Day 38: Mile 616 to 635   (19 miles)

Woke up early expecting a hot day. Steep climb early and not long as the sun had come over the horizon, I was taking off my warmer layers and already sweating in the morning heat. It felt like a long day as I moved slower then normal until I reached lunch where Shuffle spotted a gopher snake.

(Morning camp with Rain Gear and Shuffle)

(Rain Gear resting on a morning break)

(Spontaneous from South Korea)

(It’s dry out here!)

Later in the day I saw another big lizard which appeared to be some sort of spotted lizard which was much bigger then all the others I have been seeing each day. I am packing 7 1/2 liters of water during this 41 mile dry stretch and I can feel all the extra weight. Sure made for what seemed like a long day and it didn’t help that it was all uphill. I arrived at the top of the mountain where I decided I was going to cowboy camp and cooked up some Teriyaki noodles with tuna and had pink lemonade for dinner which hit the spot!

(One of my favorite dinners)

(Spotted lizard)

Day 39: Mile 635 to 657   (22 miles)

One reason I like to cowboy camp. Soon as it starts to get light out, I’m awake. It’s easy to get up and just roll up my sleeping bag and sleeping pad and I am on the trail much faster then when I set up a tent.  I was up and making good miles today. I was excited to get to Walker Pass which is where we could finally get water again. The plan was to have a 30 minute lunch and get water and back on the trail and go for 30 miles today. But ran into a huge surprise when we arrived to Walker Pass. Two separate trail angels were there and it was probably some of the best trail magic we have had so far on this trip. One group had a BBQ out and was cooking up burgers and hot dogs with pasta salad, brownies, chips, fruit, soda, beer, water and Gatorade and the others had tons of drinks food and foot baths and a charging station for our phones. I did enjoy all the food/drinks and took advantage of that foot bath!

So much for the 30 minute lunch,. I ended up spending four hours there talking with the trail angels who have also done the PCT in previous years and they are out giving back to hikers this year. It was time to go and I thanked them all very much and got back on the trail by 6:30pm. Wanted to get in another six miles before dark and catch up to the other hikers. I made great time but was slowed down because of a beautiful sunset that had a deep red/orange look to it that seemed to last forever. I turned on my headlamp for the last half mile and met up with Rain Gear, Wall Street and Snow White. Cowboy camped once again and even though I didn’t get my 30 miles today, I was more then satisfied.

Day 40: Mile 657 to 681   (24 miles)

Hiked to Joshua Tree Spring for breakfast and it wasn’t too long into the day before the temperature was over 100 degrees in the sun. The desert is giving us one hot run before we leave and move into the Sierras. Hiked across Spanish Needle Creek four times and there was barley any water running. It was listed as our most reliable water in the area and it was much needed today. At the last crossing, someone used some leaves to help make it easier to gather water even though it took a long time to fill up our bottles.

(Water as little as this is worth more then gold to a hiker out here in the dry sections)

Kept on hiking making good miles during this hot day and spent that last couple hours hiking with Wall Street and Snow White until they stopped to set up camp. I continued the last mile to Chimney Creek which ended up having no water. Really starting to notice the scenery is changing and becoming more rocky opposed to the desert look that I have lived with for awhile now. Today was one milestone as I hit 1/4 of the way complete of the PCT!

I cowboy camped once again under a moon that’s slowly getting fuller and brighter each night. I’m very close to Kennedy Meadows!

(A little look in what it looks like to cowboy camp under the stars and moon)

Day 41: Mile 681 to 698   (17 miles)

Started my hiking knowing I was needing water real soon. I was able to get to Fox Mill Spring and get some water that is listed as questionable for drinking. I decided to filter it as I always do and then I added some tablets as extra precaution as many people do get sick in this general area from bad water.

Hiked a lot of downhill and arrived at the South Kern River which is four miles from Kennedy Meadows. I met Brandon who is from Alaska and we decided that since we would arrive somewhat late if we kept going to Kennedy Meadows, it would be a good idea to just stop early today and camp by a river with nice flowing fresh water. Also met Ram who arrived shortly after we set up camp and he decided to camp with us as well. It was really nice to just relax and wash up in the river and cook an early dinner and just be lazy for a bit. Once everyone had gone to bed, I decided to stay up late and take a picture of some star trails and the moon did a great job lighting up the landscape as well.