I wore pants until escaping the mosquito nesting ground that was our campsite. It was a long, slow uphill for 10 miles to start the day and was made more difficult by the charred trees blocking trail. There’d been a fire some years back, so the trail still was recovering!

Once through the climb, Sandman and I discovered a small lake town we could hitch to for lunch (and to get more snacks!). A pickup truck stopped within a few minutes to pick us up and we hopped in the back. This checked off a PCT bucket list item.  I was soon gobbling down a surprise meatloaf sub (+ an ice cream sandwich) at the general store in Bucks Lake, CA. The lady who gave us a ride out of town had never picked up hitch hikers before, so that was cool!

The temp was HOT by the afternoon and we immediately started a climb. It was perhaps the most I’ve sweat on trail, but we were rewarding with a stunning view at the top in the evening. It was one of my favorite finishes to a day yet. We were dropping down a few thousand feet into a valley and the views were lush, expansive, and basked in golden hour light. I felt truly grateful to be out on trail today. 

Miles: 32.2

Total Miles: 1,513