Day 41
Start: Tentsite, mile 696.9
End: Burn Zone, mile 724.7
Miles hiked: 27.8 miles
This morning I woke up in a cloud. I had texted Janitor last night that I’d forgotten my rain jacket, so the plan was to meet him at Elk Lake so I could grab it from him for the rest of this section. I knew that there was a pretty high probability that the clouds would clear up today, but I figured it was still a good excuse to get to see him while on trail.
I had about 5 miles to the trailhead near Elk Lake, so I started off at my regular time, heading downhill the whole way. A few NOBOs passed, but before I knew it, I was on the blue blaze to Elk Lake. I was singing a little tune to myself when all of a sudden I spotted Janitor walking up the trail with my jacket. Yay! I was already more than halfway down the blue blaze and didn’t want to backtrack, so Janitor turned around and we headed to the trailhead. He’d brought some coffee and snacks, too, so we sat in the car to avoid the misty rain (and mosquitoes) while I enjoyed my personal trail magic.
After the snacks were done and I was well-caffeinated, Janitor walked me back to the PCT. I didn’t want to say goodbye, but I also knew that I would see him again tomorrow afternoon. I didn’t have to wait too long!
Back on trail, the terrain was smooth and flat through shaded forest. The mosquitoes were back again, although they were not as fierce as they once had been. While the morning had been cloudy, the sun was starting to break through and warm the air. I took advantage of a patch of sunshine I found and dried my tent out while I had lunch on a log. More NOBOs passed by, meaning more recitals of “Have a good one!”
This section was full of small lakes and ponds. Some were more inviting than others; some looked more appetizing than others. Choosing the right water source to fill a bottle was crucial. I decided to take a dip in a nice looking small pond, but when I got closer, I realized there was a bit too much life happening for me to go all the way in. A snake sat submerged in the water, its head occasionally breaking the surface for air. Tadpoles at various stages of maturity moved through the water. And when I stepped onto the muddy bottom of the pond, tiny red creatures that looked like baby crayfish floated in the water. Yeah, I was fine with just putting my feet in.
The afternoon passed a little slowly and with little relief because stopping meant fighting mosquitoes. As I said, they weren’t too bad, but my past battles with the mosquitoes meant I had very little tolerance for them now. I’d heard about a desolate burn zone that had absolutely no mosquitoes and no trees, so my goal was to camp there for the night.
I picked up water at my last lake of the day and headed into the burn. At first, it was like any other burn zone. Blackened, twisted trees stood all around, the dusty, burnt soil like sand beneath my feet. After a mile, though, I reached the burned wasteland. I stood in an apocalyptic zone where very little life thrived. The fire had burned the area so completely that there were hardly any standing trees. The good thing about this was that I could camp without worrying about trees falling on my tent in the middle of the night.
I found a spot with a view of the sunset on a small hill. It was pretty windy and chilly tonight, but I was able to get my tent up and secured. The dusty, ashy soil flew into the air with each step I took, so I had to be careful not to get too much in my tent.
Once everything was secured, I ate dinner as I watched the sun set. And, wow, was it spectacular. The colors transformed as the minutes crept by, and on the opposite side of the sky, the moon hung large and luminous in the sky. It was mind-blowingly huge and of course the picture doesn’t do it justice.
The moon
When the sun set, the wind died down and I settled in to sleep. It was chilly tonight, so I made a windbreak around my head with my pack and other random items and drifted off to sleep.
And that’s a day in the life of a PCT SOBO hiker!
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