makes me feel lucky that I am doing this section during a little cold front.


The most interesting section came at the end. There were at least 25 blowdowns (I lost track after 20) that had to be ducked under, climbed over, or skipped around. I had been told about this section a few days ago and was warned it would take me down to a 1 mile per hour pace. That turned out to be 100% correct. I also lost the trail 3 times during that section just because of how mangled the paths were. I felt super happy after conquering that jungle gym. Definitely the highlight of the day just because of how different it was compared to everything I’ve done thus far.

 


 

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