I cowboy camped under the stars, opting to leave my tent packed in my bag. It certainly makes packing up in the morning quicker. 

The PCT passes by an area with hot springs, and I wanted to make the 22 miles to them by 2pm so I could relax and enjoy them. The morning miles were fueled by two stops to make coffee where I met two other hikers, Max and Goodwill. Goodwill got his trail name because someone observed he takes times to enjoy the little things and perhaps more relevantly, he’s always willing to receive food donations on trail -- love that! 

And boy the hustle to get in the miles was worth it. The hot springs were along side a creek making it possible to spend one minute in the hot water and then jump into the cooler water of the creek. It felt so refreshing. I spent an hour and a half there hanging with Logan (the other GWL’er), Max, and Goodwill. I don’t have any photos because I was thoroughly enjoying the company and the refreshing water. It felt great to be clean (and even washed my clothes in the creek!)

After leaving the creek, it was a 10 mile jaunt  to my targeted campsite for the night. On a downhill section, I had to stop to trim my big toe nail because of the pressure it was putting on my foot, and Max & Goodwill jumped ahead of me. 

It was fun to try to play catch up to them and finally I caught up to them at a creek crossing. 

They were on the other side and gave me instructions of their approach. “A bit of an awkward jump,” one of them remarked. I quipped, “Good thing I have long legs” as they continued on. 

I went to make the jump, forgetting momentarily my backpack. I shorted the jump and hastily tried to grab a tree to pull myself up. I missed, and felt my center of gravity pull me back until SPLASH. I fell back into the water laughing. Whoops, so much for being dry! 

Oh well. I filtered water and cooked dinner so I could eat along my 3 mile walk remaining to camp. My appetite was insatiable today. I think I ate close to 7,000 calories. 

At camp, it was nice to socialize with Max and Goodwill. Max is from New Mexico and even offered to help resupply me when I’m there later this year. 

Today’s Miles: 31.6

Total Miles: 554