It felt like I’d been out drinking when I awoke. I had a dulling headache and felt physically exhausted. Thanks vaccine. But the trail was calling and our ride, the same fella who brought us into town, showed up around 6:30 to shuttle us back to town. He and his girlfriend-now-wife hiked the PCT in 2013. He showed up with 6 breakfast burritos and a bag of cookies his wife baked -- wow! The burritos were good. We stopped for coffee on the way out of town, which helped tremendously. 

The area we started hiking near today was a popular day-hiking / few day backpacking trip area and we saw tons of people. This was good since there was still snow, but the popularity of the trail had beaten in a good path. 

By the afternoon, I was so physically tired that we stopped to take an afternoon nap, my first nap of the trip. It helped restore some energy, and I hit a 2nd wind the final miles. The day was gorgeous with temps in the 60s and sunny. I actually saw bugs flying around in the forest around dusk, which was the first time I’d seen bugs (that weren’t ants or beetles) all trip. 

I hope the side effects of the vaccine are out of my system after a good nights rest. 

Miles: 27

Total Miles: 1,353